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Garden Gate:  Who has a root cellar?  |
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 24 2017 : 08:51:28 AM
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| I'm just obsessed with the idea of a root cellar, which is not something common in California. We have such a mild climate here there's little need for winter storage, but I wish I had one! I'd love to hear/share personal stories about cellars and winter storage: what kind of cellar, what you store in it, problems and solutions, or even old memories of days gone by. |
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Tumbleweed
True Blue Farmgirl
1019 Posts
Nancy
Texas
USA
1019 Posts |
Posted - Oct 24 2017 : 9:29:47 PM
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Hi Sara.
I don't have one either for your same reasons but I hope I will be able to have one some day.
My Grannie had one and it was so neat to be down in it. She had all kinds of jars filled with her skills. She and my Gramps were natural healers way back in the 60's when I was a tyke. I can still smell her kitchen and all the herbs she and Gramps would prepare and sell. It is also a family rumor their best selling medicine was in a brown jug with three Xs. I think they called it Liquid Courage.
TW
The fun begins where the pavement ends! |
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farmgirl68
True Blue Farmgirl
369 Posts
Katie
Bangor
Pennsylvania
USA
369 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2017 : 05:53:13 AM
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We have a root cellar of sorts. My husband, Erik, converted our old oil tank room (it held 2 oil tanks when the house used oil for heat) and made part of it for overwinter plant storage and the rest goes to the root cellar. Although the humidity is much higher than it should be, we successfully keep apples for months and even kept sweet potatoes and squash for a year last year! We called that a success for our first year . We do have to address the dampness. We live in Bangor, PA and its common knowledge that EVERYONES basement has water in it. Dehumidifiers are expensive to buy and to run. We already have one in the basement proper trying to keep the mustiness down. Anyone's thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Couple of pointers:
Squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes...get laid in straw, potatoes, and sweet potatoes can get layered as long as there is straw between them.
Onions get hung in ladies stockings with knots in between each onion
Apples get wrapped in newspaper and not be stored with potatoes
Sara, I really hope that you are able to get some sort of root cellar. There are quite a few plans online and books. Some you dig out in the yard and some I think just require straw, I think. They really are helpful for squash, potato, apple, onion storage for us!
Katie #7422
Friends are the flowers that bloom in life's garden.
www.etsy.com/shop/RLHomesteadCrafts
www.rlittlehomestead.org
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2017 : 7:14:48 PM
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Nancy, I just LOVE your memory about your grandparents! That's the kind of thing I hope my grandkids and greatgrandkids think of when they remember me because its like a magical door into a by-gone time! Thank you for sharing that! And the XXX medicine...SOOO awesome!
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2017 : 7:27:30 PM
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Katie, you just make me happy thinking of people out there with healthy, active root cellars and yummy things to put in them!
To be honest, I did reclaim an old pit used for almond harvest which is on my property and made it into a root cellar about 15 years ago. I used it just to give me the feeling that I had a root cellar but the temps down there were barely cooler than the out of doors in fall and spring, and sometimes warmer on our 40+ degree winter days, so it really wasn't doing what a cellar is supposed to do. I also have the problem of humidity, but I'm sure not as bad as you are having. I have been thinking about getting that cellar going again, which is what made me think to ask you all to share stories.
I have a book by Mike and Nancy Bubel called Root Cellaring which I ADORE and love to read just to dream. They advise, to reduce humidity, that you can put "shallow containers of dry air-slaked lime or calcium" in your cellar to absorb moisture. I have no idea what those are, but I'm sure Google does. As they become moist, remove them and dry them out again or replace with fresh. And don't let them come in contact with vegetables. Or you can "open vents to admit cold air and release warm air" if you have that kind of set up.
My cellar isn't advanced enough to achieve that, but I'm not giving up yet! |
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farmgirl68
True Blue Farmgirl
369 Posts
Katie
Bangor
Pennsylvania
USA
369 Posts |
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Oct 31 2017 : 07:24:40 AM
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| Katie, I'm reading your blog and getting a glimpse into your life. Do you know Sara in Paris Texas, AKA YellowRose on the MaryJanesFarm chat forum? You can find her easily in Farm Kitchen: Whats everyone canning. And you should! You two share a lot in common! |
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Garden Gate: Who has a root cellar? |
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Who has a root cellar?
