Root cellar

Aroot cellar(American and Canadian English),fruit cellar(Mid-Western American English) orearth cellar(British English) is a structure, usually undergroundor partially underground,used forstorageofvegetables,fruits,nuts, or other foods. Its name reflects the traditional focus onroot cropsstored in an undergroundcellar, which is still often true; but the scope is wider, as a wide variety of foods can be stored for weeks to months, depending on the crop and conditions,and the structure may not always be underground.
Root cellaringhas been vitally important in various eras and places forwinterfood supply. Although present-dayfood distributionsystems andrefrigerationhave rendered root cellars unnecessary for many people, they remain important for those who valueself-sufficiency, whether by economic necessity or by choice and for personal satisfaction. Thus, they are popular among diverse audiences, includinggardeners,organic farmers,DIYfans,homesteaders, anyone seeking someemergency preparedness(most extensively,preppers),subsistence farmers, and enthusiasts oflocal food,slow food,heirloom plants, andtraditionalculture.
Root cellars are for keeping food supplies at controlledtemperaturesand steadyhumidity. Many crops keep longest just above freezing (32–35 °F (0–2 °C)) and at high humidity (90–95%),but the optimal temperature and humidity ranges vary by crop,and various crops keep well at temperatures further above near-freezing but belowroom temperature, which is usually 65–70 °F (18–21 °C). A few crops keep better in low humidity.Root cellars keep food from freezing during the winter and keep food cool during the summer to prevent the spoiling and rotting of the roots, for example, potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, parsnips, etc.. These are placed in the root cellar in the autumn after harvesting. A secondary use for the root cellar is as a place to storewine, beer, or other homemade alcoholic beverages.
Vegetables stored in the root cellar primarily consist of mostly root vegetables (thus the name):potatoes,turnips, andcarrots. Other food supplies placed in the root cellar during winter includebeets,onions, jarredpreserves and jams,salt meat, saltturbot, saltherring,winter squash, andcabbage.Summer squash(aka courgettes or zucchini) may last as long as three months at room temperature;American pumpkinsandpattypan squashcan endure six months in storage, whilekabocha,turban,butternut, andspaghetti squashcan be stored for as long as eight months.
A potato cellar is sometimes called apotato barnorpotato house.
Separate cellars are occasionally used for storing fruits, such as apples.Apples can give off enoughethylene gasto hasten the overripening or spoilage of other crops stored nearby,although this effect is variable, and many farms successfully store vegetables without segregating their apples.Water, bread, butter, milk, and cream are sometimes stored in the root cellar. Items such as salad greens, fresh meat, and jam pies are kept in the root cellar early in the day to keep cool until they are needed for supper.
The ability of some vegetables and fruit to keep for months in favorable cellar conditions stems in part from the fact that they are not entirelyinanimateeven after picking.Although they may no longer qualify asliving, theplant cellscontinue torespirein some impaired but nonzero way,resisting bacterialdecompositionfor a time. The effect can be compared to the way that cut flowers in a vase of water last much longer than cut flowers lying on a table: the flowers in the vase are not entirely dead yet and continue to respire. The analogy is not exact, but the high humidity that supports many cellared crops is involved in this residual respiration.
In some cases, plants aretransplantedfrom the field to the soil floor of a cellar in autumn, and they then continue living in the cellar for months.The fact that they cannotthriveor grow larger in the low-light, low-temperature conditions is not a problem; the only objective is to keep them alive instead of dead, thus warding off decomposition. This is a form ofseason extensionin which thegrowingseason is not extended but theharvestseason is substantially extended.
Closets,crawlspaces,garages,sheds, andatticshave all been used successfully for storage of at least some kinds of crops. Even the space under a bed can store some crops (such as pumpkins) for several weeks.Especially beforerural electrification, farms withspringhouseshave often used them for root cellar duty (as well asmilkhouseduty).
Common construction methods are:
Most root cellars were built using stone, wood, mortar (cement), andsod. Newer ones may be made of concrete with sod on top.
Historian Sean Cadigan writes, "Newfoundland and Labrador's climate and soil have not been conducive to agriculture, but outport isolation and poor incomes in the fishery have made supplementary farming crucial."People grew root vegetables: potatoes, carrots, turnip, cabbage and beets, while others grew a wider variety of vegetables in their gardens.Growing enough vegetables to last the winter was imperative to the survival of Newfoundlanders, and without refrigerators, root cellars were one of the few methods to preserve crops. Architect Robert Mellin noted the following on root cellars during his research inTilting,Fogo Island:
Many Newfoundland and Labrador cellars use a two-door airlock-type system as a method of temperature regulation, as they allowed people ample time to enter the first door, shutting it behind them before entering the main portion of the root cellar.Folklorist Crystal Braye notes in her study ofNewfoundlandroot cellars:
The town ofEllistonhas so many of the structures, the town's motto is the "Root Cellar Capital of the World".
A potato hole is a hole dug in an earthen floor where a large deep opening was covered by boards and was mainly used to store sweet potatoes during the winter. The “potato hole” or root cellar was also used by slaves to hide food and personal possessions from their slave owners resulting in some slave owners to raise slave cabins off the ground to prevent their slaves attempting to create their own hidden personal space. The storing of valuables in pits was common among many cultures but for some enslaved Africans, like those from the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria, storing valuables under the floors of their houses was often practiced .