hive away your vegetables and fruit without electricity with the help of a simple-minded , DIY root basement .
Canning , pickling , and dehydrating are all handy way to keep overbold garden harvest at the end of the growing season . However , if you prefer to keep vegetable whole or you do n’t need to entangle withcanning equipment , there is another option : using a root basement .
Many solid food crops , include apples , potato , and rutabagas , can be stored in electricity - free origin cellars , freeing up space in your refrigerator and helping yousave money on your energy throwaway . Best of all , root cellar are leisurely to make and do n’t take up much space . If you ’re ready to create your own DIY ascendent cellar , here is everything you ask to know to store intellectual nourishment crops through the wintertime months .
Credit:indigojt / Getty Images
indigojt / Getty Images
What Is a Root Cellar?
Before the coming of electricity , people relied on root cellar to keep their food fresh throughout the yr . Since root cellar are usually build below form , they are kept nerveless by the rude insulating property of the worldly concern . Traditionally , etymon basement were built in basement , but root cellars can also be delve outdoors or into hillside .
source wine cellar remain nerveless in summer but warm enough in winter to keep foods from freezing . Aside from temperature regulation , root basement keep unaccented levels low and humidness level eminent , which extends the ledge spirit of manyhomegrown fruits and vegetables .
Advantages of a Root Cellar
origin cellarskeep solid food fresh without any electricity , which can save money on your energy bill . Beyond that , root cellars forestall food for thought waste and provide perfect storage conditionsfor many type of veg and fruit .
Today , most people grease one’s palms garden truck at the grocery memory board , but stock - bought produce is often not grown topically and may not be fresh . If youkeep a garden , you know how tasty homegrown produce is ; a root cellar allows you to relish those delicious garden goodies all year around .
Foods to Store in a Root Cellar
soft fruit and vegetables , like leafy greens and berries , do n’t last long in a root wine cellar , but inflexible or thick - struggle harvest can be keep bracing for calendar month . Root cellars can also be used tostore wineand give the sack orpickled goods . However , most gardeners use root cellars to store a variety of vegetable and fruit , include :
Some vegetables store longer if they ’re cure after harvest . This summons indurate the veggie ’s skin and help oneself seal any scruff or scratches that might otherwise let in bacteria . To cure vegetables , place them in a affectionate , dry space that ’s out of unmediated sunlight and leave them todry for abouttwo weeks . Crops such as garlic , onions , squash , and potato should be cured , while most steady down crop rarely involve curing .
How to Create a DIY Root Cellar
If you own an old menage , you may already have a traditional root cellar built into your cellar . If not , root cellars can be adapted to Modern builds and garden options .
A few simpleshelves add to an unfinished basementcan allow plenty of computer memory space for food , but you may also create a root basement in an fresh closet or other cool post . Basements with packed earth or gravel floor work well for beginning cellar , butbasements with concrete or other flooring typescan also be adapt . For even more option , you may dig a root cellar into your garden , but it ’s essential to watch over safety protocols and get any required building permission before you start digging .
One of the easy ways to make a small root cellar is to poke a hole in your yard and settle a garbage can or food - dependable barrel inside . sate the barrel with some shuck , tot up your root crops and other veg , interchange the hat , and target a bale of straw on top for extra insulation . This simple , DIY setup can hold many different crops , but it works particularly well for storingroot vegetableslike Daucus carota sativa , beets , and parsnip .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Food Storage Tips for Root Cellars
1. Monitor the temperature.
Ideally , root cellars should be a chilly32 ° F to 40 ° degree Fahrenheit , and they should never freeze . Even root basement that cool only into the 50s protect many vegetables . ( In summertime , the temperature might give the sixty in hot areas ) . Freezing temperatures damage produce , while warm temperatures speed up decay . Because root wine cellar are construct below the soil ’s surface , they naturally stay cool , but you may need to commit in a thermometer to ensure your cellar stay in the correct temperature range .
2. Maintain high humidity.
crop stored in dry environments can become wrinkly and limp due to water departure , but etymon cellars are naturally humid blank space withhumidity levelsabove 80 percent . cellar with crushed rock or dirt floors naturally maintain higher humidity levels , although you could total a humidifier to boost humidity if your basement is on the teetotal side .
3. Block out light.
Christ Within speeds up disintegration and color loss in produce , and it also causes potatoes to flex greenish . To avoid this , keep the light off when you ’re not using your root cellar , and add gunny or other drapes over any windows to block excess light . you may also keep potatoes from stock by loosely cover them with a slice of gunny .
4. Boost ventilation.
While high humidity keeps vegetable plump , too much humidity can encourage mold and mildew outgrowth . To avoid this , ensure your origin cellar is well - ventilated and consider total a PVC pipe to minor solution cellar barrels to boost ventilation . If you stash away your produce in crates or box , ensure that the containers have plenty of ventilation maw to better airflow .
5. Only store unwashed, undamaged produce.
Excess moisture promotes mold and mold , so head off washing produce before placing it in your root word basement . Keep fruit and vegetables in approximately the same term as they were when they were harvest . Although you should prune away carrot and Beta vulgaris greens , store vegetables as whole as possible , andleave the stem on pumpkinsandgourds . Use any damaged green goods immediately rather than storing it because it will begin to dilapidate quickly .
Root vegetables , including beets , carrots , and wintertime radishes , last longer if you store them in moist sand . The supernumerary moisture keeps the roots from drying out , tolerate you to enjoy crunchy carrots all yr round . Store root crop horizontally or vertically in uncompromising boxes or food - safe credit card pail .
6. Separate fruits and vegetables.
Apples and pears store attractively in root cellars , butthese craw release ethene gas , which can cause nearby vegetable to become overly advanced and go forged . Keeping a well - ventilated ascendent cellar reduces ethene levels , but storing vegetables and fruit individually is still advocate . To be spare dependable , wrap Malus pumila and pears in newspaper to prevent the ethylene flatulency from escaping .
7. Keep an eye on your produce.
As the old locution fail , “ A bad apple can spoil the bunch , ” and that ’s doubtless true in radical root cellar . While healthy garden truck can be kept for months in a etymon cellar , if a small-arm of yield or a vegetable start to go big , the decomposition can speedily spread to nearby crops . To avoid problems , check your food stores regularly and remove any discredited or rotten garden truck as soon as you spot it .
