Root Cellar Tips

I tried root storage in my basement last year for the first time. I grew Kennebec potatoes, and harvested them in the end of August because the bugs had turned the plants into skeletons. I stored them in a single layer on shelves in a section of my basement that has a dirt floor. I didn't eat all of them, but saved some just to see how well they would keep over the winter. As of now, they are in perfect condition, firm, no sprouting. The store bought russet potatoes I stored next to them are sprouting. My attempts with beets, carrots and Jerusalem artichokes wasn't so successful. The beets turned soft months ago. The carrots and artichokes shriveled up.

I tried soaking some artichokes in water, to see if they would reconstitute and sprout like my dahlia tubers do. They reconstituted all right - but then they molded. Most books I've read on Jerusalem artichokes recommend keeping them in the ground and digging them as needed. Whoever wrote those books obviously lived south of the Mason-Dixon line. I did pull up some clumps and re-bury them in my flower beds last fall. Hopefully those will be viable, since I didn't order any more choke tubers this year. I’ve thought of burying them in the dirt floor of my root cellar.

Wendy

 

Soft doesn't mean not-viable. If they hold on until around the 1st of May, you can replant them and they should do fine. Molding will happen if there is too much moisture. The same will happen in the ground if the soil is too wet. If you cover artichokes with enough mulch, it doesn't matter which side of the Mason-Dixon line their on. Burying your artichokes in the basement floor will make much difference in the storage life of your tubers. In fact, it might lessen their life as the moist warm soil will confuse them and make them think that the sun will be rising any minute now. The point with leaving them in the ground is to put them completely into dormancy. The frozen ground won't harm them much, it's the thawing that will. If you're concerned about being able to dig one up now and again for a meal, then simply hold a few at a time in your basement for food. Go out and dig up a few more when a warm spell thaws the ground a bit.

Roger

 

Several years ago, I read about a way to store roots in an outdoor root cellar. You dig a hole about 3 to four feet deep and line it with straw. In the bottom layer, you put a single layer of potatoes, beets, carrots, turnips etc. or whatever other roots you want to store, cover with straw and a layer of soil, then more straw, more root veggies, more straw and soil and so on until you get near the top - lots more straw to cover. Each time you need more veggies, you dig out the next layer. You only have to fill with straw to maintain the insulation and ease of access each time. This would solve the temperature and moisture conundrum I think. I haven't actually tried it myself, but the authors said they did.

Cass

 

If you have an old refrigerator that is not working then dig a hole big enough for it, place it in the hole and put your roots in it, then cover with plastic and a layer of straw. If you live where there is snow and ice then use a sheet of old plywood to cover it, then the straw, plastic, and a top layer of straw if you wish. The shelves will act as separators for the different kinds of roots. Also, do not forget to use the freezer portion for storage as well. Animals are less likely to smell through the refrigerator than if the produce is just buried in the ground. Also, you may want to put a hasp and lock on it to keep them out.

Lou