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Root cellaring

Source of Recipe

A little of everywhere
You can preserve crops in the root cellar for periods of time using different techniques, containers and mediums. Old tubs, buckets or any useful found object works. Some things work well in boxes and crates,or on shelves, some are best in paper sacks. you can hang some crops or dry some. Some vegetables, such as endive can be replanted in the cellar. There are those that can winter over in the garden.(28-31 degrees F. is a light frost, 24-28 degrees f. is a moderate frost and 24 and below is a severe frost)
A medium to pack them in can be anything from sand, sawdust, moss, peat moss or leaves, to gunnysack. Plain old dirt or sand is useful for root crops. Use moss and leaves on produce that will be difficult to wash sand out of.
Light and temperature are a consideration, as well as humidity. Standing water is never good.

Apples, Store in paper bags.
Citrus, at 32-40 for a low or 80-90 for a high.
Grapes, hang at 40-80 degrees.(some will dry up, but then you have raisins)
Pear, 32-40 low and 80-90 high.
Quince, 32-40-low and 80-90 high.

Beets, Cut off all but 1 1/2 inch of tops and leave stem intact.Bury in medium of your choice. If you can't use the greens up, (if you haven't already) Saute or steam and freeze them. Too many in excess, hang and dry. crumble them as needed for soups or garnishes. (or compost if you went crazy planting them) 32-40 low and 90-95 high. Will store 2-5 months.
Broccoli will store 1 week in cold weather. (short term=ST)
Brussels sprouts (ST) Hang. 3-5 weeks. Near 32 degrees.
Cabbage, firm heads,1-2 months on shelves or hang.32-40 and 80-90 high.
Chinese cabbage, firm heads. As for cabbage, or layer in straw or paper 1 inch apart.
Carrot,
Carrots, Store in containers in layers of moist sand. Straw and dirt also. October is the time to root cellar these. snap the tops off first, as most of this type root vegetable, (horseradish, kohlrabi, parsnips, rutabaga (2-4 months), salsify or scorzonera, and turnip, etc....) Good keepers. Can stay in the ground until a good freeze. 32-40 and 90-95.
Cauliflower. (ST) As for broccoli.
Celeriac (with a i inch top) on shelves. Dig before hard frosts and store in boxes of damp dirt. 32-40 and 90-95.
Celery, root cellar as for celeriac. 1-2 months, 32-40 and 90-95.
Collards. Can be dried and hung. Use, crumbled in soups and stews, etc....(ST) 32-40 and 90-95.
Eggplant, (ST)
Endive, Chicory and escarole, replant in cellar. Chicory is French endive. Witloof chicory is endive which is the classic kind of magdeburg chicory used for making the coffee. Keeps a couple of months in the cellar. the greens are edible in winter if they show up. 42-40 and 80-90.
Garlic; braid the green part and hang to dry, you can use your tomato cages for this, as it provides good air circulation. Shallots can be hung on them as well. You can use chicken wire to make cages also. Lack of room ?. string clothes line or rope across ceiling to hang things on, ideal for herbs and flowers that need to be dried. Garlic can also be stored in paper bags and used fresh, it is a fairly good keeper. (35-40 and 60-70)
Jerusalem artichokes, not a keeper in the cellar. Leave in the ground, heavily mulched, and dig as needed.
Kohlrabi, Dig up in late fall and Cut off tops a half inch above the crown. Layer them in containers of moist sand, sphagnum or peat moss.
Leeks, Replant in cellar. 32-40 and 90-95. 42 degrees is ideal.
Onions, on slats 45-55 degrees.(or braid and hang to dry).
Parsley, in the field.
Potato, 1-2 weeks curing,(no sunlight) 4-6 months after that. 36-40 and 80-90. Leave potatoes in the ground until anytime after the vines have dropped and dried, then dig them up.
Sweet potato, 4-6 months. never try to keep bruised or nicked sweet potatoes, they rot in a matter of days. If you can't use bad ones in a day or so, feed them to the livestock. Store in paper, or tie in bags. so they are not touching. 50-60 degrees.
Pumpkin. slice them in rings after removing the seeds and strings. Hang to dry. Cook several hours to reconstitute.
Radish, winter. remove tops and store in sand.
Salsify store the same way as beets, carrots or parsnips. best to keep in the ground through winter and dig as needed.
Squash, winter. until spring. 50-60 and 60-70. Pumpkin also.
Soy bean pods.(most bean pods) 2-4 weeks, or hang and dry. 30-40 and 60-70.
Tomato. 40-50 and 85-90. (Green tomatoes, 50-60 and 60-70.)