Beyond the Root Cellar : The Market Gardener's Guide to Growing and Storing Vegetables for Off-season Sales and Food Security

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Overflowing with invaluable tips and innovative strategies, this guide goes beyond the typical fast crops seen in most market gardens. . . I encourage all growers to study it and level up their farming game."--Jean-Martin Fortier, author of The Market Gardener and The Winter Market Gardener

Beyond the Root Cellar is the inspiring guide that proves that--with a little ingenuity--the savvy grower can successfully select, harvest, store, and sell vegetables throughout the off-season, providing their family and community the local food they need during winter months.

Sam Knapp built Offbeet Farm, a winter storage farm in interior Alaska, from the ground up. For the last four years, his success at Offbeet Farm has been a testament to the many benefits of growing crops for wintertime sales. His methods continually prove that winter storage is an excellent way to diversify a farm's offerings, spread the workload more evenly throughout the year, retain customers and employees during the off-season, and bolster local food systems.

Beyond the Root Cellar is a compilation of insights, advice, and instruction, drawing on Sam's experience and that of many other storage farmers Sam has met along the way. It is, Sam says, the book he wishes he had when he embarked on his own winter storage business, and that he hopes will pave the way for growers both new and established who are interested in storage farming.

In Beyond the Root Cellar, you'll find tips and tools for:

Selecting crops and varieties that are best for storage Navigating the ins and outs of storage farm financials and planning Harvesting, processing, and moving crops into storage Designing, creating, and managing temperature- and humidity-controlled storage areas

Also included are profiles of nine different storage farms, a crop compendium with in-depth information about eighteen storage crops, and full-color photography throughout that depicts a range of storage facilities, methods, and crops.

Beyond the Root Cellar is the must-have, comprehensive winter storage handbook for a wide range of growers, from commercial farmers to market gardeners to homesteaders.

"This is next-level market gardening. Knapp is practical and inspiring . . . If you grow vegetables, I recommend that you pick up a copy of this book."--Ben Hartman, author of The Lean Micro Farm

"A must-read for anyone who wants to store produce for any length of time. . . , Even if you don't plan on storing produce all winter, this book will show you how to keep it as fresh as possible for as long as possible."--Andrew Mefferd, editor, Growing for Market magazine, author of The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower's Handbook

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Knapp, who runs Offbeet Farm in Fairbanks, Alaska, debuts with a comprehensive manual on how to harvest, process, and store beets, kale, potatoes, and several other hardy vegetables so they can be sold through the winter. For instance, he suggests picking cabbage heads before their leaves split, trimming their stems, and holding them in open containers to prevent mold. Noting that most produce should be stored in lightly ventilated bins kept near 32ºF, Knapp details how to build a root cellar, or underground storage space, for holding vegetables during cold weather, contending that foam insulation is essential and that concrete floors are ideal if one wants to use pallet jacks. Aimed largely at professional farmers, the in-depth guidance will ensure readers feel equipped to tackle each step of the storage process, and profiles of farms across the country provide insight into successful strategies for maintaining produce. For example, Knapp describes how Tipi Produce in Wisconsin relies on vegetables' natural respiration to warm up their storage areas when temperatures drop below freezing. Thorough yet approachable, this delivers. (Dec.)