Root Cellars 101- Root Cellar Design and Use

Looking into our root cellar

We built a root cellar under our front porch.  Typically, if you’re building new your porch floor is formed out of a concrete slab, you need to put a foundation wall under it anyway, so why not put this area to good use?  Even if you can’t deal with (or don’t want to deal with) traditional root cellaring (storing vegetables and fruit), you could use the space as a wine cellar, gun cabinet, place to brew beer, a battery room for your PV/Wind system or simply more storage.  I highly recommend including a root cellar as part of your emergency preparedness planning if you can, as it’s a great low-cost, no-energy way to store food and extend the shelf life of fresh produce.

Our root cellar measures about 8′x8′, which provides plenty of room for our stash of root veggies, plus gives a nice sized porch above.  We have simply shelving along the east wall (opposite the door) composed of rough cut 2″x8″ boards and cement blocks.  Produce that likes drier conditions (like onions, garlic and potatoes) is stored in trays on the shelves for better ventilation.  This way, if an onion or potato starts to go bad, they can be spotted and removed immediately before they spoil the whole batch.  My mom used to store hers in mesh sacks, but many times one bad roots would spoil a large number of those around it.  I cover the potatoes with burlap or landscape fabric or whatever else is handy to block out the light (and prevent green potatoes) but allow ventilation.  A few cabbage go on the top shelf, and apples go out in the garage.  Pumpkins and squash go on the floor of the canning pantry because they like it a little warmer and drier.

I store vegetables that need more moisture in buckets, bins or boxes packed with lightly dampened leaves.  For us this usually means beets and carrots (I overwinter parsnips out in the garden).  I tried packing these vegetables in sawdust and in sand, but prefer the leaves.  For me, sand stayed too moist and led to rotting, plus it made a terrible mess.  Sawdust was also very messy, but better than sand.  It really liked to cling in all the little root hairs.  The leaves provide moisture to keep your roots from shriveling up, but are easy to brush off with much less mess.  They can be recycled into the garden during the next planting season to enrich to the soil.  (I like to mix mine with the dirt I use to back fill my potato planting holes.  Leaves add acidity to the soil, which helps prevent scab on potatoes.)  Do use fresh leaves each year to prevent potential pathogen buildup.

View to the left

Locating the root cellar outside the footprint of the home permits the root cellar to maintain cooler temperatures more easily than a cellar located within the house, but even if you have a pre-existing home you may be able to section off a portion of your basement with good results.  Using an exterior grade door (preferably insulated) on your root cellar also helps to maintain proper temperature (both in the root cellar and in the house).  If you are building new, consider putting the root cellar door in the back of an unheated storage room so that the temperature difference is less.  You can use this room to store veggies that require somewhat warmer and drier storage than a root cellar provides, as well as canned goods and whatever else you may need to stash.

Root cellars must have ventilation!  This is one of most common mistakes that people make when designing/installing them.  Proper ventilation moves the ethylene gas that causes spoilage away from the produce, increasing your storage time and the quality of the items in storage.  It also slows down molds and mildews and other fuzzy things that thrive in dark, damp, still environments.  You need the equivalent of a low and high 2” PVC pipe, preferably placed so as to bring in fresh air low on one side and to vent stale air out high on the opposite side.    Don’t skip the vent pipes if you’re building new, or at least their penetrations, even if you’re not sure you want to use the space for a root cellar.  You can always cap them off and they’re much more difficult to add later.

The root cellar should have no “standard” heating or cooling, other than a way to introduce outside air to cool the space. A “finished” floor is optional, and in fact a simple gravel floor is probably your best option for controlling humidity.  Root cellar produce keeps best with high humidity and cool temperatures.  A gravel floor introduces ground moisture and allows you to sprinkle the floor to add moisture when needed.  A single incandescent light (switched on exterior) should provide adequate lighting (unless your room is really huge) and, if for some reason your storage gets too cold, you can always use it to introduce a little heat.

The best resource we have found on root cellars is the book Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables by Mike and Nancy Bubel.  No matter what your location or how much space you have, the Bubels are likely to have a root cellar option that will work for you.  It contains detailed explanations of how to store vegetables and fruits without electricity with specific temperature and humidity recommendations for each variety.  There are also good photos and diagrams, which I really like.

Links

Yakhchal – Ancient natural refrigerators – who knew?

Keep Your Ice Cream Cold Without Electricity – Nifty article on a home built refrigerator substitute that uses no electricity or fuel.

Build a Basement Root Cellar by Steve Maxwell – Article from Mother Earth News

A Root Cellar for Your Homestead  by Victoria Ries – Some basic information on the cellar, more information on the proper storage of the fruits and veggies themselves.
The University of Missouri Extension Office suggests the following guidelines for storing food in root cellars:

 

Root Cellar storage requirements

Apples

• Cold and moist
• Do not store with vegetables
• 32 to 40 degrees Farenheit
• 80 to 90 percent relative humidity

Beans, dry

• Cool and dry
• Home and commercially prepared foods also need a cool, dry storage place
• 32 to 50 degrees Farenheit
• 60 to 70 percent relative humidity

Beets

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Farenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Brussels sprouts

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Cabbage

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Cabbage, Chinese

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Carrots

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Cauliflower

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Celeriac

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Celery

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Endive (Escarole)

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Garlic

• Cool and dry
• Home and commercially prepared foods also need a cool, dry storage place
• 32 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit ideal
• 60 to 70 percent relative humidity

Grapefruit

• Cold and moist
• Do not store with vegetables
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 80 to 90 percent relative humidity

Grapes

• Cold and moist
• Do not store with vegetables
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 80 to 90 percent relative humidity

Horseradish

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity
• May be left in the ground undisturbed until needed. Digging can be done unless the soil is frozen hard. A thick layer of mulch may extend your harvest season.

Jerusalem artichoke

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity
• May be left in the ground undisturbed until needed. Digging can be done unless the soil is frozen hard. A thick layer of mulch may extend your harvest season.

Kale

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Kohlrabi

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Leeks

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Onions

• Cool and dry
• Home and commercially prepared foods also need a cool, dry storage place
• 32 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit ideal
• 60 to 70 percent relative humidity

Oranges

• Cold and moist
• Do not store with vegetables
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 80 to 90 percent relative humidity

Parsnips

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Pears

• Cold and moist
• Do not store with vegetables
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 80 to 90 percent relative humidity

Peas

• Cool and dry
• Home and commercially prepared foods also need a cool, dry storage place
• Airtight container
• 32 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit
• 60 to 70 percent relative humidity

Peppers, hot dried

• Cool and dry
• Home and commercially prepared foods also need a cool, dry storage place
• 32 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit
• 60 to 70 percent relative humidity

Popcorn

• Cool and dry
• Home and commercially prepared foods also need a cool, dry storage place
• Airtight container
• 32 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit
• 60 to 70 percent relative humidity

Potatoes

• Cold and moist
• Do not store with fruits
• 38 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit ideal
• 80 to 90 percent relative humidity

Potatoes, sweet

• Warm and moist
• To keep sweet potatoes from spoiling in warm and moist storage, do not let temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit
• 80 to 90 percent relative humidity

Pumpkins

• Warm and dry
• 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit
• 60 to 75 percent relative humidity

Radish, winter

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Rutabaga

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

Salsify, oyster plant

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity
• May be left in the ground undisturbed until needed. Digging can be done unless the soil is frozen hard. A thick layer of mulch may extend your harvest season.

Squash, winter

• Warm and dry
• 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit
• 60 to 75 percent relative humidity

Tomatoes

• Warm and moist
• To keep green tomatoes from spoiling in warm and moist storage, do not let temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit
• 80 to 90 percent relative humidity

Turnip

• Cold and very moist
• 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• 90 to 95 percent relative humidity

The length of time that fruits and vegetables keep well in root cellars depends on several factors:

• Early or late crops (late-maturing crops store better)

 

• Storage conditions (less-than-ideal conditions shorten storage life)
• Fruit and vegetable condition at storage time (proper curing of damage-free produce results in longer storage life).

 

 

Vegetables and fruits should not be stored together even though temperatures and moisture requirements are similar. As fruits such as apples and pears ripen, they give off ethylene gas which decreases the storage life of vegetables. This is especially evident with potatoes which sprout early if stored near certain fruits. Also, the odor of strong smelling vegetables, like turnips and cabbage, can be absorbed by fruits and other vegetables. Store them away from other food and where the odor cannot waft into the house.

Do not allow fruits and vegetables to freeze.

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