Essential Guidance for Constructing a Personal Underground Food Storage Unit
Building an Underground Root Cellar: A Comprehensive Guide
In case your garden yield is more than you can consume, consider building an underground root cellar to store excess produce. This cellar, primarily designed for vegetables and certain fruits, offers optimal temperature and humidity conditions to prolong the life of your harvest.
Materials and Construction
Several materials can be used for constructing an underground root cellar, including native stone, concrete cinder blocks, earth-packed tires, or cedar logs for walk-in root cellars. Among these options, concrete cinder blocks are the most common, readily available from a DIY store.
You can also opt for less traditional choices like a fiberglass water tank or a 50-gallon plastic drum, both of which can be easily modified and buried.
Location and Excavation
Choose a well-drained area with good drainage away from the root cellar. Ideally, your root cellar should be located on a hillside facing north to limit exposure to the opening and ensure proper ventilation.
Excavate for the root cellar so that, when the walls are buried, you have at least 4 feet of coverage. Ten feet is even better to maintain optimal temperature and humidity conditions.
Ventilation
Vent the cellar by installing two PVC pipes. One pipe should enter the root cellar low to the floor to allow cool air in, while the other must be near the ceiling to vent out hot air. Both pipes should be screened to keep out pests and to protect the produce from extreme temperatures.
Good ventilation helps remove ethylene gases that fruit and vegetables produce as they ripen, slowing down the ripening process.
Additional Considerations
Cover the floor of your root cellar with gravel or even a concrete floor, which can be wet down to help raise the humidity when needed. Opt for wooden shelves over metal to prevent heating of the produce.
Place a temperature and humidity gauge in the cellar and keep a record of the readings to track the effectiveness of your root cellar's conditions.
Alternative Methods
For those without a hill, an underground ramp can be created to access the root cellar. You can also use a sea-land container, although checking for underground utilities and local regulations is crucial before excavation.
Regardless of the method you choose, a well-constructed root cellar will provide a natural and cost-effective solution for extending the life of your garden produce.
Incorporating education about home-and-garden topics, such as gardening and building an underground root cellar, into one's lifestyle can lead to more self-sustainable living at home. Proper ventilation in the root cellar, achieved by installing PVC pipes for cool and hot air circulation, helps prolong the life of stored produce by preventing ethylene gas accumulation.
