Do you have an abundant harvest from your garden this year? Maybe too much zucchini, or too many tomatoes. Or maybe you just bought a lot of produce on sale. Whatever the case, there are several ways to store your harvest without a root cellar.
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Root cellars are traditionally used to keep produce consumable through the winter months when fresh fruits and vegetables aren’t available, but with modern-day refrigeration, root cellars more commonly used to store overabundant harvests or sale produce that doesn’t fit in your fridge.
No matter how much room you have, use these three tips to learn how to store your harvest without a root cellar.
Wondering How to Store Your Harvest Without a Root Cellar? Try Other Indoor Storage
Depending on your available space, you could have a few great areas hiding around your home with ideal conditions for storing produce. Before starting a new homestead project to store your harvest, find out what the ideal conditions are for your specific types of produce. Depending on the variety, they might require different humidity, temperature, etc.
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Attics and basements stay very cool and dry throughout the winter, ideal for storing produce in a straw-filled cardboard box. Similarly, garages are great too as long as you ensure the produce doesn’t freeze. Keep them at a comfortable temperature using plenty of straw below and above the food.
Freeze Those Fruits & Vegetables
If you have any extra freezer space, freezing your harvest will keep it fresh tasting and usable throughout the winter months. However, it’s not as simple as throwing your fruits and veggies in the freezer and forgetting about them.
Related: How to Make No-Cook Jam With Everbearing Raspberries
Blanching your vegetables stops the natural decaying process (which still occurs even when frozen. It also helps keep the veggies fresh tasting and nutrient-filled for months in the freezer.
After blanching, immediately transfer the produce into ice water to stop them from overcooking. Once dried, seal them in airtight freezer bags or use a vacuum sealer to remove any excess air before freezing. Frozen fruit can be thawed easily and quickly to use in your favourite muffin recipe, smoothies (frozen berries or peaches work well), pies, or freezer jams (don’t forget to thaw the fruit first for pies or jams.)
For fruits and smaller vegetables, spread them out on a tray and freeze them before packaging. This rudimentary flash-freezing helps keep their form and avoid being frozen in chunks together.
Bury Your Harvest When You Don’t Have a Root Cellar
Even without a traditional root cellar, it’s easy to create your own mini cellar in the yard.
Unused items like old fridges, trash cans, buckets and pots can be repurposed and buried to construct a quick and easy cellar. Whatever you decide to use, make sure the space you create has some ventilation.
Drilling a hole in the side and running some PVC pipe to the surface is the easiest. You will also want to make sure your receptacle has a tight lid and solid sides to keep any unwanted critters from finding their way into your bounty! As with any cellar style storage, make sure you line the bin with straw on top and below for insulation.
However you store your produce this fall, don’t let any go to waste. If you have a large harvest, there are numerous storage options to keep your fruits and veggies edible and fresh-tasting through the winter.
Just remember to store them in a cool, ventilated space with little to no light, and a suitable humidity level for the type of produce. If these options won’t work for you, canning or dehydrating is another great way to preserve your harvest. Stay tuned for more on those alternatives next week.
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Read More About Root Cellars!
Walden Labs: How to Build a Root Cellar in 7 Steps
Farmer’s Almanac: Types & Storage Tips
Common Sense Home: Root Cellars 101
I’ve never actually known anyone with a root cellar. Although, Mr. Menace says one of our rental houses has a hole dug underneath it that must have been one. Now it just hold water every time it rains.
🙂 gwingal