free refrigeration underground..

Root cellars what are they? Basically refrigerators underground,cooled rooms for food storage..

A root cellar for fall and winter storage is a must for any latitude, even in the far south where cold-season temperatures may not reach a cellar’s ideal levels between 32 and 40 degrees F. But, the simple fact is, the cooler one keeps any food (with few exceptions), the longer it will last. And let us suppose that one has a working windmill, which, as is most often the case, barely provides the very basic electrical needs of a home. Wouldn’t it be highly advantageous to place a refrigerator and freezer in the root cellar’s 55-degree winter environment rather than in the 68-degree environment of the house? A 13-degree difference (or more) would translate into a substantial reduction in required electrical output!


http://www.tribwatch.com/rootcell.htm

More about root cellars
http://waltonfeed.com/old/cellar4.html

Some plans
http://www.earth-house.com/Provisions/Root_Cellars/root_cellars.html

and I don't think those are practical here...always wondering if your food is going to be buried. For us, a VERY well insulated room above ground might have the same effect. We don't have paintings hanging over our sofas or beds, either.

edited to lose the empirical we...I live in earthquake country

the ground to a room that's 14x18 ft. and has a well built into the wall (that goes 150 ft down).
The house was built in 1689. I don't know when the root cellar was built but, it is still completely intact without any repairs all these years. It actually sits underneath the road. And, the road gets quite a bit of traffic now- 18 wheelers too!

I used to keep all of my garden vegetables down there (Bags of carrots, potatoes and beets hung from the ceiling and in cold boxes of sand). Nothing beats a root cellar!

You mean, nothing *beets* a root cellar, right?

:D

I bet in the summers, it is the place to be.

Well, 100 years earlier it had been a root cellar, then in the 50's they cemented the walls and it was a bomb/tornado shelter.

It was so cool and comfy down there...

to escape the heat in the summer

to hide from a tornado

farmers stored veggies and homemade "brews" down there

I used to love going in there as a kid to escape the heat.

as I found out in New England when I'd leave everything but the living room largely unheated. Frozen iceberg lettuce is not a nice thing to confront when you're trying to throw a last minute soup and sandwich supper together after a hard day's work.

The root cellar alone is cool enough to keep most fruits and veggies.

My grandma had a real one, dug into the earth, deep and dark and cool. Mine will be underground in my basement. Not quite real but it will work. I love nothing better than to have fresh, home grown food in the winter.

but I don't think it would work in FL because the water table is too high. And then there are the snakes. I remember root cellars from up north. Very useful things.