Country Lore: Dig a Bucket-Size Root Cellar

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ILLUSTRATION: KRISTIN HURLIN
To make a nifty, mini root cellar right in the garden, simply bury a bucket and cover it with a straw bale.

For sweet, crisp carrots all winter, we always left them in the ground under a thick layer of leaves or straw to keep them from freezing. But digging carrots in midwinter was not my idea of fun.

I wanted a better way to store the carrots, so I made a miniature root cellar right in the garden. First, I cut the bottom from a 5-gallon bucket. Then I dug a bucket-size hole in the ground just deep enough so the top of it was flush with the ground. I filled the bucket with just-dug carrots, placed the lid on the bucket and plopped a bale of straw on top for insulation.

My winter carrots stay sweet and crisp — just as they did in the ground.

Chriss Stutzman
Navarre, Ohio

  • Published on Aug 19, 2010
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