Mini Root Cellar Basics: Containers to Bury and Foods That Keep

Urban Survival Site explains how to make a small root cellar by burying a container in the yard, an option for people without the room, time or budget to dig a full-sized one.

Key points

• How it works: Like a full cellar, a buried container relies on the surrounding earth to stay cool and humid, keeping produce fresh for months with no electricity.
• Containers: The article suggests a metal or heavy plastic trash can, an old cooler, a 5-gallon bucket, or a broken chest freezer or refrigerator with its latch taken off so nobody can get shut inside.
• Setup: Drill drainage holes in the bottom, add gravel beneath if the soil drains poorly, and pack produce in straw, sand or peat moss so pieces do not touch.
• Storage times: Apples wrapped in newspaper can last two to seven months depending on variety, pears two to three months, pumpkins five to six months, rutabagas four to six months, and dried beans several years.
• Separation: Keep broccoli away from apples and pears, which give off ethylene gas, and keep onions away from potatoes, since each speeds the other's spoilage.

Quick take

The piece pitches mini root cellars as cheap and simple, and notes that building several makes it easy to keep different crops apart. Its list also covers beets, carrots, turnips, cabbage and other leafy greens, Brussels sprouts, and tomatoes picked while still green.

Read the full story at Urban Survival Site.