root celler questions

[the funny farm6]

We have an old root celler aka "the cave". Problem is...when we bought this place 5 years ago, the door to it wasn't very good and the door at the bottom of the steps was pretty rotted. And the shelves had jars full of ????? Left on them and they had colapsed and there is broken jars all over the gravel floor. If I can much more than I currently do, I will need more room. Is it worth cleaning, building new shelves, and new doors?

If it is, how would you go about getting all that glass cleaned up? We don't wear shoes much around here durring the summer.

Also how well does food keep in one of these? Will tomato juice freeze?

 

[Wannabefree]

root cellars are used to store fresh veggies. I don't know why someone would put jars of canned foods in there? I'd say it's worth cleaning up and putting doors on it though. You can store veggies and fruit fresh in a good root cellar. I would fix it, and check the temps and see if it is doing what it's supposed to(keeping cool enough/proper humidity levels) before stocking a bunch of things in it though.

 

[the funny farm6]

It is fairly big 8X10 or so. And the roof doesn't leak.

I guess I will just have to sit down there and pick up glass the best I can. Don't know if I will do much more till summer.

I don't want to run electric to it, will a kerosene lantern be ok for use down there? I would like to leave it down there.

 

[Beekissed]

Well....root cellars are where most people store their canned foods. At least where I come from.

It would be worth salvaging, so tearing out the old shelves and building a new, thick and sturdy door is a good idea. You can clean up the old food and glass with the use of a good shovel and then place a layer of sand and then gravel down in your root cellar to allow for drainage and dry footing. Walking barefooted in a root cellar isn't a good idea even when it hasn't had glass breakage in it...there are many creepy crawlies that like the cool in the summer and the warm in the winter.

Food will keep very well in a root cellar if it is ventilated and well-insulated(is the earth banked well along the sides?). People have been effectively storing canned goods, fruits and veggies in root cellars for hundreds of years. You'll have to experiment and just see how your cellar does with root crop storage, fruit storage, etc.

Keep in mind that some foods accelerate the rotting of others if stored in close proximity(the gases released can do this), so plan your storage bins appropriately.

 

[Wannabefree]

Really canned goods in there? It must be a regional thing. Around here I have never known anyone to do that.

 

[Beekissed]

If the root cellar is constructed properly and under ground far enough, nothing will freeze there. Every root cellar I've ever owned has been well-built enough to accomodate jars of canned goods. Root cellars are meant to use for storing such things....I've never heard of anyone NOT storing their canned goods in their root cellars.

This one is more than likely constructed per usual if there are canned goods still in evidence on the shelves. Sounds like it may be either extremely old or there is too much moisture in this cellar if the shelves actually rotted and fell in...this is easily remedied with ventilation and good drainage in the floor of the structure.

 

[the funny farm6]

It has a very large dirt mound around it and the roof is very sturdy! My standard size donkey kept going on top of it to eat the horseweeds that grew on top of it. It also has a vent on top of it.

 

[bambi]

My Grandmother kept her canned goods in the cellar and they did very well down there. I can still hear her hollering at us to stay out of the root cellar or the snakes would get us

 

[BarredBuff]

We use em for canned goods to, WBF!

 

[Wannabefree]

Well I guess I am the last to know then So strange to me.....