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Root cellar ideas have been utilized for storing fruits, vegetables, and other food products, in one form or another, by people around the world for centuries.
If you’re thinking about building one of your own, you need to have a look at these 18 simple root cellar ideas before you get started!
Or, maybe you’d be more interested in giving these DIY greenhouse ideas a look instead!
1. Storm Garden
Perhaps not as simple as the rest of the root cellars on our list, this storm garden is a great idea for those who want to combine their garden and cellar into one extremely cool unit.
2. Mini Root Cellar
Root cellars don’t get much more simple than this metal trash can with a lid buried in the ground. Cinder blocks help keep debris from covering it up.
3. Brick Root Cellar
If you want to build a simple underground storage area, and want it to last for decades to come, what better design than this one made with bricks and mortar?
Take one from the three little pigs, you’ll never have to build another.
4. Groundfridge
The ground fridge is a simple design, sure, but it is far more expensive than most root cellars.
If money isn’t a problem, and you’d rather not get your hands dirty, having one of these puppies installed may be the way to go.
5. Buried Boat
Do you happen to have an old sailboat or yacht lying around and wasting away?
Dig a hole, drop her down, and cover her with tar and you have a weatherproof root cellar like no other.
6. Hobbit Hole
Have you been looking for an excuse to build a hobbit hole of your very own ever since reading Tolkein’s LOTR series? Well, now you can stop looking and get to work!
Meet the hobbit hole root cellar, where you can store potatoes and kick up your heels with a cup of tea all in one place.
7. Earthbag Root Cellar
Dirt is far more useful than many folks realize. Not only can you grow things in it, make mud pies from it, and dig up treasure, but you can also pack it into earthbags and create a rock-solid root cellar.
This design also doubles as a bomb shelter.
8. Buried Timber Root Cellar
If you like the idea of a walk-in root cellar and are handy with timber, this buried cabin-like cellar may be the one for you!
You can even grow grass or a flower bed on top of it.
9. Stacked Tires and Earth
If you can get your hands on a truckload of used tires, and a giant pile of earth, you don’t even need to dig a hole to make a kick-ass root cellar.
Simply stack the tires, fill them with dirt and rocks, and slap a roof over the top of them. Heap on the earth and you’re good to go.
10. Cinder Block Root Cellar
This sturdy root cellar made of cinder blocks and cement will definitely stand up to the test of time.
Regardless of how hard the big bad wolf huffs and puffs and tries to blow it down, it won’t fall.
11. Old Fridge/Freezer
When it’s time to retire the old freezer or fridge, instead of hauling it off to the dump or sitting it on the back porch for the next three decades, why not dump it into a hole in the ground?
Then just slap a pipe in the side of it.
You can use it as high-grade weatherproof storage for all those fruits and veggies you work so hard growing each year.
12. Basement Style Cellar
This sort of cellar is what we would call an “old folks cellar” or “old-timer’s fruit cellar” where I grew up back in the states, during the 1990s.
Usually, the floor was dirt or gravel, and you have to duck your head to avoid bumping the ceiling (unless your a midget, or a kid, then you get to laugh at everyone who does bump their noggin).
13. Tiny Home Type Root Cellar
This tiny home-type construction is both a weekend retreat or hunting lodge and a root cellar hybrid.
You can store your ‘taters in it during the cold seasons, and use it to smoke fish in the summer during after your weekend fishing trips.
14. Miniature Root Cellar With Square Earthbag Design
If you want something sturdy, and secure, but don’t want to deal with dirt, stone, wood, or cement walls, why not give earthbags a shot?
Unlike the earthbag cellar listed above, which is more above ground than it is below, this cellar is set into the ground.
Once completed, you can drop a few boards and tarps over the top, or build a fancy roof for it.
15. Small New Construction Basement Cellar
If you prefer a tidier less earthy type of cellar, a general contractor can dig out and construct a brand new basement cellar in a single weekend in many cases.
You won’t even have to lift a finger unless, of course, it is to hand over some cash or swipe your credit card!
16. Root Cellars of the Future
If you are into futuristic designs or want a root cellar that you can double as a bomb shelter, this one is perfect.
All you need to do is position a few large stones to pile around the air pipes, and a tree stump to disguise the entrance and you are good to go.
You could even incorporate an escape tunnel from within if you so chose to do so.
17. Old European Style Root Cellar
For those of us who like to keep things old-school, a European villager-style root cellar may be the way to go.
These root cellars are basic holes in the ground with a slanted wooden frame and a pallet-like “door” or “lid” that sits on top of it.
They are perfect for storing small to medium amounts of roots, potatoes, onions, and similar items.
18. Tiny Root Cellar (Secret Hiding Place)
If it’s a secret hiding place that you are after, look no further than something like this itty bitty “root cellar” idea.
There is ample room to tuck away a few items for long-term storage (be they survival items, self-defense items, or a stash of MREs).
Just remember to oil the barrels first, and wrap them in a moisture-resistant cloth before you nail them shut and shovel the first back on top.
What Kind of Root Cellar Will You Build?
With all of the great root cellar ideas listed above, you should have no problem finding a root cellar design that matches your personality and the materials you have access to.
Do you have a cool root cellar idea to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below if so!
Good luck picking the best root cellar ideas for you and your cold-storage needs, and thanks for reading!
Suggested Reading: 12 BEST COMPOST BIN IDEAS
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