Constructing a root cellar to store produce from the garden. [View all]

[Kaleva]

Decided to replace the floating slab that the back basement entry room was on, and which shifted during spring, and put in a regular foundation.

I've been thinking for some time that I'll have to come up with some kind of cold storage space for some of the produce from the garden and kicked around a number of ideas. When my FIL and I jacked up the wall, busted out the slap and poured the footing, I saw that the inside of the basement entry could be dug out and made into a root cellar.

After we laid the block on the footing and removed the jack, I dug out the space in the basement entry. The cellar will be 7' long X 4' wide and about 32" deep. The basement entry will have a wood floor with sections that I can easily remove to gain access to the cellar below. The cellar itself will have a dirt floor and the cement block walls will have pink board on the inside and outside so to help keep the cellar cool in the summer and above freezing in the winter.

I plan on storing rutabaga, onions, carrots, parsley, winter squash, potatoes in there along with fermented tomatoes, sauerkraut and homemade kimchi. With a total capacity of 74 cubic feet, I ought to be able to store quite a bit.