How to Store Fresh Root Vegetables for Winter

Learn how to store fresh root vegetables for winter, without a root cellar. I'll show you how to properly harvest, prepare and store root vegetables, without firing up a canner, dehydrator, or freezer!

When I first decided to start preserving food from our vegetable garden, I started with home canning. That year, I preserved more than 600 jars of food. By the end, I felt quite burnt out.

So I started talking with people, doing research, and looked for ways to overwinter root vegetables without a root cellar.

Turns out, there are several great ways to keep root vegetables and potatoes over the winter months! I walk you through 4 different methods below.

As for me?

I spent the next several years learning how to keep root vegetables in my basement root cellar or cold room.

It started with storing potatoes in gunny sacks. Then I learned how to store beets and parsnips. I learned all about storing carrots long term.

Years later, I have several different ways I can overwinter root vegetables. We even have a DIY root cellar just off my kitchen! You can read about that in the link I shared.

Now, I'm going to give you 4 ways to preserve root vegetables without a refrigerator or a root cellar.

4 Things You Need to Store Root Vegetables

Root vegetables need four things for long-term storage. 

1. Cold temperatures: root vegetables need to be stored in a cool place. The ideal temperature is near the freezing mark (32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 Celcius).
2. Humidity: if you want root vegetables to stay firm and crisp in storage, they need a humid environment. 
3. Darkness: storing root vegetables in a dark place will (mostly) prevent them from sending up new shoots that will ruin the root.
4. Air Flow: unless they are in the ground, root vegetables and potatoes need air that moves, to carry away warmth, carbon dioxide and to keep things from molding.

Root Crops Suitable for Long-Term Storage

Most root vegetables will store well over the winter months, as long as you protect them from excess moisture, freezing temperatures and rodents! Here's a list of vegetables that store well. 

1. Beets
2. Carrots
3. Celeriac
4. Parsnips
5. Potatoes (they're technically a tuber, not a root!)
6. Rutabaga
7. Salsify
8. Turnips
9. Winter radishes

Contrary to what folks often think, members of the allium family aren't root vegetables. They'll decay quickly in the cold, humid conditions root vegetables and potatoes love.

Here's a list of alliums:

1. Garlic
2. Shallots
3. Sweet onions
4. Winter storage onions

If you want to store alliums, I teach you how to store onions and how to store garlic here.

Note: it's worth noting that if you want to store winter squash or are interested in storing pumpkins, they like the same dry, moderate coolness that alliums love. Don't use the root vegetables storage techniques I show you for either of these fruits.

Best Vegetable Types for Winter Storage

If you're a gardener who wants to grow and store your own root vegetables, be sure to grow varieties that are labeled as winter keepers or storage varieties. 

Often, root vegetables with excellent storage qualities are heirlooms.

3 Key Steps to Prepare Root Vegetables for Storage

There are many different ways to overwinter root vegetables. Unless you live in a mild climate and can leave roots in the ground, here are the steps you need to take before using storage methods I outline below.

Element 1: Harvest at the Right Time

Knowing when to harvest root vegetables is important if you are putting them in a clamp, basement storage room or a cold room. Here's what you need to know.

1. Most roots can handle a light frost. Carrots and parsnips will be sweeter for it, but you should harvest beets, potatoes and turnips before a heavy freezing descends on the garden.
2. Don't ever let the tops of your root vegetables freeze solid, or they'll decay.
3. All root vegetables can go directly from the garden into winter storage, except potatoes.
4. Potatoes are actually tubers. Always cure potatoes before putting them into storage.

Element 2: Remove Leafy Greens

The green tops on your root vegetables need to cut back for winter storage. Even if you are leaving vegetables in your garden and covering with a tarp, the green tops can rot.

To avoid decay, trim green tops within an inch of the root vegetable itself. The tough stems will be fine in storage.

Element 3: Set Damaged and Immature Roots Aside

Don't ever put damaged roots into storage! They will quickly rot and juices can spoil the vegetables nearby. Here are things to look out for.

1. Worm or bug holes. 
2. Scabs, cracks or spots where decay has set in.
3. Root tips that snapped off during harvest.
4. Slices or cuts from a shovel.

Also keep your eyes open for immature root vegetables. Tiny beets, parsnips, radishes and carrots won't last long in storage, so set them aside and use first.

With cold storage techniques, it's really important to only put fully mature, high quality vegetables into storage.

Watch the Tutorial

4 Ways to Store Root Vegetables without a Root Cellar

While a root cellar offers ideal storage conditions, many folks don't have that option. And that's ok, because there are many other places around your home where you can store vegetables for the entire winter! 

1. In Your Garden Beds

Yes, if you have mild winters, your garden beds can be a wonderful place to store root vegetables!

1. Leave your root vegetables right where they are.
2. Before the ground freezes, cut back the green tops 1-2 inches from the root.
3. Cover the entire bed with a deep layer of straw mulch or leaves.
4. Tarp the garden bed to keep things dry.
5. Be sure to weigh down the edges of your cover, so wind and animals can't get in.

When you need carrots, beets, turnips or parsnips, peel back the tarp and dig up your root vegetables. Just remember to recover the garden bed, and weigh your tarp down once again!

One year I left an entire row of carrots in the garden, using this technique. I started harvesting in early spring, and one day failed to recover the carrots.

A deer jumped the garden fence that night (probably lured by the smell of the carrots), and he ate up my entire carrot bed!

If ever a deer deserved a stomach ache, it was that evening.

Cover your carrots. It's worth the hassle!

Downside 1: if you provide a dry, warm place for mice or other rodents, they might move in and will happily feast on your beets, carrots and parsnips. 

Downside 2: you have to go out into the mud or snow and dig up your root vegetables every few weeks. 

2. In a Root Clamp

If you read books on root cellaring, you'll always hear mention of a root clamp. I've never tried this, but I do have friends who use clamps to overwinter root vegetables and potatoes. It's an easy to way to create a mini root cellar.

1. Choose a locate at the side of your garden for a clamp.
2. Mark an area about 3-4 feet wide.
3. Dig down about 12 inches.
4. Nestle your root vegetables into the sunk area you dug.
5. Cover the vegetables with a 2 inch layer of dry straw or leaves (they must be dry!).
6. Pile earth on top, until it is about 8-12 inches thick.
7. If you live where temperates dip below -10, you'll probably want to cover the mound with another layer of straw or leaves.
8. Tarp the mound, especially if you live in an area that has heavy winter rain.

Downside 1: rodents may find your root clamp and eat your vegetables (you can sometimes avoid this by lining it with wire mesh).

Downside 2: to access your vegetables, you'll have to dig them out all winter long, and recover the area you opened up.

3. The Basement Cold Room

The first place I overwintered root vegetables was in an unheated basement, with a concrete floor. A window in the wall let in cold winter air, and I could adjust the temperature in the room by opening or closing the window.

I learned so much in this tiny space. Here's how to root vegetables in a basement cold room or basement root cellar.

1. Harvest root vegetables when the weather turns cold, and drops below freezing at night.
2. Dig beets, carrots, parsnips or turnips, and cut off the green tops an inch from where they connect to the root.
3. Note: potatoes should be dug and cured before storing in gunny sacks (you can learn all about curing potatoes here).
4. Take a storage bin, and put 2 inches of soil in the bottom.
5. Carefully lay root vegetables in the bottom of your bin, on top of the soil.
6. Leave spaced between each root, and then cover with another 1-2 inches of soil.
7. Continue layering root vegetables and soil, finishing off the bin with 3-4 inches of dirt.

Downside 1: a basement cold room is a good place to store fresh produce, but it won't remain cool in the spring like a traditional root cellar and produce has to be used up by mid spring.

Downside 2: having bins of dirty vegetables in your cold room can make a mess, so you'll often have to clean up after yourself. 

4. A North Facing Room 

When my man and I built our little cottage, we put a floor level, insulated cold room on the north side of our home.

It's outside the home's envelope, but there is a door entering it from the kitchen. The concrete floor is unheated, and a small window controls the temperature.

You can take a tour of our north facing cold room and see how we built it.

How do you store root vegetables in it?

Just like a basement cold room or root cellar (see option 3), vegetables are layered in bins of dirt before storing, and potatoes keep all winter long in gunny sacks on the floor.

If you have near freezing winter temperatures, a north facing room can be easily created in a basement, shop, garage or even as a lean-to on your home!

Tips for Maintaining Your Vegetables

It's easy to think once you have vegetables in winter storage, the work is done. But even in storage, roots and tubers do require a bit of maintenance.

1. Check your storage space every 2 weeks, to see temperature and observe if there are any bad smells.
2. Sacked potatoes should be checked for moisture.
3. Any time you are digging through vegetables and find moisture, keep digging until you find the rotten vegetable that caused the moisture.
4. After removing rotten vegetables, be sure to check the surrounding area and remove any other vegetables that are starting to decay.
5. When spring temperatures warm up, you'll need to refrigerate, freeze or can the remaining produce, or it will spoil.

Questions Folks Ask

Should I try overwintering root vegetables if I don't have ideal temperatures?

If you live where winters are mild (averaging 50F or 10C), you'll probably get best results by leaving roots in a covered garden bed. 

Should you live in the south where even winters are warm, an upright refrigerator or walk-in cooler room would be best. 

Can I store root vegetables if I don't have a basement or cold room?

Yes, you can! The key thing is having cool temperatures (ideally near the 30-40F or 0-5C), and to avoid freezing your roots. I personally know folks who overwinter root vegetables in the following places. 

• Crawl space under a single story house.
• A shallow clamp inside a small hoop house.
• In the garden under a pile of leaves.
• On the floor of a pump house.
• In a crawl space under a barn floor.

Should I store root vegetables in wood or cardboard boxes? 

I like to store root vegetables in plastic totes or plastic bins that won't mold or deteriorate. Both cardboard and wooden boxes will, especially when they hold moist soil for months at a time. 

I recommend using something sturdy that you can easily shift around, if needed.

Is it a good idea to store potatoes in moist soil?

I've never tried, because it's completely unnecessary in my climate! If you learn how to cure potatoes, the tubers will keep remarkably well on a cool floor in a plastic gunny sack.

What does it mean if my roots go rubbery and floppy in storage?

Under ideal conditions, roots will last for a long, long time. But if they are going rubbery, here are some trouble shooting tips.

1. Roots you stored were undersized and can't hold out very long.
2. Temperatures may not be cold enough. 
3. There isn't enough moisture for the roots and they're wilting like a flower. 

Often, a lack of moisture is the problem. 

I saw this firsthand in a family member's cold room in northern Canada. Up there, it's a struggle to keep things from freezing so folks don't like to overdo it on the moisture. But if you don't have enough moisture, carrots are particularly prone to going limp.

Conclusion

There are many different ways you can store root vegetables, without a root cellar. While you'll hear conflicting advice on the internet, the key thing is to try it for yourself.

Don't be daunted by people who claim you have to have the perfect environment.

Old timers rarely did, and they kept at things until they figured out what would work for them, in their particular climate, with their particular storage situation.

Have questions? Leave them in the comments below, and I'll get back to on them!