A root cellar is an old technology. When most of mankind lived in rural areas before the age of electricity, a family had to find a way to keep their fall harvested crops from rotting. The modern supermarket was not available 24 hours a day. Root cellars were a viable option, they required no power source, could be built with simple hand tools and they could be the difference between going hungry, or thriving. Root cellars allowed a family to eat fresh produce throughout the cold, dark winter. The basics of a root cellar are that you dig a hole into the side of a hill. You then line that hole with stones and mortar. Place a roof on it, then throw dirt on top. It works perfectly in keeping produce in a cool, dark, and humid environment. Just what produce likes. I built a root cellar 6 years ago, from the resources, I could gather from the land. I knew within ten years of planting an orchard, I would need to store the many tons of apples that would be coming. After 6 years, from its completion, I never grow tired of looking at it. There is something about stone architecture that is pleasing to the eye. If one were to Google, root cellar today, you would find that they are being built all over America and Europe again. Some are truly works of art. What was once old, is new again. Imagine that!
Comments