Question

I have never done this myself, but here is a short tutorial: near the house dig a trench, one spade deep, put in some sand and then the cabbages, upside down, having removed any sick leaves first, do not allow cabbages to touch each other, then cover them with garden soil. If You expect hard frosts put on an additional layer of straw or fallen leaves. The cabbages keep until spring this way. Source: bio-gaertner.de (in German). The only thing I have done so far was making a barrel of sauerkraut (wooden barrel!) back in 1986. Kept well until it got warm in spring, then it turned into slime, threw away about 6 or 8%. Greetings,antonis

P.S.: If You have the luxury of a cellar there are two more methods described at the same source: 1) hang them upside down (trunk upwards) on a line and 2) store them with 4" of trunk still attached in wooden crates and cover them with sacks. Both methods to be applied in Your cellar.

One of the best sources for root-cellaring & related techniques I have ever seen was/is a 4" thick book called "The Encyclopedia of Cooking." The edition with *ancient lore* is circa the 1950s. It reminded me of my grandparents' produce-storage expertise designed-into the full basement of their big organic farm NE of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, especially with respect to cold air intake & overall ventilation. These days I would try to find that edition online or via interlibrary loan, which has never failed me.

... the full basement of their house ...