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

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 all year round, 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.His success there 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 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 he’s met along the way.It is, Sam says, the book he wishes he had when he embarked on his own winter storage business, and will help 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 storageNavigating the ins and outs of storage farm financials and planningHarvesting, processing, and moving crops into storageDesigning, 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-colour photography to show 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 smallholders.