Root cellar

Root cellaring is a very old method food storage using the cooler temperatures of the earth to create a natural cold storage facility. Root cellars can be built in several ways, but traditionally they are made by burying most of a structure underground which typically keeps the temperature around 50 degrees Fahrenheit all year.

Types of Root Cellar

There are several types of root cellar, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

• Buried Building - Most root cellars are built by digging a hole, building a small structure, and then burying it with only its door, intake, and vent exposed. These provide the greatest amount of storage space, but require much more work to build.
• Buried Refrigerator - In modern times, freezers and refrigerators are sometimes modified and buried to create a small root cellar.
• Pit Storage - Often times the easiest way to build a root cellar is to dig a deep hole and suspend a container inside of it.

See Also

• Canning
• Pickling
• Permaculture