Root Cellaring

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Whether your food-keeping spot is in your house or under a hill, here are some things to keep in mind as you plan how to enclose the space:

Earth is a good insulator because the soil temperature underground stays fairly constant. At a depth of about 12' in wet soil, the temperature changes only about 7°F throughout the year, remaining close to the average air temperature for that locality. In our state of Pennsylvania, that's about 52°F. Make the most of the earth's temperature-moderating influence by placing your cellar on the cooler north side of a building or hill away from the warming power of the sun's rays.

Cold is vital to long storage life. Next comes humidity, to prevent shriveling of produce from loss of moisture. The third essential is ventilation. Include both air-intake and air-exhaust pipes so you'll be able to chill the cellar by admitting cold night air and by venting warm air (along with ethylene gas given off by some ripening fruits). Good air circulation will help to control condensation of moisture on the vegetables, which is more copious in easily saturated cold air. For the most effective air-flow pattern, the air must move as much as possible. Since warm air rises and cold air sinks, install the cold-air intake near the floor and the exhaust pipe near the ceiling. Put the openings on opposite ends of the cellar so the air must cross the room to get out. And always elevate crates a few inches above the floor so that air can circulate underneath them.

Keep the room dark; light encourages sprouting in potatoes. You might want to wire your cellar for a light bulb, though, so that you can see what you're getting when you go delving there. Use a porcelain outdoor socket and outdoor wiring.

Close all spaces as tightly as you can to keep mice out. This means screening all vent pipes and windows and making sure the door fits tightly.

Don't plan to keep any jars of canned goods in your main vegetable storage area. If it's as damp there as it should be to keep the produce in good shape, the jar lids will rust and then the seals will break. Canned goods need a cool, dry spot.

What size should your keeping room be? Many of the cellars we visited in researching our book Root Cellaring were 8' X 10' or larger, but few of them were filled to capacity.

(After all, a 5 ' X 8' space can hold 30 bushels of produce.) If you intend to keep vegetables such as celery in buckets of soil, an 8' X 8' cellar will probably supply enough space.

Shelving multiplies the useful space in your cellar. Use only rot-resistant woods; the best are locust, cedar, and cypress. One-inch oak planks or 2" Douglas fir planks should last long enough to be worth installing, but don't use pine at all unless it's free and you don't mind replacing it. Shelves should be slatted for good air circulation and should have cleats at intervals along their back edges to keep them one or two inches away from the wall. We would not recommend using pressure-treated or creosoted wood in any room that will be used to store food. There's no sense growing food carefully without poisons and then storing it where it might absorb chemical fumes.

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