Root Cellar is a success!!

These carrots look amazing!

I went out and spent some time mulling over the garden today, since all the snow has melted here and it's a breezy 40 degrees. We've had a warm spell here, which everyone is enjoying but I have been feeling suspicious of. Global-warming-induced higher temps are somehow less enjoyable then a truly fluke of a nice day.

looking good, spud.

Peak oil aside, while I was out in my yard today, I thought to check on the root cellar that I built, and the veggies that have been hanging out in the cold by the side of my house under one of the eaves; I hadn't peeked my head out there in a while!

To my delight, both the potatoes and the carrots looked GREAT! The potatoes were still firm and looked fresh, and the carrots had seemed to be holding up as nicely as the day I put them in there, which was October 9th!  While it has been a mild Winter so far, to be able to say that I can grow my own roots and store them for almost 4 months is just so satisfying and awesome.

carnival squashes-so happy & bright!

I also have a bag of onions I bought from the Farmers' Market 2-3 months ago that have been storing well, as well as some acorn squash from the end of October! The storing capability of these winter veggies is just truly amazing me lately. While I've been lax about actually cooking for the Dark Days Challenge, looking at other recipes has inspired me to steal some of their ideas, and really incorporate these winter veggies into delicious meals. The most delicious looking one I'm excited to try is homemade sweet potato gnocci- If I could make homemade gnocci I would consider myself to be a badass. A nerdy, seasonally-eating badass.

pretty impressive, huh? ;)

On my way back in the house, I noticed and then remembered that I had some small red kidney beans and some provider bush beans hanging to dry in the mudroom. I took them down and shucked the hulls off. I always chuckle to myself when I harvest these beans- I'm intent on drying them to save, and then when I'm done with a season of growing as well as several months of drying, I get done and I have about 60 beans total- woohoo! I think that I might save these and see if they could be my planting beans for this year's harvest.

Do you have anything put away for the winter? If so, are you digging into your winter veggies?

Homemade Root Cellaring 101

As I posted earlier in the year, one of the projects I really wanted to get to this year was making a homemade root cellar. I looked up ideas, advice, and plans, without a lot of success. It doesn't seem that there are too many people root-cellaring on a small scale- or maybe they're just not posting about it?  Since my basement is heated and I don't have a traditional "cellar", I decided to try out this root cellar idea and share it with you! Inspiration article from Mother Earth News can be found here.

Building Your Own Root Cellar 101

Home Depot buckets

 Supplies list:
 * Drill  *  Shovel  *  5-gallon bucket(s) & lid

Drill and a large bit

You can choose to use buckets you already have at home,  or of course get them from places like Home Depot, Lowes or your local hardware store. If the buckets have been used, rinse them out and dry them before you start your project.

Step 1) Flip the bucket(s) over to drill holes in the bottom. Some of the instructions I saw said to cut off the bottom of the bucket, but since I only have a drill, I just drilled many wholes in the bottom.This helps to veggies inside the bucket to maintain an even temperature, and also for moisture to have a place to leave the bucket.

Bucket with holes drilled in it

Step 2) Drill holes; start with one right in the middle, then work your way out and drill 4 or 5 holes evenly spaced out in the middle, and then 5-6 hole staggered towards the outside of the bucket. (<--- See picture)

Choose bucket location wisely!

Step 3) Choose your Root Cellar location. Choosing somewhere close to your house is a good idea, because the veggies won't be as affected by temperature changes. The space I chose was also under an bumped-out section of our house, so there's shelter from the elements and strong weather too!

Finished install!

Step 4) Dig a hole in your in the special spot you've chosen. Make sure there are no power lines running through the space you're digging! The whole needs to be about 2 feet deep, and a bit wider than your bucket. When you're done digging, you want the top 2-3 inches to but above ground still (see picture). Back-fill the hole so the bucket in snug in the ground- pat down the soil around the bucket.

Carrots are in :)

Step 5) Fill the bucket with root veggies of your choice-carrots, potatoes, or onions should all store well in this type of environment. In the case of carrots, you pull off the green tops, leaving only a little stub of green at the top. If you want, you can brush dirt off of your carrots/potatoes/onions, but do not wash!