Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

[LeaSoul]

Simple Indoor Root Cellar

Keep Produce Fresh In Cold, Moist Air
If you live in an area where fall and winter temperatures remain near freezing and fluctuate very little, you can store root vegetables, apples, and pears in a wide variety of insulated structures and containers. These range from a simple mound in the garden to a full-fledged root cellar. In each case, the storage unit must maintain temperatures in the 30 degrees F to 40 degrees F range with humidity between 80 and 90 percent. The high moisture content of the air prevents shriveling due to loss of water by evaporation. An old-fashioned, unheated basement is an ideal spot for a root cellar, but a modern basement can be used if a northerly corner is available.
Different vegetables can be stored together in a single container, but fruits should never be stored with vegetables nor should different fruits be stored together.

An 8-foot by 10-foot root cellar will accommodate 60 bushels of produce. Indoor root cellars are the most convenient to use and easiest to build. Try to use a northeast or northwest corner of your basement that has at least one outside wall and id as far as possible from your oil burner or other heat source. One north-facing window is desirable for ventilation. The interior walls of the root cellar should be constructed of wood, and if the basement is heated, they should be insulated. The precise amount of insulation needed depends on the average basement temperature, but standard 4-inch-thick fiberglass batting with a foil or plastic vapor barrier should be more than adequate. Install the insulation with the barrier against the wood. Add an insulated door and fit the window with shades to block out light. To keep humidity high, spread 3 inches of gravel on the floor and sprinkle it occasionally with water. You can also maintain humidity by storing the produce in a closed container, such as a metal can lined with paper.

The text and picture were taken from a 1981 edition of a Reader's Digest book, Back To Basics. There is a newer version out. It doesn't tell us what the lumber requirements are but the picture shows a great deal. If the picture isn't in this thread I am sorry, this is my first attempt to post a new thread.

[ruthbeme]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

LeaSoul,
This is a great idea! I have been saying I wanted to find a way to build a root cellar. This would solve allot of issues. Thank LeaSoul great post.

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

a good addition here is what and how high to store foods. also, which foods store best buried in sand.

[LeaSoul]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

LeaSoul,
This is a great idea! I have been saying I wanted to find a way to build a root cellar. This would solve allot of issues. Thank LeaSoul great post.

Thank you for your kind response, deeply appreciated.

Perhaps the FT community can contribute to Shannon's request. At this point the only thing I can contribute is that an elderly friend of mine told me when she was a child her mother stored carrots in a sand pit in the basement, during the winter. The elderly friend made no mention of any other type of vegetable.

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

Some more information about storing fresh foods long term.

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2815

[Theresa42]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

Awesome info, LeaSoul - thanks!!

[LMonty]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

beautiful job. Lea, nicely done. Thanks for your contribution.

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

I am feeling better today so now is an appropriate time to share how important it is to overbuild the shelves that go into root cellers. One of the metal shelves that held my home canned jars fell over on me the other day and broke my arm, not to mention many, many jars of produce I put up this summer. The metal struts holding the shelf together failed. I was lucky the shelf fell on my arm and not my head. In any case jars and cans are very heavy build appropriately.

[LeaSoul]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

Thanks everyone for your kind words.
It would be interesting to see how many people intend to build the indoor root cellar. And then, come back to this thread and share their experience.

[LMonty]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

I have a great area in the basement I could modify for this- but to be honest, we are looking at other houses. Mostly old farm houses with a few acres, and going to see the first one today I f we find soemthing soon, I will hopefully have a good spot for this (if not an official old root celler, its osemthing on my wish list!) and report back. But I think its goign to be a long time, if we move at all, which seems likely.

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->
http://www.cps.gov.on.ca/english/fv6000/fv6321.htm

Plan 6321

Small Root Cellar



This plan provides information for building a small root cellar for home storage of vegetables. Construction details are provided for 3.0 x 4.2 m (10 x 14 ft) of storage. Two roof types are shown; a permanent gable roof with insulated ceiling, and a cheaper straw roof (flax straw preferred). The latter performs very well, but will likely require replacement in 8 to 10 years.

Small Root Cellar Leaflet (Metric and Imperial)

Small Root Cellar Plan (Imperial)

Return to Series 6000 Plan Menu
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[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->
http://waltonfeed.com/old/cellar4.html


Presents...



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Root Cellar Basics


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Information for this page was gleaned from chapters 7, 13 and 14 of
Root Cellaring: The Simple No-Processing
Way to Store Fruits and Vegetables
By Mike and Nancy Bubel, Copyright 1979, Published by Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pennsylvania

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Jump within page to...

Temperature is your most important interest
Your second most important consideration is humidity
Air circulation
How big of a cellar should you build?
Shelves
What kind of root cellar is right for you?
Construction methods
Using your root cellar
Vegetables and their optimum storage conditions

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Cool and moist conditions are required for storing most vegetables. Because of this, when planning a root cellar, several things need to be taken into consideration.
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Temperature is your most important interest: As your root cellar needs to be kept as cool as possible, there are several things you can do to promote this:

First, borrow cold from the ground. Earth, even two feet down, gives a remarkable year wide temperature stability. The further down you go the better it is. You must go down a full 10 feet before complete temperature stability is reached. But for the average builder, how deep you go is limited because of expenses.
You can also borrow cool from the air. Often the night?s air temperature will be cooler than the air in your cellar.
And finally, you should do what you can to prevent heat from having access to your cellar. This includes:
Having your root cellar in the shade throughout the day
Building on the north side of hills
Wise use of insulation
Your second most important consideration is humidity. Even if kept cool, in a low humidity environment, your vegetables will soften and shrivel up. Most vegetables require high humidities. A typical underground root cellar will generally maintain a high humidity all by itself if it has an earth or dirt floor.
Air circulation: The best root cellars have vents (although none of the old cellars here in Southern Alberta I have seen have them). This is because the vegetables in your cellar give off gasses that often are conducive to either spoilage or sprouting. For example, apples naturally give off ethylene gas which makes potatoes sprout prematurely. (This can be used to your advantage if you have potatoes that are slow sprouting. Put?em both in a plastic bag.) Good venting fundamentals include:

Have an inlet vent and an outlet vent.
The outlet must always be at the highest level in the cellar with the outlet tube flush with the inner wall.
The inlet should come into the cellar at the bottom. This is easily done if your cellar is built into a hill, but nearly as easy if it is buried in flat ground. With your inlet vent opening on top of the ground near your outlet vent, your inlet vent pipe must go all the way to the floor before opening into your cellar.
Keep shelves a couple of inches away from the walls of the cellar. This will greatly promote circulation around the vegetables stored on these shelves.
To prevent your potatoes from sprouting prematurely, keep your apples above them so the circulating air moves away from your potatoes.
Have a system in place to close your vents in freezing weather. Something as simple as a big sponge can work for this. If you have very cold winters, you may wish to block off both ends of each vent pipe.
How big of a cellar should you build?
A 5 foot by 8 foot root cellar will store 30 bushels of produce.
An 8 foot by 8 foot cellar should hold plenty for the average family.
A 10 foot by 10 foot cellar should take care of everything you can produce.
Shelves: We have already mentioned shelves should be kept at least a couple of inches away from the walls for increased ventilation. Other things to consider are:
Use rot resistant or pressure treated wood. After several years they will be less likely to rot and break, tumbling your foods on the floor. (The book gave one example of a person who went down to her cellar one day to find a good share of her canned fruit and vegetables broken on the floor. As the lids on canned goods rust after a couple of years, plan a dryer, cool place for these items.)
Liberal use of shelves will enhance the storage capacity of your cellar considerably.
What kind of root cellar is right for you? Here are some possibilities with a few advantages/disadvantages:

Build your root cellar into a hill.
You don?t have to find a door lying on the ground when it is under 3 feet of snow.
There is less chance of flooding during very wet conditions
Your cellar can be graded so any water that should run or seep in will run out the door.
Can be much more difficult to excavate.
Build your root cellar on flat ground.
Availability: not everyone has a steep hill in their back yard
Easier to excavate
Easier and cheaper to build (you don?t have to brace your cellar for all that extra weight from the hill). But that added dirt will keep your cellar cooler!
You can build a vertical door around a staircase if you don?t want to be shoveling snow to get at a horizontal door.
Build your cellar as part of your house: Our house which is only one year old had a root cellar built into it when the house was constructed. Many older houses have a section of the basement that has an earthen floor. It?s primary reason was probably for vegetable storage. You can also:
Build and insulate a room in this area.
Dig a cellar next to the house with an entry way to your cellar through the basement.
Put your cellar in an existing underground structure such as a pump house.
Construction methods:
Dugout: The cheapest way to go in stable soil
Wood construction: Be sure to use pressure treated wood.
Cement
Floors
Dirt: the simplest way to go and excellent for humidity control.
Gravel: In a very damp or very dry area you will want to put down three inches of gravel. If your cellar is unusually wet, you may want to even dig a sump in the middle of your cellar floor and fill this with gravel, along with the three inches on the floor. In very dry soil conditions you can sprinkle water on the gravel which will greatly increase the evaporation surface area.
Wood: put gaps in your boards for a higher humidity cellar.
Cement: If you want a storage area that is lower in humidity, this is a good way to go.
You may wish to build two rooms in your cellar. One with a cement floor for lower humidity storage items, and another room with no floor for higher humidity storage items. If you did this, the wall between the rooms should be as air tight as you can make it. If you have a venting system, you should have a separate set of vents for each room. And lastly, the high humidity storage area should be the far room in the cellar.
Using your root cellar:
Keep a thermometer and humidity gauge in your cellar.
Keep the door(s) closed to your cellar as much as possible if it is warm outside.
During the spring and fall of the year, open your vents (and even perhaps the door) at night when the temperature is dropping below the temperature of the air in your cellar. Close them early in the morning before the outside air warms up. (Be careful not to do this if the temperature is expected to drop below freezing.)
If the humidity in your cellar is too low you can raise it by:
Leaving at least the floor of your cellar exposed to the earth (a dirt floor or air gaps in your floor down to the earth).
Sprinkle water on a graveled floor or lay out damp towels or burlap bags.
Pack root vegetables in damp saw dust, sand or moss.
One caution about high humidities: If you get much of a temperature fluctuation in your cellar, humid air as it cools past it?s dew point will condense on the ceiling, walls, and produce. Excess water on your goods can induce spoilage. Cover vegetables with burlap, towels, etc. to absorb excess condensing moisture. Also, if your air is condensing inside, open your vents if the air outside is cooler than it is inside. Even if it is very humid air, as it warms in the root cellar, it?s relative humidity will drop. Of course, the opposite can happen. If you let warm damp air in, moisture will condense out as it cools.
During extremely cold weather, if your cellar is threatening to freeze, put a light bulb inside. If you do this, you need to cover your potatoes so they won?t turn green. (Do not use a kerosene lantern. Kerosene lanterns produce ethylene, which is a fruit ripener.) Also remember that snow is an excellent insulator. Don?t tramp down or remove the snow on top of your root cellar any more than you have to in order to gain entry.
Keep a fairly close eye on your produce and remove any that has begun to spoil. (It is a true axiom that 'one bad apple with spoil the bushel.'
Vegetables and their optimum storage conditions Cold and very moist (32-40 degrees F and 90-95 % humidity
Carrots
Beets
Parsnips
Rutabagas
Turnips Celery
Chinese Cabbage
Celeriac
Salsify
Scorazonera Winter radishes
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Collards
Broccoli
(short term) Burssels Sprouts
(short term)
Horseradish
Jerusalem artichokes
Hamburg-rooted parsley
-- -- -- --
Cold and Moist 32-40 degrees F and 80-90% humidity 40-50 degrees F and 85-90 % humidity Cool and Dry 35-40 degrees F 60-70% humidity Moderately Warm and Dry 50-60 degrees F and 60-70% relative humidity
Potatoes
Cabbage
Cauliflower
(short term)
Apples
Grapes
(40 degrees F)
Oranges
Pears
Quince
Endive, escarole
Grapefruit Cucumbers
Sweet peppers (45-55 degrees F)
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Eggplant (50-60 degrees F.)
Ripe tomatoes
Garlic
Onions
Green soybeans in the pod (short term)
Dry hot peppers
Pumpkins
Winter squash
Sweet potatoes
Green tomatoes (up to 70 degrees F is OK)




|| Walton Home Page || Old Timer's Home ||

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Al Durtschi, E-mail: mark@waltonfeed.com
Home Page: http://waltonfeed.com/

All contents copyright (C) 1996, Al Durtschi. All rights reserved.

This information may be used by you freely for noncommercial use with my name and E-mail address attached.

Revised: 2 July 1996
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[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->
http://www.motherearthnews.com/DIY/...ot-Cellars.aspx
September/October 1974
THE PARTHENON OF ROOT CELLARS
How to build and install a proper root cellar, including digging the hole, support beams, diagrams, photographs, and instructions.


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ILLUSTRATION BY JOE STEUBEN
Our five-year search was over. We had found our home in the country: Sky Meadow, one hundred sixty acres of pasture, pines, junipers, bubbling springs and a panoramic 60-mile view of valley, mountain, sky and weather. It was nine months later before we took up residence in what?barring a subdivision and shopping center on the next section?will be our final move.

We arrived, grossly overloaded, on June 1, after three days of "unusually heavy" rains. The mile and a half of rutted tracks from the country road had turned into an impassable morass of adobe muck. A neighbor rancher down in the valley led us 12 miles through the forest on graveled logging roads to a spot only a quarter of a mile from the cabin. We packed in essentials and made camp, awaiting the drying of the roads.

While we waited out the three days of sunny, dry weather before the roads became passable, we explored our domain and planned our summer. The garden would go down there on that flat next to the orchard. We'd develop the spring uphill from the cabin first, and then the other two . . . one for the garden and the other for the duck pond. One benefit of the cabin siding being off was that it would be easy to insulate and wire. We could get the poles for the deer fence over in that big stand of junipers on the east forty. I had to do something about that log shed before it collapsed. And that fallen-in root cellar . . . .

Where did the time go? Suddenly we were well into our second summer and Joanie kept complaining that if the root cellar wasn't completed soon we could split the turnips, rutabagas and kohlrabi and use them for cordwood. And I'd horse another 125-pound railroad tie into position and exclaim, "Only five more courses to go . . . then comes the roof!"

The 8' X 12' hole at the brow of the hill had, in fact, been started over a year before. Willing summer visitors had wielded shovel, bar and pick with fervor and vigor?for a few minutes?and then had suddenly become more interested in the beer in the spring box or the view or just conversation . . . the least of our needs during summer working weather.

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Desultory stabs were made at "the hole" after the spring thaw but seemed to deepen it little. Other priorities beckoned: tilling, planting the garden, getting in next winter's wood (ideally done the prior spring), repairing winter damage to the road, clearing the last mile of the REA pole line, improving the big spring, digging 21 eight-foot-deep pole holes for the electricity and a few other miscellanea.

Along about early July, Joanie consulted her planting charts and announced, "I have to have a root cellar by September 1." (The garden was, by then, doing its thing all by itself with a little help from Joanie . . . like beetle picking, earwig smashing and applying three tons of hay mulch.)

"OK, big mouth. You'll have a root cellar." Back to the pick and shovel. At a depth of four feet a ledge of basalt intruded, and half the last three feet of "the hole" came out in small pieces with the judicious application of sledge and wedge.

Sometime around mid-August we had a hole hacked into the hill, 8' X 12' horizontally X 7' deep. The original plan had been to do the cellar in concrete and rock, using the Nearings' built-up form method. However, the prospect of hauling all that sand and gravel from the riverbed 12 miles away?plus cement from our 60-mile-distant supply source?made the alternative of railroad ties attractive indeed . . . especially when we found a bunch advertised at $1.25 each. (Around here, these days, they bring $2.00-$3.00 apiece . . . if you can find them. And a few years ago they were free for the hauling!) The supply was only 80 miles away and we could haul 25 per load in the pickup.

Three trips later a pile of 70 ties reposed grandly on the hill beside "the hole".

"OK, Joanie. September 1: root cellar, Right?"

We moved our goodies in on October 10, only six weeks behind schedule. Not bad by country standards.

Here are some details of our cellar's construction: The contour of the grade dictated that the storage room's outer door be slanted at 45 degrees, with steps leading down into the vestibule and the inner door. Had the grade been steeper a straight walk-in would have been less trouble but not quite so traditional . . . you can't slide down a vertical cellar door.

Since the bottom of "the hole" was either basalt or hardpan 'dobe, we needed only a minimal foundation. The forms were constructed of salvaged 2 X 4's and were left in place after the concrete set to provide nailers for the later trim.

While we waited for the concrete to cure, we thought it prudent to build a model of the cellar to 1"=1' scale so that foul-ups could be made on a tabletop with square homemade Lincoln Logs rather than at the jobsite. This proved to be one of the wisest moves in the whole project. Several modifications to my plans resulted, and when the ties went in they all fit nicely.

We laid up our storage room's walls by interlocking the eightfoot ties in "crib" style. Having neither electricity nor a large drill motor at the time of conception, I had planned to toenail the chunks of wood together using 40d ring-neck spikes. Later, acquisition of a portable generator and 1/2" drill motor made pegging not only preferable but possible. (Incidentally, the only drill bit for punching deep holes in ties, logs, etc., is the single fluted "ship auger".) Spikes were in fact used in conjunction with the other method, but the pegging halved the quantity of nails required and ensured alignment of the timbers.

Our ties, which had lain out in the central Oregon desert for decades, had developed both longitudinal crowns and humps across their short axes. Therefore, each had to be fitted to its mate beneath. Before lay-up I removed the bulges?by using a chain saw as a super-rasp?to eliminate the rocking of one beam upon the other. The long crown was compensated for by "cut and try" fitting. This meant that more than half the ties had to be handled several times (moved from one side to another until a fit was found). Timbers too twisted or crowned for the walls were set aside for the roof.

Horsing 125-pound ties, I should mention, is not an ideal oneman job. It can be done, but a guy tends to get armweary . . . especially as the walls grow higher.

As the sides of our cellar crept upward, we prepared for backfilling by stuffing the cracks and unavoidable spaces between the ties with lambs' wool (courtesy of a neighboring rancher). The backfill was then liberally wet down into a mud slurry and tamped with a 2 X 4. Very little seeped through the caulking and, after drying, the walls became?for want of a better expression-selfgrouted. Above grade we stapled tar paper to the outside of the storage room before banking earth to the eaves.

(At this point Joanie, one eye on the slow progress and the other on the burgeoning garden, announced, "Look, all I wanted was a root cellar, not the Taj Mahal!" Visualizing the ultimate roofline, I asked, "Would you settle for the Parthenon?")

By early frost in September the roof was ready to go on . . . but first shelves had to be built and a couple of loads of river gravel brought up for flooring. We'd considered a Buckboard floor of 2 X 4's until a neighbor pointed out what an ideal home that would make for black widow spiders. Besides, the gravel was free. I made the shelves of 3/4" particleboard seconds at $1.50 a sheet (to beat the almost prohibitive cost of pine or plywood).

Apples and pears demanded harvesting . . . frostbitten tomato plants needed a home where their fruit could ripen . . . turnips, potatoes, rutabagas and kohlrabi yearned for release from their earthly confines (the parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes stay in the ground over winter) . . . and still the work went on. Lest this sound as if the cellar was an allconsuming three-month project, it should be noted that during the same time a goat pole barn was under construction and those 21 foundation holes were progressing slowly.

By September's end the cellar's shelves were in place and its roof was going on. Ties were laid?best side down?from wall to wall to create the ceiling. We fitted a length of 6" bule flue in the center for ventilation, with a butterfly draft control installed near the top of the cellar. (During times of extreme cold we just shove a gunny sack into the pipe.)

Then we laid a 2" X 12" ridgepole on the flat roof of the ties, followed by a double layer of tar paper with dirt atop to create an insulation barrier grading from 12" at the ridge to 4" at the eaves. This same contour was carried through on the vestibule where 3 X 12's were used for the ceiling instead of ties. Both roofs were then decked with 1 X 12's and covered with tar paper, with 90-pound, green roll roofing over all.

Our early plans called for mounding dirt completely over the roof, but so much earth was used in changing the grade around the cellar to insure runoff of rain and snow-melt that there wasn't enough left for cover. In summer, when grass has been planted right up to the eaves, the green roofing will match the surroundings nicely. When the grasses die . . . voila! Farm-style Astroturf.

The steps leading from grade down to cellar level were also made of ties, set directly on sculptured hardpan and held by 3' lengths of pipe driven through and into the ground. They were further reinforced by pouring the base of the small retaining walls directly onto the ties. Adhesion of the concrete to both the timbers and the vestibule wall was insured by a number of large spikes driven into all mating surfaces, leaving adequate shank exposed to mate with the pour.

The steps and retaining walls served as a foundation when we framed up the storage room's entry to accommodate the double exterior doors. Salvaged 1 X 12's served as both in terior and outdoor siding, with fiberglass insulation between. The inner door (between the dead-air space of the vestibule and the main cellar) is an old hollow-core type once used as a table. It seems to be ideal, as the air cells between the veneer faces make an excellent thermal barrier.

Our root cellar runs good. During the fall and winter, when outside temperatures ranged from the 80's to the teens, the inside varied only from 48? to 52? F . . . ideal, incidentally, for lagering home brew. Later in the winter, when overnight cold dropped to 20? below and the days hovered between 5? and 10? above zero, the lowest reading in our storage room was 34? . . . and two 60-watt light bulbs left burning pushed it up to 40?.

Final touches will be applied as weather and mood dictate: trim at the eaves and overhang, gravel walk, rock retaining wall and facade. But these, though practical, are mostly cosmetic. For now, it's good to know that our provender fares better this year than last. Our first winter we tried the hay bale method of root preservation. It didn't work . . . the deer ate our "root cellar".




All articles in this Archive are reprinted just as they were originally published; the publication date is shown in the URL address at the top of the page. Source listings, addresses and prices have not been updated; some details may have changed and terminology may be outmoded.
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[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->
http://www.earth-house.com/Disaster...ot_cellars.html





Root Cellar Poem by Shawn
























Storage of Home Grown Vegetables-Here is a method that uses a metal barrel at an angle, similar to the garbage can method in some respects.




Store Your Food-In the old days people relied on pantries and root cellars to help keep produce and other provisions fresh.




Earthly Pursuits- The War Garden Victorious - Victory Edition 1919 War Gardening and Home Storage of Vegetables




Hope Lodge-The floor of the root cellar is a clay dirt. The large stone mass is the structurally supporting chimney stack, similar to the one in the meat cellar, and it too may have had shelves inside originally.




Garbage Can Root Cellar-Cheap mans way to store vegetables during the winter from Permapak.


And what a congress of stinks!-
Roots ripe as old bait,
Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich,
Leaf mold, manure, lime, piled against slippery planks,
Nothing would give up life:
Even the dirt kept breathing a small breath.
- Theodore Roethke, Root Cellar, 1948

other quotes


There are various types of Root Cellars including ones connected and those separate from your home. Some made from earth and others made from old freezers, culverts, cement or simple garbage cans. Whatever your choice they are excellent for year around food storage. Remember safety though and make sure your root cellar is well ventilated if its large enough to walk into.


A Plan for All Seasons Why winter was NOT just a cold gruel world for 1830's New Englanders By Mark Ashton From Old Sturbridge Visitor, Winter 1997.

A Root Cellar for Your Homestead-The low-tech root cellar, will keep your harvest fresh for two months or longer, depending on what you store, without ozone-depleting refrigeration, or electricity.

BBC-Short article on Root Cellars-Dig a hole and voila, a root cellar.

Building an outside root cellar-Werner Gysi wrote this nice little article on building and designing a root cellar. Visit his home page on Harmonic Farming.

Country Life-Mrs. Restino's Root Cellars Remembering the joys of root-cellaring

The Cutting Edge-Harvesting and storing-Cooking and eating fresh from the garden is one of life's great pleasures. Continuing to enjoy your home-grown produce during the depths of winter however, can be equally as satisfying, and easily achieved by following a few simple steps.

Ehow-How to make a root cellar from your deep freezer or old fridge.

Elliston-Root Cellar Capital of Newfoundland. If you ever get to this part of Canada visit some of the 100+ cellars.

Emergency Food Storage-The Epi-Center provides imformation of the Pallet Root Center.

The Essential Carrot-Some day I would like to own a root cellar, an unheated room of modest proportions with a dirt floor, and enough space inside for a few barrels of potatoes and other root crops and boxes of apples that need low temperatures and high moisture to store well.

The Free-Lance Star-What's the best way to store vegetables? 11/9/2002 "SOMETHING THAT MIGHT be useful for your 'Worth Trying' box," a fellow gardener said to me the other day as we were both in line buying coffee, "is that you can pick green tomatoes and they will ripen if you pack them right."

Home Storage of Fruits and Vegetables in a Root Cellar-Information from the University of Missouri-Columbia

Integrated Publishers-Provides information on storing food underground including in boxes.

Keeping Food Cool-Use of Root Cellars from Concord Magazine.

Michigan State University Extension-Plans for a Potato Cellar.

Mother Earth News-Sept/Oct 1990 Stocking the Root Cellar Also Year Around Harvest from 1991.. Building an outdoor Root Cellar from 1998.

No Root Cellar?-Long before there were climate-controlled crispers, the root cellar kept the kitchen supplied with fresh vegetables during the cold winter months.

Pioneer Thinking-Preserving your harvest-Cold storage of vegetables such as cabbage, beets, carrots, potatoes, squash, and turnips can give you the best tasting and healthiest food of the four methods, and may even be the least expensive in the long run. And you can eat every one of these garden-fresh even 4 to 6 months after they've been harvested!

Pit Storage-Unusual design from Backwoods Home Magazine for storing your fruits and veggies.

Return of the Root Cellars-Informative place for food storage from Canada

Root Cellar Home Page-Walton Feed puts together an excellent page for you to do research on root cellars. Visit all the pages for lots of info. Dugout Here.

Minnesota Dept of Agriculture--Root Cellaring and Computer-controlled Ventilation for Efficient Storage of Organic Vegetables in a Northern Market

Root Cellar Storage-Potatoes, squash, purpose of ethylene and more

Root Cellars-Construction and usage-Can also listen to hoe-down music if you wish.

Root Cellars-Root cellars have long been used to store food in order to increase the diversity of flavors on the winter table. Root cellars allow roots and other crops to be preserved through cooler weather in cool, dark, and moderately humid storage space.

Storage of Home Grown Vegetables-Article that provides various methods of using the earth as a cooler for your gourds and veggies.

Storing Vegetables-using a box in the basement or a buried garbage ca

Troubled Times-Some good tips from someone who has practiced storing vegetables in his root cellar.

Vegetable Listing-So you've got the root cellar ready for stocking. But what vegetables should you include and how long can they be stored?

Vegetable Storage In Root Cellars-Methods in the cold of Alaska.

Walk In Cooler-Pretty neat picture of a domed? root cellar.





Nepa Newsletter-Root Cellars were the everyman's refrigerator before the days of electricity. Learn what you can because those days could come again.




Winter Storage of Vegetables--Some thirty years ago, an international student from eastern Europe remarked to me that what she found most intriguing upon her first trip to the supermarket in the United States was the sight of bins upon bins of fresh fruits and vegetables.




Shy Bear Farm-As a child growing up on a farm, I remember the root cellar so well. Although it was damp and dark, the sight of row upon row of canned fruits and vegetables were a sight to behold. As an adult, I always wanted to have my own root cellar and see it full of garden produce to be savored in both sight and taste.




Garden.org-National Gardening Editors. How to Store Root Crops Here's how to have the produce from your fall garden last long and well in storage




The greenhouse is really part of a system that includes a ? acre garden/orchard and a root cellar. Sunlight enters the greenhouse through 220 square feet of double- pane glass and warms eight 18 inch diameter, 5 foot tall, plastic tubes that hold 450 gallons of water and act as a sort of thermal shock absorber by storing heat during the day and giving it back during the night.




Potato Cellar-This old cellar is built into the side of a hill in Michigan.


"Celery may be harvested and stored directly in trenches that are dug for that purpose. Pull the celery plants and pack them upright in the trench. Cover with paper, boards and soil. They will root, bleach, tenderize and develop a nutty flavor when removed in late December."
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[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Simple Indoor Root Cellar 8 Ft. x 10 Ft.

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THE RETURN OF THE ROOT CELLARS


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A root cellar for fall and winter storage is a must for any latitude, even in the far south where cold-season temperatures may not reach a cellar?s ideal levels between 32 and 40 degrees F. But, the simple fact is, the cooler one keeps any food (with few exceptions), the longer it will last. And let us suppose that one has a working windmill, which, as is most often the case, barely provides the very basic electrical needs of a home. Wouldn't it be highly advantageous to place a refrigerator and freezer in the root cellar?s 55-degree winter environment rather than in the 68-degree environment of the house? A 13-degree difference (or more) would translate into a substantial reduction in required electrical output!

You may manage to equip your trib? home with refrigerators and freezers, but what if the electrical source(s) you plan to use will not hold out? Therefore, for bulk storage under such unreliable tribulation circumstances, a large root cellar or two is a very wise choice, especially when they are not much more than glorified holes in the ground (i.e. not very expensive). If cellars can keep fresh foods edible for even a month longer than the case would be without them, while also providing better summer temperatures for canned and dried foods, cellars will be indispensable additions to all our efforts. But in mid-to-northern latitudes, you?ll get a lot more than a month in fall and winter, for many foods.

A root cellar and cold cellar are the same thing. It calls for high humidity of 80-90% in order to keep fresh vegetables from losing their moisture and shriveling up. A damp soil floor provides this condition best. A concrete floor will provide lower humidity, but this is a better condition for some fresh foods, not to mention dry goods. Some root cellars wisely include two rooms, one with, and one without, a concrete floor.

In cold climates, why not include four rooms: 1) for fresh foods that must not freeze: consider using insulated walls and soil floor; 2) for fresh foods that may safely freeze, and requiring high humidity in the warmer fall and spring seasons: consider soil floors and no wall insulation; 3) for fresh foods in well-sealed containers, and for dry foods: consider painted/sealed concrete floors and walls, with no insulation; 4) for fresh foods requiring some, but not high, humidity: consider an unpainted concrete floor. Having these different options will allow you to shift foods from one environment to another at any one time of the year, to achieve better conditions.

Although fresh foods won't go as far in arid lands, extending the life of dried foods will more than make up for the trouble and expense of building a root cellar there. And since arid regions are ideal for drying foods in the sun, there will be plenty of dried foods to store. Moreover, if you don?s mind wetting the cellar?s floor (and/or walls) from time to time, the cellar can attain some decent humidity levels for fresh foods. Gravel floors provide the best "humidifiers" in such circumstances, especially if the gravel is several inches deep so as to hold a pool of water at the bottom (you walk on a "dry" or unsoaked surface). You won't have to water as often with the deep-gravel method.

While the ideal root-cellar combination for fresh foods is low temperature and high humidity, the worst situation is not, as we might at first expect, high temperatures and low humidity. The worst would be high temperatures and high humidity because this combination is best for nurturing bacteria, mold and yeast. Therefore, ideal cellar conditions calls for high humidity only for its ability to maintain freshness. Low temperatures (above freezing) are then needed to counter the bacteria/mould problems created by high humidity.

If we arrange to lower the humidity level somewhat and sacrifice some freshness in the process, rot would be reduced also, perhaps creating a better survival situation. Indeed, the best combination for dealing with rot becomes low temperatures and low humidity, exactly what?s desired for dry goods not needing any humidity. But so what if an apple shrinks some? If rot doesn't set in while it shrinks, thanks be to the cold temperatures, the only thing it will lose is water. The nutrients will still be in that apple! When we are hungry, safe-to-eat shriveled foods will taste mighty awesome! And any dry food can be made wet again by wetting and/or boiling.

Having no lining in the cellar at all (i.e. just soil walls) would net higher humidity than, say, stone walls. But beware. A mere hole in the ground to act as a root cellar will allow rodents to get in and seize your treasures. If you could properly drape chicken wire on the soil walls, that would likely keep varmints out, but not the insects. And you definitely don't want to use insecticide in your cellar!! Stone, mortared walls are best, I think. Just make sure the walls lean a little outward so that they won't cave into the cellar during the wet season.

Understand that there is a difference between infected and shriveled. Moreover, there is a third condition wherein the fresh food will deteriorate under its own metabolism, rot or no rot, if not blanched/boiled. This is why foods going into cans or jars must first be boiled, even when going into vinegar, salt or sugar solutions where bacteria are killed without boiling.

For a dry cellar housing dried foods, a cheaper and easier alternative to stone or concrete walls is tongue-and-groove plywood and wood studding. To keep rodents with sharp teeth out, metal screening tacked to the plywood, and overlapped a good distance at the joints, would work fine. To keep the plywood from rotting, it should be sealed with an exterior-grade sealer, preferably the black-tar product used on the basements of homes (driveway sealer might work too). This tar should also keep out the ants and termites, but I'm no authority on that one. Take precautions with the toxic chemicals in pressure-treated plywood/studs; you should keep all dried foods in air-tight containers, anyway, and this will also add protection against mice and ants.

By using the studding method, you can easily insulate between some, or all, studs. If it becomes necessary to altar humidity/temperature. You might buy the insulation and install it anyway, whether you think you'll need it or not, as you can always take it out at will. But you won't likely be able to buy it in the tribulation.

The only drawback to the wood-wall method is that water may get in through the joints of the plywood, especially at ground level (near the cellar?s ceiling). But if you build a structure/pantry above the cellar, this threat is much reduced, and even eliminated if that structure is large enough to extend a few feet past the cellar walls. Otherwise, caulk the studs at the plywood joints before applying the plywood to them. Then caulk directly over the joints after screwing the plywood on. Finally, adhere a 4-inch wood strap to each joint using the caulk as a glue, and you should be as water-tight as Noah for the few years that you'll need the cellar. Frost and humidity in the outer soil can do a lot of damage, so screw everything, rather than nail.

Building a pantry over a root cellar intended for fresh foods will protect from freezing; the more northerly the location, the further out from all cellar walls this pantry (or garage) should span. But if you go too far, soil humidity won't be able to reach the walls. I would say that pantry walls three feet maximum from the cellar walls ought to be sufficient for the northern US. That is, if your cellar is 8 x 8 feet, make the pantry 14 x 14 (or 14 x 11 if it?s attached to a house). Keep in mind that this building, acting as the cellar?s roof, is an exceptional sun screen as well as a convenient storage area, in cool seasons, for dried, canned, and even some fresh foods.

Create a perfectly smooth ceiling in the cellar. The more protrusions there are in building materials (i.e. joists and beams), the more area there will be for condensation to form. This means more drips and puddles on your shelves and in your food baskets. You want humidity for fresh vegetables, yes, but in the air, not pools in the containers. If your ceiling structure consists of wood beams or rafters, nail unfinished plywood (definitely not pressure-treated) to form the smooth ceiling. Indeed, leave the plywood natural, and clean it now and then, by spraying a bleach and water solution, so that whatever drips do form won't transport unwanted molds to your foods.

The root cellar needs temperature-control pipes, which are a simple matter to install during the cellar?s construction (not so easy later). Because warm(er) air rises, put an exhaust pipe (6 inches in diameter) at the top of the room, going straight out the ceiling and into the pantry. Or, if that upper room will be heated, run the pipe outside and then upward to avoid the breeze. Screen the top opening of the pipe to keep pests out, and add a solid cover two inches above the opening/screen to keep out bird droppings and rain.

A second air pipe for intake, through a wall near the floor, will allow cold air to enter the cellar as warmer air rises out the exhaust pipe. But as the location of this pipe's exit through the cellar wall will be underground, the pipe will need to rise through the soil and into the atmosphere.

Of course, this intake pipe must reach the atmosphere outside the pantry, where it can catch cold breezes. Put an elbow on the upper end of this pipe, therefore, so that horizontal breezes come straight into the elbow?s opening. But don't glue, screw or tape the elbow on; leave it loose so that it can be turned. Point it north to receive the coldest air currents when you need them. Turn the elbow away from the north if you need to warm things up in the cellar, or if you need winds from other directions for cooling. If you position the intake pipe against the south pantry wall so that access to north winds is unavailable, it'll be your loss.

While in extremely cold or warm spells you can cap this pipe opening (e.g. with plastic film), don't forget to uncap it in due time because you need the constant air circulation in the cellar to remove air-borne molds. When you build shelving, do not let the rears of shelves contact the cellar walls, as this restricts air circulation around shelves and promotes molds on foods. Leave a 3-inch gap between shelf and wall.

When cold wind is blowing directly into the intake pipe, it will also force cellar air into the pantry if the exhaust pipe terminates there. The pantry will also cool, therefore, which may or may not be what you want so that it would be a good idea to provide a removable cap for the exhaust pipe as well. Or, even better, provide a permanent cap that is an adjustable vent so that you can dictate at any time how much it will be opened or closed. If this exhaust pipe can double as a water drain, for the times that you need higher humidity in the cellar, that?s using your noggin. No need to carry a large bucket of water down the stairs, just pour into the pipe from the pantry--but make sure the water pours onto the cellar floor directly, not first on the foods. Or just run a garden hose permanently into the cellar [duh].

Some root cellars are built into hills and buried on three sides with a normal, walk-in door on the unburied side. Others are completely buried and must be entered by stairs (often) accessed through a door in the ceiling. If maximum coolness is a priority, as it will be in the south, then bury the cellar completely. As an alternative to a ceiling entrance, a stairwell can be dug just outside a cellar wall with a landing at the bottom, where an insulated door can be installed leading into the cellar. Keep that door out of the sun, of course, and away from the hot summer breeze.

Much of the information I am using here is from the book, "ROOT CELLARING" (Mike and Nancy Bubel, Rodale Press). Their latest books can be obtained from http://www.amazon.com. Though not intended for tribulation survival, I have been able to get a good bit of pertinent information. The authors claim that with proper management and air conditions, the following foods (in the upper latitudes of the US) can be enjoyed in the following months:

"fresh endive in December, tender, savory Chinese cabbage in January; juicy apples in February, crisp, fresh carrots in March; and sturdy unsprayed potatoes in April--all without boiling a jar, blanching a vegetable, or filling a freezer bag" (page xvii).
For tribulation survival, it is not necessary that we have "tender," "savory," and "crisp" vegetables. Therefore, under the same climatic circumstances, we could have the above-named vegetables one or two months later and still be bouncy-pleased. And if this is the sort of success story that Mike and Nancy got with exposed plants, imagine what we could do with plastic containers, plastic bags, and dried foods in the same cool conditions. We should easily be able to sustain ourselves with crops alone until the next harvest. Yet, we could plan to store foods that last much longer than vegetables in the first place. In all, the authors say that they could keep 33 different vegetables in open storage, and that spells variety on top of survival.

FRESH-FOOD LONGEVITY

It is important to harvest vegetables at their peak, "neither underdeveloped nor past their prime," for best longevity results in cold storage. It is also important to treat them all with special care because the slightest bruising invites molds and bacteria, and these then spread to others vegetables. As soon as you see a rotting or molding section of any vegetable, get rid of it. Slice off the bad part and eat the rest, or throw it into the compost heap. Inspect cellar foods often.

For trib' survivalists, the longer into the winter or spring we can eat our produce, the better. Therefore, it is important to time the final harvest for the latest possible date. As well as planting vegetables as early as possible in the spring to be able to eat them as soon as possible in late spring or early summer, plant a sizable crop later than usual so that their peak arrives only in the nick of time before the killing frost. This late crop will represent your fresh supply of food in winter, so don't skimp.

Plant lots of cool-weather crops in this later phase, not just because they can survive some frost and thereby last longer in the soil than other vegetables, but because, as any good gardener knows, many cool-weather crops taste better after frost has nipped them. Among these are parsnips, salsify (also called "oyster plant"), kale, Brussels sprouts, collards, and Chinese cabbage.

Moreover, rooted vegetables (e.g. potatoes, carrots) can safely stay in the ground past the first frosts too. Every vegetable has its unique period of growth, and you'll need a good book on gardening to know the lengths of each one in order to time their harvests as late as you can. Take into consideration that vegetables planted later than normal will grow slower in the cooler months of fall than the books indicate. Have a garden expert with you in the tribulation!!! Take him on board for free. (All you Christian gardeners without money of your own to buy and build a tribulation refuge, others who are without your skills might give you a room in exchange.)

Some factors in the gardening department add to storage life. For example, potatoes grown in sandy soils last longer in storage than those grown in heavy soils. According to studies, both fruits and vegetables grown in soil with high potash levels store better and longer than others. Wood ashes, which should be in abundant supply for most trib' survivors, are a good source of potash. Manure is also a good source of potassium. So store the ashes all winter long where the wind won't blow them away, and any manure your animals provide can be collected at the first thaw, but don't over-dose your garden soil. You might think that adding fertilizer generously is good, but while you get larger yields, high levels of nitrogen will increase the rate at which some vegetables age, even after they've been picked, thus reducing their cellar shelf life.

Understand that by adding plenty of nitrogen to the soil apart from adding plenty of leaves, grass, food scraps, vines, etc., you're doing more harm than good. The soil's nitrogen content is required by the bacteria feeding on organic matter, and, if you're going to give these bacteria a nitrogen feast, it would be very desirable if there's an organic target in the soil other than the roots of your vegetables!

As organic scraps (compost) in the soil are broken down by bacteria, heat is released, which happens to be the magic pill that makes plants grow (or the overdose causing root burn). For, as the heat expands in the soil, it forces its way into roots. As it does so, it pushes along all the soil?s chemicals dissolved in ground water, and, if the root system can accept the molecules, they will be forced further up by the same heat energy, into the stems and leaves.

The more heat in the soil, the more that water and chemical nutrients enter the root system and pass through the stems, and the larger and more-succulent the plants will tend to grow. Of course, heat may be added to the soil in other ways aside from nitrogen-consuming bacteria. Remember this key for your greenhouse, and keep the soil warm. Elevated tables, off the cold floor, are ideal. If there is not enough nitrogen in the soil, nor enough organic matter, heat production will be stunted, and plant growth will suffer accordingly.

If plants take in too much water in relation to nutrients, they will not last as long in the cellar, stressing the importance of a garden soil that drains well. Don't over-water. Clearly, aside from root-cellaring information, you must get a book which discusses soil preparation. Many books on vegetable gardening will include a section on preparing soil, but this section is sometimes too elementary.

Cold storage decreases the natural metabolism of fresh food so that it doesn't age itself into mush. But, of course! For, if adding heat causes plants to grow, removing heat causes growth (all chemical reactions) to be suspended. Aside from infections, fruits and vegetables can be destroyed by their natural respiration process, as the addition of oxygen changes their chemical states into something we don't care to eat. Darn oxygen! It?s great for life, but also has this thorny tendency to oxidize everything into ruin.

In some cases, vitamins are also lost with the said respiration process. Blanching (dipping in hot water), or other treatments, will retard/stop aging. Peas only require one minute in boiling water to stop the aging process, but corn on the cob needs 10 minutes. Most other vegetables fall between these two extremes. Blanching is a good way to save foods that are about to go bad, when no other preservation method is available to save them. However, if you like fresh carrots and apples as opposed to cooked, or partially cooked, ones, build yourself an excellent root cellar.

Cold weather at the garden site at harvest time is a positive factor because vegetables are prone to store more sugars and starch and less water in these periods. Having a lower water content, they are also have more stuff, and this keeps their water content from evaporating as easily on the shelf. Mike and Nancy suggest leaving the vegetables in the soil as long as possible by covering them with 12 to 18 inches of mulch (dried leaves, grass, straw, etc.) to keep them from freezing. As they can be kept in the ground for two to four weeks longer by this method, not only are they skirting deterioration all the while, as would be the case on a cellar shelf, but they are storing up more sugars and starch so that they last longer on that shelf when ultimately placed there.

Freezing is fine for some fresh vegetables and destructive to others (e.g. potatoes). However, you'll want to avoid completely, with all vegetables, the repeated freezing and thawing that can take place in root cellars from warm spell to cold spell and back to warm. You?ll solve that problem if you build a section of your root cellar that never freezes during these wavering spells on either side of the winter deep-freeze (i.e. on either side of January/February).

With so much time on our hands in the tribulation, there's no reason why we couldn't reap additional benefits by replanting some vegetables in the cellar, after the winter temperatures become too hazardous for their outdoor existence. Of course, don't replant them in the hardened soil floor, but in cases filled with sand or loose soil. This will keep some rooted vegetables for up to one month longer. Or, you can simply heap the vegetables on the cellar floor and cover them with damp, loose soil. Mike and Nancy bury some vegetables in moist saw dust. When needed, they also drape moist cloths over-top of the bushels or crates of food.

Bring most vegetables and fruits into the root cellar immediately after harvesting. Some vegetables, however, such as onions and garlic, need to be dried in the sun for a week before dry-cellar storage. Squash and pumpkins need two weeks in the sun to develop a hard rind, and they need a warm cellar. Sweet potatoes also need to be cured. If you didn't know these basic things, then you need an appropriate book before you spoil your first harvest learning the hard way. Go to http://www.amazon.com, and search for Mike and Nancy Bubel.

Do not clean the vegetables before storage as this will risk bruising. Leave them covered in a layer of dirt if that is how they arrive. Shake off large clumps of dirt, of course, but be gentle. To reduce the clumps, harvest in dry weather. Do not cut the tips of roots off or slice any parts of perfect vegetables as this will invite bacteria to form colonies. Cut off most of the leafy stems of root vegetables to inhibit the escape of water, but leave an inch to keep bacteria from getting into the tops of roots. The tops of beets and parsnips are themselves edible, so take advantage.

If 33% or more of the cellar food is spoiling, something is very wrong. The culprit is likely humidity, temperature, or ventilation. A small percentage of waste is expected so that we should plan on it by growing more to offset. As there will likely be a lack of food in the tribulation, eat the foods that are spoiling first. Cut out the bad parts and discard, or cook them if they are merely bruised. You can even make a nice syrup, sauce, or juice by squeezing any fruit/vegetable that is just beginning to go bad. There are fewer cases of food poisoning from vegetable-based bacteria, though dangerous toxins can be produced from some molds. Beware the deadly botulism. 65% who get it don't live through it. This micro-organism grows where oxygen is absent, and that means there's a chance that every vacuum-packed jar or plastic wrap might contain it. If the can or lid is bloated, don't eat it. If it smells bad, don't eat it. If you're going to die with glorifying God, try to die peacefully.

Make your cellar 12 x 12 feet if you have the gumption. You might make two of them that large, side by side, one drier than the other. Plan on storing enough preserved foods for two years, and view the fresh produce as a bonus. Initially, consider all "strange" Christians who comes knocking for food and shelter as your friends and fellow-laborers. If they won't work and be helpful, however, and all they do is eye lustfully at all that you have, why should you feed them? But if they work, then remember that God did not command Israel to care for widows and the fatherless only, but also aliens. Therefore, a "stranger" that is a sheep is your brother or sister that you must care for; it is the foolish virgins that can be sent away.

The following are root-cellar products that are best stored in cold and very moist conditions (32-40 degrees F and 90-95% relative humidity):

Beets, collards, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, carrots, turnips, radishes, rutabagas, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, celery, salsify, celeriac, parsley, Brussels sprouts, leeks, and kohlrabi.
The following products do best in the same temperatures but at a slightly reduced humidity (80-90%):

Potatoes, endive, escarole, cabbage, cauliflower, quince, apples, pears, oranges, grapefruit, and grapes.
The following do best in 40-45-degree cellars with a relative humidity of 85-90%:

Cucumbers, cantaloupe, eggplant, tomatoes, watermelon, and sweet peppers.
Reduce the temperature and humidity of the following vegetables (35-40 degrees and 60-70%):

Garlic, onions and green soybeans in the pod.
The following need high temperatures and lower humidity (50-60 degrees and 60-70%):

Hot peppers, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, winter squash, and green tomatoes.
You're not going to have a separate root cellar for every different category, but you can work around the less-than-ideal conditions in a number of ways. If the temperature is too cold for some foods, take them out and put them in the attic or an enclosed porch. You can also section off the pantry to have two different temperature conditions. Use your wit to create different places around your house which provide the best possible endurance conditions for various crops, and don't forget you'll have prayer-power at God's disposal when all else fails, so long as you make reasonable efforts of your own.

The following list provides the near upper limits of preservation times for vegetables kept in their ideal conditions, so long as they are kept in air-tight wraps or covered with a damp material (saw dust, towel, dirt, etc.). If you know temperature and/or humidity conditions will not be ideal, reduce their shelf life accordingly. Remember that they will often remain edible longer than the times given. Although every case will not be exactly the same, use this list as a guide for determining how many vegetables of certain kinds you will plant.

For example, the guide makes it plain that you should plant lots of potatoes and carrots as they might last 4-6 months, while you wouldn't plant too much broccoli since it keeps in a good condition only for weeks. Where specific times were not available, I have entered "long keeper" or "good keeper," and you can plan on growing lots of these with confidence. Leafy vegetables are not included as they are generally not good keepers in their fresh states, not at all meaning that you shouldn't plant any (you can always preserve them in other ways). Remember also that you can extend the upper limits by keeping them in the garden longer while protecting them from freezes, or by replanting them on the cellar shelf/floor.

Don't be fooled by writers who give carrots, for example, a mere 7-14 days in the refrigerator, even when wrapped in plastic bags. If your not the queen, you can handle eating carrots after months in a cool spot, and if they are rubbery after a certain time, you can boil or fry them up to gather in their vitamins. You can preserve them as relishes in vinegar at any time if you don't like how they have come to taste in the fresh state, or cook them in broths/stews.

Beets 4-5 months
Broccoli 1-2 weeks
Brussels Sprouts 3-5 weeks
Cabbage (long keeper)
Chinese Cabbage 1-2 months
Carrots 4-6 months
Cauliflower 2-4 weeks
Celery (long keeper)
Chives (not a root-cellar crop)
Collards 1-2 weeks
Cucumbers 2-3 weeks
Eggplant 1-2 weeks
Horse Radish (long keeper)
Jerusalem Artichokes 1-2 months
Kohlrabi (long keeper)
Leeks N/A
Onions (good keeper)
Parsnips 1-2 months
Pepper (good keeper)
Sweet Potatoes (long keeper)
Potatoes 4-6 months
Pumpkin (good keeper)
Radishes 2-3 months
Rutabagas 2-4 months
Salsify (good keeper)
Soybeans (long keepers)
Squash 4-6 months
Tomatoes 1-2 months
Turnips (long keepers)
The following lists give you an inkling as to how long certain vegetables can keep in the garden soil before the cold weather demands their removal indoors. You'll need a good book on gardening to tell you what their maximum outdoor stays should be. Generally, the less susceptible they are to frost, the longer you can keep the veggies in the ground past their maximums using a 12-18-inch covering of mulch. You might consider building a two-to-three foot wall all around the garden to keep the cold winds off the plants during this period that you are stretching their garden life. This will also keep all your mulch from blowing away, and the wall can even act as a solid foundation for a temporary greenhouse frame that you could quickly erect and drape with inexpensive plastic film, to keep the plants in their garden soils even longer.


Very Susceptible to Frost:

Cucumbers, Eggplant, Lettuce, Squash, Sweet Peppers, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Pumpkins.
Moderately Susceptible to Frost:

Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage (young), Carrots, Cauliflower, Escarole, Garlic, Onions, Celery, Spinach, Parsley, Peas, Radishes.
Least Susceptible to Frost:

Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage (mature), Collards, Kale, Kohlrabi, Parsnips, Salsify, Turnips