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Anyone use the hot bed method? I filled 3 bins of fresh horse manure a week ago and they are cooking like mad and was wondering if it’s too early to plant more things and make the cloche over the top.?I have germinated a few things in the house and also wonders if it’s worth putting them on top to get more sun but still have the heat to keep the frosts off
Hello, we are planning on building a horse manure hot bed for propagation in one end of the polytunnel… is there an optimum height width or length for the hot bed? we were thinking of about 70cm high, 1m wide, 2m long (ish)… concerned that maybe we might need more depth to generate enough heat?
That will heat MPG though more height will be good, mine start at 1.5m and quickly sink to 1.2 then 1m, then we top up with fresh manure..
A larger size holds heat for longer.I am also looking to start a hot bed in the poly tunnel early next year for propagation. I have access to lots of goat,pig and alpaca manure and I was also hoping to grow some early crops by topping the beds with topsoil/compost. What are the best crops to grow with this method? I have read that a ratio of 3:1 manure depth to top soil is advised for optimal temperature but would welcome any advice
Remember you need straw as well as fresh poo.
It’s less about ratios, more (a) have enough fresh manure to make the heat, more than a cubic metre, and (b) enough compost in the bed on top for growth, say 15cm/6in. See my archived posts of February 2013.Thanks Charles. I was just worried about overheating the top compost but we have plenty of straw/poo to experiment.
Charles, I made a hotbed in my greenhouse to germinate my seedlings on and to grow some nice and strong tomatoplants.
After beeing very hot (65-70 degrees) for 2-3 weeks the temperature now has droped to 35 degrees. Is dat normal and high enough?
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