DIY Root Cellar – How to Build Your Own Root Cellar

An outdoor root cellar is an efficient way to store fruits and vegetables without electricity, providing great savings while enjoying homegrown produce during winter months. A dug-in root cellar or using your basement are both viable solutions; simply select the design or method best suited to your location and situation.

Temperature and humidity are key elements to creating an effective root cellar, with high humidity helping prevent moisture loss due to evaporation, which could otherwise cause food to wither and spoil. Ideal humidity should range between 85-95%. In addition, insulation must also be present so as to protect crops from cold air damage.

In the past, people stored their produce in basement or root cellars built into hillsides. Digging holes deep enough so that frost lines didn’t come too close to the surface was crucial; some even dug their cellars under their homes for warmth! Today it’s more common to build such storage facilities out of concrete or brick; however it remains wise to dig at least 4ft deep when digging a cellar hole.

An efficient DIY root cellar design involves blocking off one corner of a basement and installing vents that allow cold air to come in while warm air escapes. A system that lets you open or close vents as necessary based on weather conditions may also be purchased or built.

Install a simple vent in the wall of your home. A four-inch vent pipe should suffice for rooms measuring 6ft x 8ft, though additional vents can be added as necessary. Furthermore, an outdoor basement door or vents installed into exterior walls could be suitable solutions as well.

For optimal temperature regulation in your root cellar, it will require some sort of heating or cooling system. A kerosene heater and vent should do the job, though investing in an energy-saving electric heat pump might also prove worthwhile.

Some foods emit an ethylene gas that can spoil other produce, so you’ll want to store them separately or wrap fruits and vegetables in paper to contain this gas. Also make sure that cool-temperature fruit such as apples and bananas don’t come into direct contact with food that needs to be kept cool – otherwise their storage could potentially create problems!

If you plan on storing multiple types of crops, your diy root cellar may require multiple rooms. Root vegetables like beets and carrots thrive in cold environments while tomatoes and squash do better in warmer environments. It’s wise to monitor both temperature and humidity in your diy root cellar in order to make any adjustments as necessary, while checking whether its soil has become too wet or dry.


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