Cheap root cellar

"Would you mind putting up an article about the pros and cons of making and using your Fridge Root Cellar?" - John

This is a very timely comment because many of you are probably trying to figure out what to do with all of those root crops (and fall fruits). I'll hit the highlights in this post, but if you want to dig deeper, I've also set my ebook version on sale to $1.99 this week so you can learn the rest of the story for very little cash. (I guess that would turn your replica into a $12 root cellar?) And while you're over there, you'll probably want to snap up Low-Cost Sunroom, which is free today!

Anyhow, back to the point. The advantages of our fridge root cellar are pretty obvious. It was cheap and easy to build and it really works. I particularly love how accessible the contents are - the cook in your family will be thrilled to be able to just pop open the door like you would in a powered refrigerator and remove a few carrots or a head of cabbage. And the dampness of the earth means that your roots stay crisp and delicious for months after harvest.

The downsides are relatively minor, but they are present. We use a very small amount of electricity to ensure that the contents of our fridge root cellar don't freeze when outside temperatures drop below the mid-teens Fahrenheit. If you lived in Alaska, you'd probably have to do a lot more. And a fridge root cellar won't do much during the summer months, so you'll need a different storage method for your spring carrots. (I just stick them in the real fridge inside.) Finally, youtube viewers will call you white trash if you post a video showing how to build a fridge root cellar, and your neighbors might feel the same way, so this project is not for the thin-skinned.

I hope that helps you make your fridge-root-cellaring decision! And I'd love to see some reader photos of your own incarnations of the cheap root-storage device and I'll share your root cellars with our readers (and maybe even add them to the next edition of the book if they're unique enough!).