Anyone who doesn’t live in California or Florida who has become addicted to local, fresh food from farmers markets, dreads November and the bitter cold, barren months ahead.
In the Midwest, if you don’t have a plan for saving food through the winter or have a CSA that will deliver root veggies until Spring, you’re SOL and beholden to shipped produce and fresh foods from the coasts and other foreign destinations.
Smart urban farmgirls learn how to can their veggies and fruits. And even smarter ones have figured out how to turn a part of their houses into root cellars. Remember those?
My grandparents’ basement at The Farm was no fun during a tornado. But it was perfect for storing veggies. My grandmother’s basement shelves were stocked full of canned tomatoes, green beans and apples.
So how do you replicate a perfect 55-degree environment in the city? Turns out, some cellars are better than others.
Check out this story today in the New York Times featuring a Harlem couple who are stocking their brownstone’s basement with CSA provisions for themselves and neighbors.
Closer to home Vital Information has information about storing food in an urban Chicago neighborhood. See VI’s storage label.
As for VFG…no dice on using our basement as a root cellar. Our boiler is in the basement. The water pipes and radiators keep the basement nice, dry and toasty during the cooler months.
I have thought about digging out a spot in an unheated storage part under our dining room. Maybe if the economy continues to tank.
Flickr image of a root cellar from 4countrykids’ photostream. Thanks to Urban Dweller for the NYT tip!
Virtual Farmgirl 