Root cellars have quickly become one of the hallmarks of many homesteads, serving both to preserve homegrown fruits and vegetables or extend the shelf life of canned goods. A well-built underground cellar provides many advantages over its more conventional counterpart.
Not only are earth caves an insulating option for homesteads, they’re also an aesthetic feature of any property. Snuggled away amongst rolling hills or hills of your landscape, these caves add peace of mind by giving you control of food security versus depending on stores for sustenance or seasonal availability of local produce.
Root cellars don’t always need to be dug underground; they can also be constructed at ground level on top of hills or berms. This option may be ideal if you live in an area with limited digging access; additionally, this approach saves excavation costs by simply creating your root cellar above-ground.
Root cellar walls must be constructed of materials that can withstand moisture and cold temperatures, including brick, concrete and cinder blocks as these are low-cost options for their walls. Without such resistance against damp conditions, cracks may form which subsequently shift and crack the walls over time causing shifting or even collapsed cellars.
At the same time, it’s also crucial that the cellar remain dark as direct sunlight can cause issues with mold growth and storage quality. One effective way of stabilizing temperatures and humidity levels in your cellar is covering it with hay bales, straw or sawdust.
An important consideration when it comes to cellar storage of vegetables is ethylene gas production by crops like apples, bananas, pears and tomatoes. Because certain fruits produce high levels of this gas, such as apples, bananas, pears and tomatoes can prematurely ripen before others in storage and reduce shelf life of other veggies.
Ideal root cellar conditions should provide humidity between 85%-95%; if this isn’t feasible, add additional humidity by layering vegetables with sawdust or sand to add extra humidity in the cellar.
Some people use old trash cans or buckets to create root cellars. While these spaces can work well for certain root vegetables, it’s essential that these cellars be insulated with hay or straw for optimal storage conditions. It’s also beneficial to know which crops store well under less-than-ideal conditions so you can plan your garden accordingly; knowing this allows you to ensure there’s always enough root vegetables stored away for use later. Rutabagas and turnips may last months when stored properly under cool, dark conditions; while carrots, beets and potatoes will last much longer!