Building a root cellar correctly can be your perfect food storage solution. These underground structures have long served to keep vegetables fresh and kickstart healthy meals, providing the ideal option for anyone with either a garden or small backyard space.
Root cellars use the cool temperatures and humid conditions of their environments to preserve root vegetables, fruits, herbs and legumes for longer. Root cellars are particularly well suited for squash, potatoes and carrots (along with apples stored separately), while tomatoes and green peppers often fare better when stored through other methods such as canning or drying.
Residential root cellar options vary based on budget and personal requirements, such as insulation levels. You can store vegetables not only in an unfinished basement or outbuilding but also in unfinished garage or outbuilding spaces that have been properly insulated with proper insulation materials such as concrete block walls and ceilings but also untreated wood framed walls treated with chemicals that withstand underground environments (or simply opt for untreated wood walls) which provides both options with adequate insulation capabilities for maximum efficiency.
Permanent solutions may involve building a root cellar out of either cinder blocks or earthbags buried underground. While both solutions require digging, earthbags offer a quicker construction process without needing to be lined with concrete.
To prepare an in-ground root cellar, dig a hole that’s at least four feet deep. If using an existing structure as your root cellar, add insulation and drainage systems as well as air vents for moisture release; additionally it would be wise to line drains with gravel or another material which will assist this process.
Start by building a waterproof door and vent, along with an air intake to bring in fresh air. Make sure the cellar is far enough away from your house that it does not draw in too much heat or cool air from its surroundings, and seal both elements well using mortar or some other sealant material.
As soon as your cellar is completed, you must test both its temperature and humidity conditions with a hygrometer to make sure your produce is being stored at optimal conditions.
Finally, add water periodically to the cellar to help with ventilation and increase humidity levels without creating too much of a humidity spike that causes produce to spoil faster. Evaporation helps with this task but you must also ensure there is enough ventilation so humidity doesn’t become excessively high and potentially cause produce spoilage faster.
As soon as it comes time to store your homemade goodies in your new root cellar, be sure to label bins and shelves so you can easily identify what’s inside and when it was put there. Be patient; produce can take weeks to mature into something ready for storage – soon you’ll reap the rewards of all your hard work!