Root cellars allow gardeners to store foods long into winter without depending on grocery store produce that has traveled thousands of miles. We interviewed Tobias Riess, an agroecology farmer and earthen construction specialist specializing in earthen building techniques to get his advice on how best to construct and stock their cellar.
A basic way of protecting food from freezing temperatures, rain and snowfall involves digging a hole into the ground and filling it with soil or straw, followed by covering it with roof (perhaps even an old school bus!) in order to insulate against frost.
Your produce needs a cellar large enough to store it, depending on the size and needs of your family and personal goals. A root cellar should definitely be considered when homesteading or just harvesting crops in winter for fresh eating or preserves production.
Root cellars can store many different vegetables, each of which requires specific temperatures and humidities for optimal storage. Therefore, it’s essential that you know which kinds of foods can be stored there to plan harvest season efficiently and utilize your root cellar at its full potential.
Leafy vegetables like spinach and lettuce may last several months in a root cellar if stored at cool and dry temperatures, while carrots, turnips and beets should last even longer with proper maturity before being stored there. You should sanitize your cellar regularly to ensure air quality remains clean and free from harmful bacteria or fungi that could spoil food stored there.
Apples can last two to seven months in a root cellar when stored properly cured before storage, with other fruits following suit. But it’s important to remember that these foods don’t provide long term storage solutions like canned or freeze dried options do; eventually they’ll spoil and need to be consumed quickly.
Good news is it’s simple to locate foods suitable for storage in a root cellar, and by following some simple tips for harvesting and storing produce correctly you’ll soon enjoy homegrown fruits and veggies all year long!
Don’t miss our Gardening section of the site for helpful articles to get your own garden started, as well as our Sustainable Living archives for even more great content!
Josh: Homesteading can be rewarding in many ways, with fresh local produce being readily available during those long winter nights. That’s why so many are interested in learning how to build a root cellar; in this article we will go over some basic planning steps as well as give some delicious recipe ideas using food from your cellar!