Especially before rural electrification, farms with springhouses have often used them for root cellar duty (as well as milkhouse duty). Even the space under a bed can store some crops (such as pumpkins) for several weeks. Д¬losets, crawlspaces, garages, sheds, and attics have all been used successfully for storage of at least some kinds of crops. This is a form of season extension in which the growing season is not extended but the harvest season is substantially extended. The fact that they cannot thrive or grow larger in the low-light, low-temperature conditions is not a problem the only objective is to keep them alive instead of dead, thus warding off decomposition. In some cases plants are transplanted from the field to the dirt floor of a cellar in autumn, and they then continue living in the cellar for months.

The analogy is not exact, but the high humidity that supports many cellared crops is involved in this residual respiration. The effect can be compared to the way that cut flowers in a vase of water last much longer than cut flowers lying on a table: the flowers in the vase are not entirely dead yet and continue to respire. Although they may no longer qualify as living, the plant cells continue to respire in some impaired but nonzero way, resisting bacterial decomposition for a time. The ability of some vegetables and fruit to keep for months in favorable cellar conditions stems in part from the fact that they are not entirely inanimate even after picking. Items such as salad greens, fresh meat, and jam pies are kept in the root cellar early in the day to keep cool until they are needed for supper.

Water, bread, butter, milk, and cream are sometimes stored in the root cellar.

Apples are one of the crops that give off enough ethylene gas to hasten the overripening or spoilage of other crops stored nearby, although this effect is variable and many farms successfully store vegetables without segregating their apples. Separate cellars are occasionally used for storing fruits, such as apples. A potato cellar is sometimes called a potato barn or potato house. Other food supplies placed in the root cellar during winter months include beets, onions, jarred preserves and jams, salt meat, salt turbot, salt herring, winter squash, and cabbage. Vegetables stored in the root cellar primarily consist of potatoes, turnips, and carrots. A secondary use for the root cellar is as a place to store wine, beer, or other homemade alcoholic beverages. Typically, a variety of vegetables are placed in the root cellar in the autumn after harvesting. Root cellars keep food from freezing during the winter and keep food cool during the summer to prevent the spoiling and rotting of the roots, for example, potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, parsnips, etc. Many crops keep longest just above freezing (32-35 degrees Fahrenheit or 1-3 degrees Celsius) and at high humidity (90вЂ“95%), but the optimal temperature and humidity ranges vary by crop, and various crops keep well at temperatures further above near-freezing but below room temperature, which is usually 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit. Root cellars are for keeping food supplies at controlled temperatures and steady humidity. Two traditional sod-covered potato cellars in southeastern Idaho Thus they are popular among diverse audiences, including gardeners, organic farmers, DIY fans, homesteaders, preppers, subsistence farmers, and enthusiasts of local food, slow food, heirloom plants, and traditional culture.

Although present-day food distribution systems and refrigeration have rendered root cellars unnecessary for many people, they remain important for those who value self-sufficiency, whether by economic necessity or by choice and for personal satisfaction. Root cellaring has been vitally important in various eras and places for winter food supply. The structure may not always be underground. A wide variety of foods can be stored for weeks to months, depending on the crop and conditions. Its name reflects the traditional focus on root crops stored in an underground cellar, which is still often true. Interior of a large Wyoming root cellar with cropsДЄ root cellar (American English) or earth cellar (British English) is a structure, usually underground or partially underground, used for storage of vegetables, fruits, nuts, or other foods.

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