As a gardener, you likely know how to grow vegetables that store well. But did you know that taking this skill one step further means building a basement root cellar for long-term preservation of produce? Root cellars were once used by people for centuries before modern fridges existed – today they’re experiencing an upsurge in popularity among homeowners looking for ways to save money and escape grocery store dependency for good!
An underground root cellar provides you with an ideal environment for storing produce at temperatures between 32degF and 40degF, ideal conditions for many root vegetables. By keeping them at this ideal range they’ll retain their crispiness and sweetness as well as being protected from spoilage; providing food supplies to see you through winter or even beyond if required.
These cellars can also help ensure a steady supply of fresh food during spring and summer when garden produce is at its peak. This can make an immense difference to your family’s diet as it reduces food costs while eating healthier and maintaining cost savings.
For those not quite ready to commit to building their own root cellar, there are now pre-manufactured units that you can purchase and install yourself. These cellars can be found at various online retailers that also provide installation services – they tend to be much more cost effective and provide food protection throughout the year!
An underground root cellar can help prepare you for emergencies or disasters that could interrupt local food supplies, like harsh weather or power outage. Storing fresh produce from your own garden in this emergency could go far toward keeping both yourself and your family healthy during an emergency situation.
Homegrown vegetables can also help you feel connected to both your community and homestead, especially for families living in climates with short growing seasons for local produce. When combined with storage systems, growing and harvesting fresh veggies for winter storage is an invaluable experience that many families cherish.
An underground root cellar can do more than simply lower your grocery bill: it can also help to reduce reliance on commercially grown produce that’s treated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, like sodium ortho-phenyl phenate, thiabendazole, maleic hydrazide etc. If you have children or infants at home that breastfeed regularly this could be especially helpful as many of these chemicals are passed along through breast milk.