does anyone have a "root cellar" and could you make one?

Just a quick idea, reading about the cost of potatoes and having just had the electricity off for over 2 days, and throwing out food.

Could you make a small area in a garage with a bin or box filled with sand?  it would be cooler than a basement, but since I have an attached garage maybe it wouldn't freeze unless it got really cold?  I am going to look into this.  or what are better ways to save potatoes and carrots?

Better get back to cleaning out the fridge.  Fortunately I took 80% of the freezer and refrigerated food to a friends.  Will pick it back up tomorrow, but want to get the fridge really good and clean. I was thinking about getting a small freezer, I will have to think twice after this last storm.

We are hoping to build a new house later this year and are planning to have an area in the baement as a root celler.  We won't have the outside wall of that part of the basement insulated and will insulate instead on the other side of that small area, ie on the inside walls.  As we have space to grow our veggies we thought this would be a good place to store potatoes, onions carrots parsnips and rutabagas.   I guess it depends where you live if you could safely store in the garage..  It wouldn't work for us - they would freeze solid in winter..

If you don't have a root cellar you can still have your own potatoes in the winter. Grow them and then dehydrate them for storage. They last lobger than ones stored ina root cellar. Right now 5 lbs of red potatoes are $3.69 here in sw ND.

I prefer Russets because the red potatoes  have so many and such deep eyes that you waste a lot when peeling (raw or baked/cooked) . I am dehydrating some next week and seal them in food saver bags or keep them in air tight glass jars. I use the food processor to slice the potates thin and drop them into ice cold water with some lemon juice in it (to preserve color) , then drain and put into dehydrator. I have already done over 20 lbs of green beans ' they take up little room, I have them in a 1 gal glass jar that is sealed with an old fashioned yop and rubber ring.

You inspire me.  I have a dehydrator but haven't used it in years.  I love to can, but haven't done the vegetables (beans, corn, peas, etc.).  I truly believe that we are facing hard times and want to be prepared.  I am stocking up on things when I shop, but you absolutely intrigue me with the idea of dehydrating.  I have the food processor and will try the potatoes soon.  Thanks for being such an inspiration.

Janet

 

Thanks for the dehydration suggestion, I think I might try both methods.  Gre-lo, how do you use them, scallop potato or boil and mash? 

I know I'm not Grelo, but you should be able to use them anyway you choose.  Just keep an eye on them when you boil them or the slices could turn to mush.  I'm sure the thickness of the slices would come into play on that one.

 

Kim

If you google "how to build a root cellar" you will come up with several sites. Mother Earth News, Orgainic gardening as well as some others. Depending on if you want to put one in your house or outside of your house.

An excellent book full of useful info. is "Root Cellaring" by Mike and Nancy Bubel.  Copyright '79 & '91.  I bought the '91 version after reading the other at the library.  Our house has a root cellar & I needed to learn how to use it. 

Potatoes keep very nicely in covered cardboard boxes if the temp. is cool, but not freezing.  Just keep a thermometer handy & check it.  A garage works fine if you watch the temp.  Sand is not a necessity.   

I've kept carrots in 3 gal. pails with lids on loosely.  Just be sure they are storage-type carrots & left in the ground as long as possible before storing.  I dig mine in mid-Oct. on a dry day usually & store until Mar. or April.  Whenever we use them up!