Root cellaring with No root cellar

Also known as the Great Carrot experiment:)

I went to the local farmer's market on it''s last day, October 18th, for my last chance at a huge selection of fresh produce. What I walked away with was 12 bunches of carrots, more honey, and lemongrass. And yes, I bought that many carrots on PURPOSE:) All summer I had visions of root cellaring these yummy treats, because quite frankly, store bought carrots pale (more like albino) in comparison.

All the sites I visited suggested storing root vegetables in either damp sand or damp sawdust. This year I'm opting for damp sand because we just happened to have two bags of play sand and an empty tote. So I carefully layered  my carrots and sand, then tucked it all in my hall closet. It's not precise by any means, but its cold. In the fall and winter, its warmer than the outside but colder than the house. Good enough, at least at the moment.

After safely tucking my carrots in for the winter, I went on vacation for the weekend. I had planned on grabbing one or two for kiddo on the long drive to Virginia, but forgot them in the rush....



What I found when I came home ( at this point they had been stored just over a week), dumbfounded me. My carrots had started to sprout. Apparently I needed to take the tops clear off and had forgotten to do it. So I had to redo my carrots all over again. The turnips are fine being stored the same way. The squashes are hanging out in a basket and are doing swell for now.

Now to kick back on this little experiment, save for weekly checkups, and savor those yummy carrots all winter long! I'll post come spring on how this worked for us!


                                                           Cheers! ~Mama Homesteader