Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 12/3/2008

Question
We had a storm cellar built in the basement of our new home.  Decided to use it for a fruit cellar.  It is a concrete room 8'x19' with a steele door.  Whole basement is underground with an egress window.  We decided to make the storm cellar a fruie cellar.  Do we have to make any changes?  Do we need a vent?  We do have air coming in under the door.  We will have mostly fruit.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Joyce, I know that fruit storage needs certain conditions to be successful.  The temperature needs to be under 40 degrees or the fruit will begin to ripen.  Ventilation is necessary also.. I have clipped out an article on fruit cellars:


Root cellars must have ventilation!  This is one of most common mistakes that people make when designing/installing them.  Proper ventilation moves the ethylene gas that causes spoilage away from the produce, increasing your storage time and the quality of the items in storage.  It also slows down molds and mildews and other fuzzy things that thrive in dark, damp, still environments.  You need the equivalent of a low and high 2” PVC pipe, preferably placed so as to bring in fresh air low on one side and to vent stale air out high on the opposite side.    Don’t skip the vent pipes if you're building new, or at least their penetrations, even if you're not sure you want to use the space for a root cellar.  You can always cap them off and they're much more difficult to add later.



The root cellar should have no "standard" heating or cooling, other than a way to introduce outside air to cool the space. A "finished" floor is optional, and in fact a simple gravel floor is probably your best option for controlling humidity.  Root cellar produce keeps best with high humidity and cool temperatures.  A gravel floor introduces ground moisture and allows you to sprinkle the floor to add moisture when needed.  A single incandescent light (switched on exterior) should provide adequate lighting (unless your room is really huge) and, if for some reason your storage gets too cold, you can always use it to introduce a little heat.



The best resource we have found on root cellars is the book Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables by Mike and Nancy Bubel.  No matter what your location or how much space you have, the Bubels are likely to have a root cellar option that will work for you.  It contains detailed explanations of how to store vegetables and fruits without electricity with specific temperature and humidity recommendations for each variety.


I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com