May 2012

Mock Root Cellars  

I attended the Utah Preparedness Expo at the Davis Conference center and attended a Mock Root Cellar class taught by Mark Standing. He showed us a crisp hard potato that he just pulled out of his mock root cellar (April 14th). Firm, no sprouts and actually better than store quality. I thought we could all benefit from storing our fresh vegetables or fruits longer without an official root cellar. Mark Standing's mock root cellar design was taken from PrepareAware's Blog, Root Cellars on May 5, 2010. The following is information taken from that article and Mark's class. 

Did you know you can make your own root cellar at home and you don’t need to spend a fortune?  The cost is about $35 and you will have longer lasting fruits and vegetables through the cold season.  Or even a place to keep your food storage when summer temps spike and you don’t have a place cool to keep it. 

First the science behind preserving veggies and fruits is essential to making your own root cellar work well (I promise it will be in layman terms and I won’t bore you to death).   In order for root cellars to work (for most veggies and fruits) you need 90 – 95% humidity.  Which here in Utah (the second dryest state in the union) is tough to come by.  Also, most fruits and veggies store best at 32 degrees.  

That said, LET’S BUILD A ROOT CELLAR:

 1. Buy a 20 – 30 gallon plastic trash can with a lid (plastic is better – if you use galvanized metal, you will need to line it with a food friendly plastic liner). 

 2. With a 1/4″ drill, make 10 – 12 holes in the bottom of the can (so condensation can escape). 

 3. Dig a deep hole into the ground about the height of your trash can. 

 4. In the bottom of the hole put down some gravel. 

 5. Next place your can into the hole and back fill around the can for a snug fit.  If you are ready to store your winter crops, make sure you let all of your fruits and veggies cool overnight before putting them into your new mock root cellar. 

 6. Place a layer of veggies down and separate them from the next variety of veggies by a 2″ layer of straw.  Continuing layering until the can is full. 

 7. Now you have two insulation options – one, you can put the lid on and cover with a dome of 16 – 18″ of straw around the lid (you can also use sand, dry leaves, peat moss, or odorless saw dust).  Or two, you can buy a domed lid for your can and put spray-on insulation on the inside of the domed lid.  Viola!  You are done!

 FRUITS!  It is important that you don’t store your fruits and veggies TOGETHER!  You must keep a seperate can for fruits.  The ethylene gas that fruits emit cause ripening and if this gas comes in contact with your veggies, kiss them goodbye. 

August Newsletter

2009 Preparedness Plan
August Summary
(taken from Syracuse 6th Ward Plan)

Spiritual Goal:
Take time to evaluate your communication with our Heavenly Father. Are your prayers meaningful? Do you talk to your Father in heaven with a sincere heart? Do you remember to pray for your family members? For the people you have responsibility to? For patience? For help with your preparedness plan?

Emergency Preparedness Goal:
Add $20.00 in coin and small bills in your “cash stash”. You should have now
have $160.00.
Stress reducers (i.e. books, games, crayons, scriptures)

Food Storage Goal:
Fruit, Juice: Fruit is what they call an expanded storage item. This is an item expanded beyond basic food storage that would include food that supply total nutritional needs, adds variety and allows for personal preferences. It is wise to first obtain fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamins A and C and food items that make the basic more versatile. Each person should have between 2-4 servings of fruit per day. One medium apple, banana or orange, ½ cup of canned fruit or ¾ cup of juice makes one serving. Only 100% fruit juice counts as a fruit serving.

Vinegar: There are many good uses for vinegar that make it a good item to keep in your food storage. It will last indefinitely. Some uses are: 1). Add a teaspoon to the water when cooking rice to make it fluffier. 2). Add a teaspoon when cooking roast beef to make it more tender. 3). Add cinnamon to some vinegar and microwave for a quick potpourri. 4). Put on hands to remove fishy odors. 5). When hand washing dishes, add vinegar to the rinse water for spot free glassware and china. 6). Drain cleaner – pour ½ cup baking soda down the drain. Add 1 cup white vinegar and follow with boiling water. Flush with cold water for 1-2 minutes. 7). General cleaner and disinfectant – 1 cup distilled white vinegar with 2 teaspoons lemon juice in 1 ½ quarts of distilled water. (Ideas taken from Cheryl Driggs’ Simply Prepared, pg 48)


Challenge:
Try to learn the skill of canning. Decide today to try to can one thing this summer.