As we plant out our veggie gardens, we are anxiously awaiting our first harvest of yummy home-grown produce. With such a large growing space, however, we know we are going to end up with more than we can eat fresh from the plant, and so we are already starting to plan what exactly we do with the excess. There will be a whole lot of pickling and jam making and marmalade making and preserving going on, but as we google around and search pinterest, we are also dreaming of adding a root cellar to our plans.

What we are thinking of doing is creating a larder store, with a basement root cellar, and upstairs on the ground entrance level, space for storing preserved items, cheese making, and brewing supplies. The building itself will be of a similar design to the main house (because of course it has to match), and we plan to place it near the veggie gardens, to create a large, functional kitchen garden area. This space will also include some cut flower beds, a chicken coop, and the clothesline.

Can’t you just picture walking through a gorgeous flower garden like this:

And, then once you get to the actual larder, I’m imagining, when you walk in the door, a row of shelving like this:

I’d also like to incorporate a herb-drying area:

Then on the other wall, a brewing area for making cheese, beer & wine. I’m thinking IKEA Ivar shelving, with a configuration a bit like these two combos, for lots of storage and workspace:

And I love these wooden bottle crates to keep everything nice and tidy:

 

Downstairs, I would like to think we can create something pretty-looking (even though I’m the only one who will see it!), with a mix of tubs and open shelving like this:

Though these flat drawers are probably a more practical way to allow for easy checking for any issues with the stored produce:

And of course, I’m going to need a harvest basket:

And a cute basket for when I go to do my “shopping”:

Can you tell I’m just a little bit excited by this idea? It’s going to be so nice to be to be able to feed our family with a lot of our own produce. It will be interesting to see how it affects our grocery bill after we’ve been through a full yearly cycle of growing our own fruit & vegetables, and we have a better understanding of how our land responds as a garden.