Homestead Harvest Room

[Rick]

If you are considering building a homestead, then one of the things you need to give consideration to is a harvest room. One room specifically designated for the preparation and storage of food.

A harvest room was a simple necessity for yesterday's farms. Yet they have all but disappeared today. And today's modern kitchen is ill equipment for canning or dehydrating a wonderful garden harvest. There simply isn't room or the proper equipment for doing it.

I thought I would put together some thoughts on a harvest room for those that are interested. Despite my searching, I have not been able to locate anything on the internet about a harvest room.

First, remember that most of the harvest will occur in late summer when outdoor temperatures are at or near their zenith. So you'll want your harvest room to be cool. That may mean a room with windows or a room with flow through ventilation.

You can take advantage of some of the equipment in your kitchen such as the sink and dishwasher so you may wish to have the room adjacent to the kitchen. If you wish to be off the grid then you can sterilize the jars by boiling either over an open fire outside, over a wood stove or in a Rumford (1) fireplace. Either way, being close to the kitchen will be a plus.

You'll need plenty of room to store empty canning jars, lids and rings. So cabinets will be important. Counter space will be another prime consideration. Since canning requires heating a pressure canner (the safest method) you will need a source of heat. Again, you may wish to take advantage of your kitchen stove or you might consider adding a unit specifically for your harvest room. This could be a handy addition particularly if you have a large family or frequent guests. A nice place to cook without heating up the rest of the house.

(1) You might even considering building a Rumford fire place in the harvest room along with a bread oven. A Rumford fireplace is a tall and shallow fireplace that was pretty common in early American. Also referred to as a working fireplace or cooking fireplace, it's one of the easiest designs to cook in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumford_fireplace

And don't forget the necessary fireplace equipment like the fireplace crane.

You'll also prefer to have easy access from the harvest room to your root cellar where much of your canned foods will be stored.

Whether you combine the functionality into your kitchen or decide to go with two separate rooms, you will want the space for canning and dehydrating equipment along with a surplus of storage just for harvest activities.

Just one more thing to consider when you build the homestead of your dreams.

[crashdive123]

Good stuff. Thanks.

[nell67]

Great post Rick.

[JRJ]

My grandparents house was built for real living. The "garage" was built for hanging deer and storing firewood inside, from there you would enter the entrance and either proceed up a few stairs to the actual living area or down into the basement.

The basement was built for harvesting & canning. 1 full kitchen with 3 faucets, 2 extra large dish sinks and cupboards for all the canning equipment. This all lead down a bit deeper into the storage cellar. Through another door was a 2nd living room. In between was the wood furnace area.

I remember every year the family would gather to can, make sour kraut and smoke fish. Of course during hunting season the garage and basement was where the meat processing happened.

My grandfather built the house himself. When times were hard and winter survival depended on having real stores of food. The heart of the house was in the basement, during get together's everyone just seemed to gather in the basement, the upstairs was where the cooking took place, where the tv's were, where all the modern day comforts were. I could always tell friends of the family from acquaintances - they never hung out in the basement.


-JRJ

[canid]

one thing i like about my place [rental] is that there's a fill kitchen counter/sink in the laundry room [and also a big laundry sink] and out on the back patio [great for potting, barbique, etc.] as well as the kitchen.

[Ridge Wolf]

If you are considering building a homestead, then one of the things you need to give consideration to is a harvest room. One room specifically designated for the preparation and storage of food.

A harvest room was a simple necessity for yesterday's farms. Yet they have all but disappeared today. And today's modern kitchen is ill equipment for canning or dehydrating a wonderful garden harvest. There simply isn't room or the proper equipment for doing it.

I thought I would put together some thoughts on a harvest room for those that are interested. Despite my searching, I have not been able to locate anything on the internet about a harvest room.

First, remember that most of the harvest will occur in late summer when outdoor temperatures are at or near their zenith. So you'll want your harvest room to be cool. That may mean a room with windows or a room with flow through ventilation.

You can take advantage of some of the equipment in your kitchen such as the sink and dishwasher so you may wish to have the room adjacent to the kitchen. If you wish to be off the grid then you can sterilize the jars by boiling either over an open fire outside, over a wood stove or in a Rumford (1) fireplace. Either way, being close to the kitchen will be a plus.

You'll need plenty of room to store empty canning jars, lids and rings. So cabinets will be important. Counter space will be another prime consideration. Since canning requires heating a pressure canner (the safest method) you will need a source of heat. Again, you may wish to take advantage of your kitchen stove or you might consider adding a unit specifically for your harvest room. This could be a handy addition particularly if you have a large family or frequent guests. A nice place to cook without heating up the rest of the house.

(1) You might even considering building a Rumford fire place in the harvest room along with a bread oven. A Rumford fireplace is a tall and shallow fireplace that was pretty common in early American. Also referred to as a working fireplace or cooking fireplace, it's one of the easiest designs to cook in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumford_fireplace

And don't forget the necessary fireplace equipment like the fireplace crane.

You'll also prefer to have easy access from the harvest room to your root cellar where much of your canned foods will be stored.

Whether you combine the functionality into your kitchen or decide to go with two separate rooms, you will want the space for canning and dehydrating equipment along with a surplus of storage just for harvest activities.

Just one more thing to consider when you build the homestead of your dreams.

My mother in law grew up canning on the old family farm. She may know something about this harvest room of which you speak.. I'll ask her and if she does, I'll get her to tell me all about it and post the interview on here.. much like the foxfire books.. I just checked those that I have and none of them have any info. about harvest rooms.

Their storage room was insulated like a pump house (very thick) to keep it cool. We chucked a whole lot of canned goods.. (second generation just doesn't understand about the old ways) when she moved out of there. I actually had no say in the matter or those canning supplies would have been kept.

[BraggSurvivor]

Thanks for the post Rick, I didnt actually know there was a name for it. Out here we call it the quonset. We do all our food preparation there including a simple butcher room, meat locker, wine cellar and apple press area. I cant grow a garden, so canning is minimal other than what we purchase at the local farmers market in the fall.

http://www.millarville-ab.com/FarmersMarket.html

[Rick]

JRJ - Great post. Thanks Bragg - Exactly the concept. Ridge - I look forward to the post.

The important thing for those contemplating a homestead is to think in terms of yesterday and not in terms of the way houses are built today. We build homes today for entertainment as much as shelter. The old farms were build for practicality and convenience in terms of food preparation and storage. Food was a central theme. Maintaining and storing food stocks year round, particularly where you can't run to the local market on the way home from work, is essential.

Just consider the time of year involved and what you'll need to do to preserve your foods, then plan accordingly.

[canid]

consider... plan... this is starting to sound like a lot of work.

/me goes back to making pointed sticks

[Rick]

Who knew surviving in the woods would be anything other than fun?

[Ridge Wolf]

JRJ - Great post. Thanks Bragg - Exactly the concept. Ridge - I look forward to the post.

I'll see her today.. Happy egg hunts..


I talked to her today.. She said that they always did that in the kitchen.. they had a big one and then everything was stored in the canning shed.. That was insulated to about a foot she said.

[Chicago Dan]

My grandparents farm had a separate building(aprox. 40ft. X 20ft.) they called the summer kitchen. It had a couple sinks, stoves and lots of counter/table space for processing. Building also doubled as a place to cook during the hot summer months so as to not heat up the main house, hence the name. What really struck me was the screened windows that ran the length of two opposite sides. The flow thru ventilation was fantastic.

[Rick]

My aunt and uncle had a similar set up. Not only did she do all her cooking and canning in there, she did her washing in there as well. The south facing wall was all windows so it stayed warm in the winter and had a great breeze in the summer.