Root cellars are an effective way of storing food during winter and relieving some of your dependence on supermarkets. If built strategically, they may also serve as storage facilities for wine or other homemade alcoholic beverages.
Traditional root cellars may be built underground, but cold storage can also be achieved using straw bales and other insulated storage containers in an outdoor location. Even part of your garage could make an effective root cellar as long as it features vents to allow cold air in during summer months and keep warm air out during winter.
Root cellars should be located on sloped hillside sites that offer excellent drainage to allow excess water to run off, thereby extending their shelf life and decreasing soil saturation rates. A sloped location also helps retain heat and moisture in the soil to help minimize risks of freezing/thawing cycles.
Your root cellar should ideally be 4 feet deep; this depth ensures consistent soil temperatures. However, depending on your latitude and underground water temperatures in your region, its optimal depth could differ considerably; check your hydrology map for an estimate of soil temps at that depth.
Khoke used a rented backhoe to cut his time digging in half by placing a concrete footer at the bottom of his cellar pit and filling in with sand and rock from nearby sources to form his cellar below ground level. For added protection against water ingressing through walls into his cellar and spoiling produce inside, he installed a french drain beneath its foundation as a preventive measure.
Once the structure was finished, he began adding shelves crafted from repurposed crates, buckets or insulated bins. Additionally, root vegetables like beets, carrots and potatoes may quickly rot without proper care; simply placing some sand or sawdust between layers can help prevent this.
Protecting the cellar against pests is also key, which will prolong the lifespan of your produce. To minimize infestation, add physical barriers like wire mesh or wooden trellises as entryways; alternatively use an herbicide on its exterior surface.
As soon as you are ready to store food yourself, it is advisable to become familiar with its specific temperature and humidity requirements for each vegetable. Apples, carrots, rutabagas, turnips, winter squash will last longer than onions, radishes or garlic; furthermore it is imperative that food be properly cured to retain freshness during storage; in order to do this you need an understanding of fermentation as well as chemical reactions occurring during curing – to learn more read Mike and Nancy Bubel’s classic book Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables