The Root Cellar - a Great Way to Store Vegetables and Crucial to Self Reliance

Great tips on homesteading, frugal living, and self reliance.
	Root Cellar Root cellar is one of the ultimate tools of self-sufficiency. Once you learn basic gardening tools and start getting a good-sized produce, building your own underground storehouse will help you keep that produce fresh for several months. A cellar that is properly built will enable you to enjoy last fall's harvest of apples in April or May as well as keep your potatoes, carrots and other vegetables fresh during the long winter months. How Does it Work? The cold, moist air a properly built cellar provides helps keeps fruits and vegetables fresh longer, sometimes for months. How Much Does it Cost? That depends on where you live and how much the materials will cost in your area. For an eight-foot by ten-foot cellar, you will need the services of a back hoe (or a sharp shovel and a strong back), about 550 concrete blocks, gravel and cement. Things to Consider The three most important conditions in a good root cellar are temperature, humidity and proper ventilation. The Right Temperature To keep your vegetables fresh, you will need a place you can get cold. A root cellar is designed to borrow cold from the ground as well as from the cold night air. You will need a thermometer to keep track of the temperature, as well as an air duct that you can open on cold nights to borrow the cold and close on warmer days. To keep your cellar cold, you can also add double doors to form an airlock. This will also help keep your cellar from becoming too cold during severe winter weather. For best storage, you cellar should be between 32 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Proper Humidity A high humidity in your cellar will keep the root crops and leafy vegetables from shriveling. Make sure your cellar has a dirt or gravel, rather than concrete floor to help increase humidity. You can also pack your vegetables in sand or spread damp burlap bags over your produce, as well as set pans of water on the floor to preserve the moisture. A hygrometer will help you measure the humidity in your cellar. The best humidity is between 90 and 95 percent. And while you want your root cellar to be humid, you don't want water to get on your vegetables, or they'll rot. To cut back on the possibility of condensation, keep your root cellar smooth. Don't put beams on your ceiling because they will trap the warm air and increase the chances of condensation. Good Ventilation Ventilation can both bring in the cool night air and remove the warm air along with excess humidity. It also helps remove vegetable odors and the ethylene gas given off by stored fruits. For best circulation, have your cool air intake coming in low to the floor, and your warm air outtake vent up high and on the opposite side of the room. Screen the exterior openings to keep rodents out. Make sure your storage shelves in your root cellar don't touch the walls. Having space between your shelves and the wall will allow the cooler air to circulate around your food, keeping it cooler. A Convenient Spot If you live in an area where the winters are harsh, you might want to have your root cellar under your house so you can get to your vegetables without going outside. Make it fairly easy to get into. Also provide a source of artificial light, such as a light bulb that you can turn off when you're done. Too much light will deteriorate your vegetables and encourage sprouting. Good Drainage If you are building your root cellar, the best choice will be a dirt floor with about three inches of gravel. In the center of the floor install a perforated drainage pipe to carry off any excess water. Shelving Make your shelves out of nontoxic material, such as wood that has not been treated. Pine boards will work, but be aware they will rot in the high humidity within 5-6 years. Oak or cedar are your best choices for making the shelves. Storing Your Food Store your food in either slatted crates or baskets. Crates will make better use of your space. Learn More An excellent resource is Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables by Mike and Nancy Bubel. More Helpful Information on Homesteading Do you feel alone in your zest for homesteading? Find others who share your passion for self reliance. Learn how. Can you work on your homestead full time, and still earn a living? It may take a little creativity, but it can be done. Here's how. Is it still possible to earn your land just by living on it? It is if you're willing to living in a more remote area. Learn more here. Have you ever been curious as to what the term homesteading means? Learn what homesteading means today. Learn how past generations have been successfully pursuing self sufficiency, and what you can learn from them by reading these books. Read one man's story of what he learned from his grandfather about harvesting wild plants by clicking here Growing your own food is a crucial part of self reliance. But how do you keep it fresh? There is a way if you build a cellar to store your food. Learn how. By building your own hown in the country, you save tons of money, and there are a variety of ways you can build your home. Learn more. Ready to learn how to be more self sufficient? Learn fourteen ways to live off the land by clicking here. Learn why so many people, including me, are turning to homesteading by clicking here. Think you need a large plot of land to pursue the homesteading life? Think again! Learn why you should start homesteading now by clicking here. The self reliant life is great for the individual, but is it good for the nation as well? And what happens when self reliance is destroyed? Learn more by clicking here. 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