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Old February 26, 2012   #1
Masbustelo
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Default My manure powered Hotbed experiment.

I built a traditional Hotbed last fall, scavenged some old windows and planted my first seeds today. I never did this before so for me it is an experiment. I've tried starting seeds over the years and have pretty much decided it isn't for me. Here are some pictures I took. Today I planted my first seeds, but not the tomatoes yet. I am in Illinois Zone 5b. If anyone is interested or has any questions I would be happy to try to answer them.
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Old February 26, 2012   #2
Mudman
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Do you have a thermometer in there? I am wondering what the difference is outside/inside.
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Old February 27, 2012   #3
Masbustelo
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Default Thermometer

Mudman Here is a picture of the thermometer I am using. It has a probe on it so I assume its taking its reading from four inches down. The manure has only been in the pit for four days and I'm trying to watch what it is doing. I probably planted sooner than I should have if it over heats. But I'M leaving town for a week and wanted to get some slow growing seeds started. I probably need a second thermometer for ambient temperature also. Yesterday am it was 25 degrees outside and soil temp of 50 and at five pm 60 degrees outside and 60 degrees soil temperature.
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Old February 27, 2012   #4
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1. Start your hotbed 6 to 8 weeks before your transplanting time in the garden. Any earlier will get too much cold weather which a hot bed can't avert.

2. Cold tolerant plants such as cabbage can typically be started 3 to 4 weeks before tomato seed can be placed in the hot bed.

3. Leaving plants too long in a hot bed can cause them to get spindly from overcrowding and the root system can get too intertwined to easily separate the plants.

4. A hotbed should be in the warmest location with maximum sunlight. On the south side of a building or tall board fence with protection from West winds is preferred.

5. It should be easily accessible so plants can be tended to quickly and easily even if it means opening the bed on an unfavorable day.

6. Drainage is critical. If you make a trench and rain fills it full, you won't get many plants.

7. Dig the pit 3.5 to 4 feet deep, 2 to 3 feet wide, and as long as you want.

8. Line the sides with lumber to keep rodents out! Make a frame from the bottom of the pit extending 1 foot above ground level and bevel the top as needed to give the window sashes a southerly slope.

9. Procure enough fresh horse manure and tree leaves to fill the hot bed nearly full. Place in the pit and leave it to begin heating. When it is thoroughly hot measuring 100 degrees or more, pack it down thoroughly.

10. Pile 4 to 5 inches of very fine topsoil on top of the manure. It should be nearly level with the ground surface. Now cover it with the sashes and wait until the temperature is 90 degrees. Check the soil moisture, the soil should be very loose and crumbly, not over moist.

11. Plant seed in the soil and watch them grow!

DarJones - who just happens to have a nice copy of the 1911 Garden Library book "The Vegetable Garden" to look up things like how to make a hot bed.
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Old February 27, 2012   #5
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When I was a kid my father had a couple old upright freezers and a refrigerator that he buried in the ground up against the garage wall. He used the refrigerator for winter storage of turnips, parsnips, carrots and rutabagas. He packed them in straw, sawdust and newspaper depending on what he could get. The freezers had their doors removed and boards attached making sloping frames that he laid his salvaged storm windows on. He would start one hot bed late in the fall and my mother grew various salad greens in it. The other one he started in late winter to grow his transplants.

I remember standing out behind the garage with Dad and men from the neighborhood who had happend by on chilly Saturday mornings to say hello and share a cup of coffee. They would talk about their garden plans and arrange for Dad to get to them when he borrowed his brothers tractor to plow. Invariably they would take a peek to see how Harry's hotbed was coming along. It was a good time. Winter was nearly over and spring was just around the corner. At least everyone hoped it was.

Dad always had many more plants than he could use and except for Mr. Drusselmeyer (who grew his own super-sized prize winning strains of cabbage) he supplied transplants of cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers and sweet potatoes to what seemed to me at the time to be half the town. The first ones passed out, of course, were to those folks who had happened by to stand out in the cold and peek in at the seedlings when the blanket came off in the morning. Gardening wasn't just something everyone happened to do, rather, it was part of our lives and our community.

Some really good things can come from manure...
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Last edited by RebelRidin; February 27, 2012 at 09:15 AM.
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Old February 28, 2012   #6
Masbustelo
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Fusion Power and RebelRidin Thank you very much for taking the time to write and post your helpful and memorable posts.
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Old February 28, 2012   #7
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Yeah, great thread for me as I am planning my own hotbed.
That is a beautiful garden, Rebel!
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Old February 28, 2012   #8
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Thank you Mike. That picture was about five years ago. It has been a challenge since then as I got some bad horse manure. It was absolutely loaded with weed seeds. If I had had any idea! This year we are changing to raised beds and hope to put that problem behind us.

I hope your hotbed does really well for you Masbustelo. I look forward to seeing some more pictures as the season progresses...
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Old February 28, 2012   #9
Skaggydog
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fusion_power View Post
...DarJones - who just happens to have a nice copy of the 1911 Garden Library book "The Vegetable Garden" to look up things like how to make a hot bed.
I beleive this can be downloaded for free to your Kindle from Amozon.com
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Old March 6, 2012   #10
Masbustelo
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Default A few more pictures.

For whatever reason it doesn't seem that the manure is providing much if any heat. I don't know if it's the manure or the cold temperatures we've had. A few nights ago it was 16 degrees F. Most of last week the soil temp was a steady 40 degrees. I bought a little electric space heater and stuck it in the bed, and I bought an insulated 6x25 foot blanket that concrete workers use. I cover it at night with the blanket and foam pieces. I have a row of iceberg lettuce nicely "up" after about a week. I am hitting daytime temps of 85 degrees and soil temp of 60 right now.
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Old March 11, 2012   #11
RebelRidin
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Hi Masbustelo,

How is it going? I wanted to ask about your manure setup. What type did you use, how fresh, when did you put it in and how many inches deep?
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Old March 11, 2012   #12
Masbustelo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RebelRidin View Post
Hi Masbustelo,

How is it going? I wanted to ask about your manure setup. What type did you use, how fresh, when did you put it in and how many inches deep?
Hi RebelRidin The whole thing is really working well so far. I just planted my tomato seeds yesterday, but I have been weeding lots of volunteer tomatoes. On some sunny days I have hit temps close to 90, but that might be the sun on the thermometer. The soil temp 4 inches down holds at a steady 62 degrees. I would recommend that anyone make one three feet wide. I used horse manure with sawdust shavings for bedding. I suspect that it packs to tight and without air it doesn't heat up. I suspect that the bedding needs to be straw or hay to heat up properly. It's really no big deal because I put a little electric heater in to run at night, and it stays about 80 degrees. I have between 12 an 18 inches of manure. It seems to be nicely saturated and the soil seems to be wicking up the sub moisture nicely. I water it in the morning and so far it hasn't dried out too much by evening. I put it in the bed in January and let it set, it was fresh at the time.Then at the end of February I fluffed it up, wetted it, packed it and put the soil on top. I cover it with foam panels and insulated blanket at night, and this takes two or three minutes. Im trying to keep it a little extra warm until the peppers sprout. Que mas?
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Old March 11, 2012   #13
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Sounds like you have it figured out. I suspect you are spot on about the sawdust. I know the same thing will happen if too much water accumulates/the manure is too wet. My father would muck out the stall of one of my great uncle's milk cows. Bedding was straw and a little waste hay. That stuff was probably a third straw and was active and producing heat when it went in.

I once set up a cold frame with a heater cable. I only got to use it for a few years before I moved but it worked pretty well.

??? Are you feeling daring ??? You could grow out one of those volunteer tomatoes to see what you get?
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Old March 11, 2012   #14
Masbustelo
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Yes for sure I am growing out some of the volunteers. I don't think its too daring, I think I read there is only a five per cent chance that they wont be true to type. They should be radiator Charly's, which did real well for me. Really they have sprouted up all over the place, so I think my intentional ones should do well.
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Old March 12, 2012   #15
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Re "Daring".....

Didn't really stop to think about your situation... rather responded based on my own. We usually have a hybrid or two go in each year, bad toms go inot the compost and teh compost goes into the garden.

I can't be too sure about any volunteers I see. The last time I let one grow it turned out to be some variety of cherry. Not a particularly good one either...
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