12:13 pm - 48 degrees - light rain and fog...
You
stroll out in to the garden, picking ripe fruits and vegetables, knowing that
come February you’ll still be enjoying their freshness. For those of us attracted to the romantic
aspects of self-sufficient life, this is an appealing scenario and one that we’re
seriously looking into. After searching
the internet and Pinterest – this is what I found out...
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| {photo source: pinterest.com} |
Root
cellars, the ancient technology that enables the long-term storage of your
garden’s bounty, are currently
experiencing a rediscovery, but not merely because of the pleasures of eating
self-grown food, but also because of the actual possibility of reducing
expenses and providing for significant food storage in times of potential
trouble.
Here
is a little history on root cellars... Native Australians were the first people
to take advantage of the cooling and insulative properties of buried foodstuffs
in the earth. Records indicate that over
40,000 years ago they grew large amounts of yams and developed the technique of
burying their produce in order to preserve it for future use. In the process, they also discovered the
phenomenon of fermentation, and ever since, alcoholic beverages have been a
large portion of those products stored in underground repositories.
Underground
storage facilities from the Iron Age have been discovered, and the Etruscans
commonly buries their immature wine, but the actual use of walk-in root cellars
as a means to prolong the freshness of fruit and vegetable crops was probably
an invention that occurred in 17th century England. It might seem surprising that the great
civilizations of China and Egypt did not develop root cellars, but the Chinese
were the masters of food preservation via salting, pickling and the additions
of spices; the Egyptians, residents of an arid environment, were the masters at
drying food. It took the right
combination of cool winters and hungry Englishmen to finally invent the concept
of root cellars.
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| Early American root cellar. {photo source: pinterest.com} |
Certainly
the most notable practitioners of root cellar arts were the early colonists
that arrived in North America from the United Kingdom. The eastern halves of America and Canada
contain thousands of old root cellars, and the small Newfoundland town of
Elliston actually claims the title of “Root Cellar Capital of the World,” and
boasts of over 135 root cellars, some dating back 200 years.
What
exactly is a root cellar? A root cellar
is a structure built underground or partially underground and used to store
vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods.
The basis of all root cellars is their ability to keep food cool. They were, essentially, the first
refrigerators. A well-insulated root
cellar can keep the food inside 40 degrees cooler than the summertime
temperatures outside. This coolness also
has benefits during the winter, as maintaining food at a temperature just
slightly above freezing has the effect of slowing deterioration and rot. Temperatures inside the home, even in
basements, are noticeably warmer, so food stored inside the house have a
tendency to spoil much more rapidly than food stored in a cooler root
cellar. Temperatures above 45 degrees F
cause toughness in most stored vegetables, and encourage undesirable sprouting
and considerably more rapid spoilage.
The
temperature in a root cellar is never uniform.
The temperature near the ceiling is usually 10 degrees warmer than
elsewhere in the cellar, so the ceiling area is therefore appropriate for
placement of produce that tolerates warmer temperatures well, such as onions,
garlic, and shallots.
What
can you plan on storing in your root cellar once you build it? Certainly, many of us probably have visions
of root cellars in the 19th century, packed with bushels of apples
and sacks full of potatoes. Today’s root
cellars are really not much different, and potatoes and apples are two
eminently storable garden products. But
the problem with that pair is that they don’t really go well together. Apples have a tendency to emit ethylene gas,
which causes problems for potatoes stored nearby, and will also make any
exposed carrots or other root crops bitter.
As a matter of fact, many fruits, including plums, pears, and peaches,
and some vegetables, such as tomatoes, cabbage and Chinese cabbage, are also
notorious ethylene producers.
Luckily,
there are ways around this problem. A
good root cellar has a variety of shelves, some higher than others, and some
closer to the air vents. Placing the
ethylene producers up high and nearer the exit vents has a tendency to move
harmful gases away from produce stored on the floor below. Many root crops are also regularly stored in
boxes of loose soil or sawdust, further insulating them from their neighbors’
emissions. Some produce, like cabbages
and onions, often emit odors that can taint the flavors of other vegetables, as
well as fruits, so finding high, remote corners for these pungent items is a
good idea too.
One of
the key control features of a root cellar is the set of air vents that allow
air to enter and exit the cellar. These
vents not only allow a greater amount of temperature adjustment than available to
a static space, but the air circulation can also be a valuable tool to deal
with the ethylene gases and odors produced by a mixed assortment of fruits and
vegetables.
Inside
the cellar, the arrangement of shelves should allow for generous distances
between them. The shelves should also be
kept a few inches away from the walls to encourage greater air
circulation. Materials placed on the
floor should be raised a few inches by small blocks or racks.
The
down side to root cellars at the pests. Rodents are the single most common pest
problem for food stored in root cellars.
Installing metal wire mesh in common entry points, such as open vents,
is a good idea, as is a frequent trapping program. The next most vexing problem for stored food
is plain old rot. The saying that “one
rotten apple with spoil the lot” is quite true in this situation, so care
should be taken to remove any spoiling produce or other foodstuff. In general though, the lower temperatures
will combat the mold and bacteria problems that are common in warm, wet
conditions.
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| {photo source: pinterest.com} |
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| {photo source: pinterest.com} |
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| {photo source: pinterest.com} |
Food
You Can Store In Your Root Cellar
APPLES
– store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 2-7 months
depending on variety
BEANS
(dried) - store between 50-60 degrees – 60-70 percent humidity – shelf life: 1
year
BEETS
- store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 3-5 months
BROCCOLI
- store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 1-2 weeks
BRUSSEL
SPROUTS - store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 3-5 weeks
CABBAGE
- store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 3-4 months
CARROTS
- store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 4-6 months
GARLIC
- store between 50-60 degrees – 60-70 percent humidity – shelf life: 5-8 months
JERUSALEM
ARTICHOKES - store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 1-2
months
LEEKS
- store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 3-4 months
ONIONS
- store between 50-60 degrees – 60-70 percent humidity – shelf life: 5-8 months
PARSNIPS
- store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 1-2 months
PEARS
- store at 30 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 2-3 months
POTATOES
- store between 40-45 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 4-6 months
PUMPKINS
- store between 50-60 degrees – 60-70 percent humidity – shelf life: 5-6 months
RUTABAGAS
- store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 2-4 months
SQUASH
- store between 50-60 degrees – 60-70 percent humidity – shelf life: 4-6 months
SWEET
POTATOES - store between 55-60 degrees – 60-70 percent humidity – shelf life:
4-6 months
TOMATILLOS
- store between 50-60 degrees – 60-70 percent humidity – shelf life: 1-2 months
TOMATOES
- store between 50-60 degrees – 60-70 percent humidity – shelf life: 1-2 months
for green; 4-6 months for varieties intended for winter storage
TURNIPS
- store at 32 degrees – 90-95 percent humidity – shelf life: 4-6 months
