I want to apologise for the terrible audio! Serves me right for trying to get this up whilst still away on holiday because of my excitement to release it! Please forgive me, accurate captions will be up asap
In Danish we call it mistbænk (mist from German for manure, bænk for bench), much like the French “couche de fumier” (bed of manure). The Germans are slightly more poetic with frühbeet (early beds).
In my area (southwestern Pennsylvania) the old timers would stack a layer of straw bales with an opening in the center for the horse manure and cover the opening with old glass window sashes. Then, when they were done starting their seeds, they would spread the manure and rotted straw in the garden and the only thing they would have to store was the window sashes.
@bina nocht Yes, you understood it! Fresh grass clippings will make heat if you don't have access to manure but it can be difficult to regulate the heat. Good luck!
@bina nochtif you pause it at the one minute mark you get a perfect shot of the cover: Author is Jack First How to grow early crops using the age old technique HOT BEDs. If you check thrift books or Alibris for the author and hot beds you may be successful finding a used copy…hope that helps! Now, I want to see the video Huw mentions doing with him…
Something we discovered a few yars ago is that horse, cow and goat manure can be a real garden killer because much of the feed they are given have been treated with a weed killer that goes through the animal and ends up in their manure and urine. We had great gardens going and then it took about 3 years to overcome the effects of the weed killer. We had somewhat the same experience with hay bales. Nothing seems to grow wherever we stacked them or spread them along our garden paths.
Oh my. I wonder if that's a problem in Europe too. I do think my neighbours horses mainly graze the fields. But I guess in winter they get some feed...
It is a broad leaf weed killer sprayed on fields to keep only grass growing. It stays in the grass and passes through the animals. Hot composting helps break it down but not great either way. Grain has cut grass in the pellet, so no one can be sure what is what anymore.
@@kurtcurtis2730 Not too far from my house is a horse field where I got a bunch of contaminated manure. The horses have been gone for about a year now and everywhere they pooped or peed is a dead zone. It will be interesting to watch and see how long it takes to come back. Four years ago I had a load of goat manure brought in. Where I had it dumped remains dead. Not even weeds grow there. I'm surprised that the gardens have come back to 90 percent of their first year yield.
I experienced/discovered this concept completely on accident this winter when my 5 gallon open compost bin sprouted 100 bell pepper seedlings voluntarily in December (zone 8) and kept them all healthy through two cold snaps! This video gives me context for what I've experienced and I plan to intentionally utilize this trait of Mother Nature in the future. Thank you for the excellent content!
Our horse manure pile was bountiful with pumpkin plants this past fall.We had tossed an old pumpkin out behind where we dump the wheel barrow.Harvested about 10 nice sized pumpkins.🙂
My father always had a hot bed going in the spring for growing tomato and pepper plants in the 1930’s and 1940’s when we had no electric power or water to the garden. We were fortunate to have power to our home in the country as the power lines had only just come down our country road.
@@SpringNotes It was a real hot bed below ground with hot water poured over the lowest level before adding more material, this was in the 1930’s and 1040’s.
He started tomatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes, etc. in his hot bed each spring. Had a three acre garden that produced much of our food. We also had a cow, chickens, turkeys, ducks, guineas, pigs, etc. so bought very little except coffee, flour, sugar and fish for Fridays. Oh, and ice cream on Sundays!
What zone did your father do his hot beds? I'm in 6 but I've gardened in 4 and tried to do hot beds. It didn't turn out well. I guess I have a brown thumb.
I have a natural Geyser in my backyard I'd rather just use to build a hot bed over top, to grow my veggies. That way I can irrigate, heat, grow, and boil my veggies all in one go.
Haha same here! I've just built a hotbed in my polytunnel with manure and straw. My biggest problem is wheelbarrowing the manure uphill because my horses live at the bottom of a steep hill and the garden is at the top! If it wasn't such hard work I'd have outdoor hotbeds too. I have way more manure than I know what to do with, and that's with only two horses!
I was like, when did this video come out? How did I miss a new one? And then I noticed I wasn’t subscribed….but I’ve been subscribed and following you for years!🤔
I am enjoying the inspiration to keep improving the garden. Our PNW has had a very slow start to our early plantings, temps, well below average. This hot bed would be so helpful in these unpredictable climate times. We hover around zone 8. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing Huw, great to see you share your own hotbed. Looks like an allotment plot on a tiny scale 😊 Most importantly the technique you have used and lessons you have learnt along the way, really inspiring 😊
I am an aficionado of hot beds - uses a lot less sturm und drang in amount of plastic, are beautifully accessible. We basically need it for germination and creating seedling. Thank you.
If anyone is on the fence about getting a Veg Trug, get them! I have 2 on my patio. They are fantastic! Nice and deep and you can grow so much in them 😊🌱 (Huw has them in his store.)
I would love to give this a go - im thinking I could grow my salads and germinate seeds, grow peas or dwarf beans along the side, then plant a pumpkin in the middle for the rest of the season.
Great video! Lovely idea hotbeds (so useful, practical, helpful) and really inspiring. That guy Jack looks like a great partner in your videos too with all that experience
very awesome! I'm starting my garden on barren land and will make huge amounts of compost, and the idea to just use the heat by a hot bed is such a fantastic idea! i also plan using the heat for heating a greenhouse in the future!
Have you ever done square foot gardening? It really makes great use of every square foot of garden space. I modify it somewhat so I can grow more than is outlined in the book by Mel Bartholomew. But I find it to be an amazing way to grow lots of food in a small space. I really appreciate all your time and expertise. I learn a lot from you. The hotbed is a wonderful concept and I plan on utilizing it. Thank you again, I love your channel.
I like this idea.. I basically do container gardening and this idea is primarily an extra lg. container of sorts.. I dont have access to manure, but I do utilize the leaves, grass etc... this may be something I can try..thanks for another option..
My grandmother, just like all other people in rural Transylvania, had a hot bed every year, made with manure from their own cows. I live in Wales and I hope to make one next year. Thanks for reminding me of this technique
Fascinating, thank you. I had heard the term but never knew exactly how they were produced. I am currently getting beetroot modules warmed in front of the aga. Have been thinking of bringing my sack of compost into the kitchen too!
I received a book in memory of my grandfather in 1978 where I was first introduced to this technique. "FIVE ACRES - A practical guide to the selection and management of the small farm" in Chapter 25, Cold Frames and Hot Beds" by M.G. Kains, B.S., M.S.. Greenburg Publishing, New York, Copyright 1935, 4th printing Feb 1938 In there and in a back to the land magazine from the late 70's they illustrate the layering and speak of recessing into the ground to over come frost and I suspect the wind from stealing the heat energy. They mention the objectionable ammonia smell as well, and about manure applications in a later chapter. Even today it is a fascinating read of times when chemical fertilizers were in there infancy.
This is terrific! Could you say a bit more about what it means that the radish went leggy and how to prevent that? Was that a time thing? A temperature thing?
My Italian grandparents had a hotbed in their backyard in New York City when I was growing up in the 1960s probably grew tomatoes, peppers, basil and the like. Love your accent, so I pay more attention to what you’re saying.
We have some month-old wood chip that is pretty warm - I shall have a go at making one of these with some of that, some pallets and a couple of sheets of glass our neighbours gave us.
Last season my radishes became even leggier than yours, but I decided to plant them in the garden anyway. Thanks to it, however, the red part of the stem developed into the biggest ( small APPLE SIZED) radishes I've ever seen. I ate them like apples and they were absolutely amazing!
I’ve been thinking about how I could use something like this within a greenhouse to help produce a little heat. I’m trying to figure out things that would work grid down.
In Deutschland nennen es warmes Frühbeet, in dem das erste Aussagen eben früher gezogen werden können. Es wird eine spatentiefe Grube ausgehoben, die mit ca 20 cm Mist gefüllt wird und die ausgehobene Erde wieder oben drauf kommt. Drumherum natürlich der Frühbeet- Kasten, dessen Rückseite etwas höher ist als die Vorderseite, die zur Sonne hin zeigt und mit einem entsprechenden Glasdeckel, etwa 1-2 alte Fenster, geöffnet werden kann. Das ist alles. Man kann ihn auch später noch als ganz normales, kaltes, Anzuchtbeet benutzen, was ja nützlich ist, da es abgedeckt werden kann😉 Man benötig dazu also nicht einen Haufen Material, wie bei einem Kompost-Meiler, den ich wahrscheinlich eher in ein Gewächshaus zum Erwärmen stellen würde.
Great video, going to try it. Please do a video on how to avoid buying soil, fertilizer in plastic bags. It is crazy we gardeners, try to be organic, but buy plastic bags of soil. My housing association bought 2 tonnes and let people take what they needed.
I successfully grow microgreens in simple rotisserie containers. I live in Florida so a heat source isn’t too much of an issue except when it is cold outside. I know some people start seeds using warming pads and lights and transplant them in the ground when they are strong enough. For my purposes though, I don’t need them too mature. The warming pad gave me the idea to try and start seeds in the rotisserie container on top of compost in a enclosed compost bin. Since there is less mass in a medium-sized container, the heat on top is not consistent nor long lasting (so it needs more turning than a large amount of compost). I can see what is done in your diagram using the channeled heat and greenhouse roof. It is quite brilliant. I am curious: 1) Does the organic material give off consistent heat? 2) How long is there heat for? I would imagine a while. 3) Have you ever tried horse manure? Is it a superior source of organic material? I know someone that has a very large home garden, and his compost is always very hot because he has three horses and much of the manure is put into the compost. Thanks!
Very good video!!! The compost underneath would be considered a heat mat plus the cold frame effect above keeps the heat in. Now if we could just figure out how to create more daylight hours in Winter? Maybe some type of solar collector that will release, when activated, the essential properties of the sun during the short days and long nights of the Winter. No hardening off necessary!!!
Isn’t the PH still fluctuating when the bed is hot? I’ve always been told to be wary of PH issues with this, a lot of old timers have told me it’s better to use the compost as a heater for a greenhouse than anything else. Either way super cool stuff dude!!!
My grandfather had what he called a coldframe. would that be considerd the same? His was only about 1 ft. high in the front, sloping up to about 18 inch's in the back. Southern full sun exposure.
I want to hear this so badly but there is literally no sound when I play it… based on comments others did not have this problem! What do I need to do to get the sound track?
I'd love to make a hotbed but don't have any access to horse manure or big quantities of woodchip. So I've been playing with the idea of using a large concrete paving stone 3ftx2ft putting it up of a frame, then have a couple of the smallest paraffin greenhouse heaters underneath it or oil candles which will burn for a long time to warm the paver and either use this as a off grid propagator with a poly cloche or old window on top or on top of the slab, put a layer of compost several inches thick to create a hotbed without the muck or woodchips.
I guess I was accidentally doing this in buckets by using kitchen scraps as a layer of filler topped by soil and planted with potatoes. It worked decently well, but I had to keep adding soil as the scraps broke down and settled, which is no problem for potatoes. At the end of the season, just dump them out.
@huwrichards I’m trying to get away from wooden edging as it provides hiding spots for SLUGS! Do your tops keep these voracious visitors from entering or do have another method to prevent them or maybe you don’t have as many as we do in the west coast of Canada ;) 🐌🐌🐌
I haven't try this method before. I have a question that noone in comment section asks: do hotbeds "sink" and cave in with all of the plants after a bottom layers start to compress?
I tried that many times over the years and unfortunately rats love the warmth too. The end result is usually quite messy .Maybe I should try putting some mesh at the bottom. Any ideas ?
With 2 neighbour cats on patrol, I don't have rats (my cat is too small), but I DO have moles. Many many many many moles. I've successfully used mesh on my beds in the garden, but it has to be small enough as moles are tiny. If it's just rats, you won't need such small mesh.
It's a good idea, but for people with small gardens it seems like too much work for little surface area, then excess compost at the end, I really do not think it needs to be that deep though. I have allotments on the other side of my fence who make hotbeds much lower to the ground as a no dig plot, its basically the same principle, is it not?
I can't hear your commentary, just the guitar music, at the start and very quiet afterward, fortunately, the subtitles work. I think this method was used to grow mushrooms inside too.
Curious - How do you transplant your seedlings once they are sown into the bed? I imagine the roots just interlock and spread with nothing confining them.
I wish you were nearby Denver, Sandra, so you could share in my excess compost! We collect manure from five horses every morning, and we have more compost than we can possibly use! I built my first hot frame last year after watching this video. The first year was a great success! I just finished rebuilding and planting it for the new season.
I’m sure someone has said something but I thought I’d point out it could be risky using pallets and treated wood because of the chemicals they’re treated with.
Steve, I built a hot frame last year after watching this video, and the planting surface sunk nearly a foot over the course of the growing season as the horse manure composted and settled. I simply left it, and the plants happily kept growing. As a bonus, it is easier reaching into the bed to harvest after things have sunk a bit! I just finished rebuilding and planting the bed for the new season. It sure is nice to be able to get started early: in the Rocky Mountains, my last average frost date is still two months out. Without the hot frame, the growing season is awfully short here!
I want to apologise for the terrible audio! Serves me right for trying to get this up whilst still away on holiday because of my excitement to release it! Please forgive me, accurate captions will be up asap
Very motivating :)
Not to worry. Thanks again for another wonderful and helpful video!
Your best bet would be to re-upload it with correct audio levels before too many people view it
It's fine 🙂 no worries.
In Danish we call it mistbænk (mist from German for manure, bænk for bench), much like the French “couche de fumier” (bed of manure). The Germans are slightly more poetic with frühbeet (early beds).
In my area (southwestern Pennsylvania) the old timers would stack a layer of straw bales with an opening in the center for the horse manure and cover the opening with old glass window sashes. Then, when they were done starting their seeds, they would spread the manure and rotted straw in the garden and the only thing they would have to store was the window sashes.
I found that book years ago - I love it!
To add: he has some amazing trials of using all kinds of creative materials…
@bina nocht Yes, you understood it! Fresh grass clippings will make heat if you don't have access to manure but it can be difficult to regulate the heat. Good luck!
@bina nochtif you pause it at the one minute mark you get a perfect shot of the cover:
Author is Jack First
How to grow early crops using the age old technique HOT BEDs.
If you check thrift books or Alibris for the author and hot beds you may be successful finding a used copy…hope that helps! Now, I want to see the video Huw mentions doing with him…
Peeing on the straw speeds up breakdown.
Thanks! Trying this
Something we discovered a few yars ago is that horse, cow and goat manure can be a real garden killer because much of the feed they are given have been treated with a weed killer that goes through the animal and ends up in their manure and urine. We had great gardens going and then it took about 3 years to overcome the effects of the weed killer. We had somewhat the same experience with hay bales. Nothing seems to grow wherever we stacked them or spread them along our garden paths.
🕵😎..aha!! I thought i mem 'Hot Manure' being an Issue...last few years..
Oh my. I wonder if that's a problem in Europe too. I do think my neighbours horses mainly graze the fields. But I guess in winter they get some feed...
It is a broad leaf weed killer sprayed on fields to keep only grass growing. It stays in the grass and passes through the animals. Hot composting helps break it down but not great either way. Grain has cut grass in the pellet, so no one can be sure what is what anymore.
Yes! It’s called “ Graze On”. Ruins the soil
@@kurtcurtis2730 Not too far from my house is a horse field where I got a bunch of contaminated manure. The horses have been gone for about a year now and everywhere they pooped or peed is a dead zone. It will be interesting to watch and see how long it takes to come back. Four years ago I had a load of goat manure brought in. Where I had it dumped remains dead. Not even weeds grow there. I'm surprised that the gardens have come back to 90 percent of their first year yield.
I experienced/discovered this concept completely on accident this winter when my 5 gallon open compost bin sprouted 100 bell pepper seedlings voluntarily in December (zone 8) and kept them all healthy through two cold snaps! This video gives me context for what I've experienced and I plan to intentionally utilize this trait of Mother Nature in the future. Thank you for the excellent content!
thats so cool. I love it when things just grow by themselves!
that says a lot about the heat generated...
keep an eye out for Christ' HEALING hidden manna
Our horse manure pile was bountiful with pumpkin plants this past fall.We had tossed an old pumpkin out behind where we dump the wheel barrow.Harvested about 10 nice sized pumpkins.🙂
I made cheap wood frames and stapled bubble wrap in for "glass" works amazing. Can get too hot so something you can play with to figure it out.
@@andrewsmith1735 Thank you! I will have to try that at some point
My father always had a hot bed going in the spring for growing tomato and pepper plants in the 1930’s and 1940’s when we had no electric power or water to the garden. We were fortunate to have power to our home in the country as the power lines had only just come down our country road.
Frances, was is similar to this, or was the hotbed below ground ?
@@SpringNotes It was a real hot bed below ground with hot water poured over the lowest level before adding more material, this was in the 1930’s and 1040’s.
He started tomatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes, etc. in his hot bed each spring. Had a three acre garden that produced much of our food. We also had a cow, chickens, turkeys, ducks, guineas, pigs, etc. so bought very little except coffee, flour, sugar and fish for Fridays. Oh, and ice cream on Sundays!
What zone did your father do his hot beds? I'm in 6 but I've gardened in 4 and tried to do hot beds. It didn't turn out well. I guess I have a brown thumb.
Zone 7
Thanks for keeping things un- complicated for the newbies! I love all the information that I can apply to my small garden this year! !👍
I have a natural Geyser in my backyard I'd rather just use to build a hot bed over top, to grow my veggies. That way I can irrigate, heat, grow, and boil my veggies all in one go.
I had a chuckle about horse manure. Its my most abundant resource. Will trade for dried seaweed...😀
Haha same here! I've just built a hotbed in my polytunnel with manure and straw. My biggest problem is wheelbarrowing the manure uphill because my horses live at the bottom of a steep hill and the garden is at the top! If it wasn't such hard work I'd have outdoor hotbeds too. I have way more manure than I know what to do with, and that's with only two horses!
I was like, when did this video come out? How did I miss a new one? And then I noticed I wasn’t subscribed….but I’ve been subscribed and following you for years!🤔
And, now I understand the term "hot bed" used metaphorically!
I am enjoying the inspiration to keep improving the garden. Our PNW has had a very slow start to our early plantings, temps, well below average. This hot bed would be so helpful in these unpredictable climate times. We hover around zone 8. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing Huw, great to see you share your own hotbed. Looks like an allotment plot on a tiny scale 😊 Most importantly the technique you have used and lessons you have learnt along the way, really inspiring 😊
I am an aficionado of hot beds - uses a lot less sturm und drang in amount of plastic, are beautifully accessible.
We basically need it for germination and creating seedling. Thank you.
I'm thinking about doing a small one inside a greenhouse.
If anyone is on the fence about getting a Veg Trug, get them! I have 2 on my patio. They are fantastic! Nice and deep and you can grow so much in them 😊🌱 (Huw has them in his store.)
Wow impressive! What a great idea. Hot bed is on the to do list - thank you 🙏🏼
I would love to give this a go - im thinking I could grow my salads and germinate seeds, grow peas or dwarf beans along the side, then plant a pumpkin in the middle for the rest of the season.
Great video! Lovely idea hotbeds (so useful, practical, helpful) and really inspiring. That guy Jack looks like a great partner in your videos too with all that experience
very awesome! I'm starting my garden on barren land and will make huge amounts of compost, and the idea to just use the heat by a hot bed is such a fantastic idea! i also plan using the heat for heating a greenhouse in the future!
Have you ever done square foot gardening? It really makes great use of every square foot of garden space. I modify it somewhat so I can grow more than is outlined in the book by Mel Bartholomew. But I find it to be an amazing way to grow lots of food in a small space. I really appreciate all your time and expertise. I learn a lot from you. The hotbed is a wonderful concept and I plan on utilizing it. Thank you again, I love your channel.
I like this idea.. I basically do container gardening and this idea is primarily an extra lg. container of sorts.. I dont have access to manure, but I do utilize the leaves, grass etc... this may be something I can try..thanks for another option..
this is what the dutch used to do with horse/cow manure mixed with straw to start their crops early
I start my seeds in containers in late winter on a pile of cut grass which creates warmth. Only takes a few days here in Australia.
Defo trying this. I'll do my own video but be warned it won't be anywhere as good as this. Thanks for making ,
My grandmother, just like all other people in rural Transylvania, had a hot bed every year, made with manure from their own cows. I live in Wales and I hope to make one next year. Thanks for reminding me of this technique
Yeah, but how bad was the Vampire problem in Transylvania? 🦇😂
@@ZuluLifesaBeech- how very dare you!😂✌️
@Lavinia - Loredana Spargo
This comment is awesome on so many levels 😄👍🌱
She likely grew garlic.
Love the stacking of the trays in between the rows. Brilliant!
Fascinating, thank you. I had heard the term but never knew exactly how they were produced. I am currently getting beetroot modules warmed in front of the aga. Have been thinking of bringing my sack of compost into the kitchen too!
I received a book in memory of my grandfather in 1978 where I was first introduced to this technique. "FIVE ACRES - A practical guide to the selection and management of the small farm" in Chapter 25, Cold Frames and Hot Beds" by M.G. Kains, B.S., M.S.. Greenburg Publishing, New York, Copyright 1935, 4th printing Feb 1938
In there and in a back to the land magazine from the late 70's they illustrate the layering and speak of recessing into the ground to over come frost and I suspect the wind from stealing the heat energy. They mention the objectionable ammonia smell as well, and about manure applications in a later chapter. Even today it is a fascinating read of times when chemical fertilizers were in there infancy.
🤯 Total game changer!
I might suggest looking at John pane composting.
Very interesting! I will love to try this in the cool weather in Australia.
This is terrific! Could you say a bit more about what it means that the radish went leggy and how to prevent that? Was that a time thing? A temperature thing?
my left ear enjoyed this video
Such a wonderful channel 😁
Thanks for sharing 😊👍
Nice tips. You have a wonderful garden.
I'm inspired! Definitely doing this.
My Italian grandparents had a hotbed in their backyard in New York City when I was growing up in the 1960s probably grew tomatoes, peppers, basil and the like. Love your accent, so I pay more attention to what you’re saying.
Done a bit of hot composting, if you get the ratios of brown/green and wetness right you can get them hot enough to cook with.
Pallets are free, and easily dismantled. There are several vids demonstrating methods that don't involve saws.
Brilliant!
Let us know when you've got the captions up or the audio fixed. Thank you.
Perfect! I was already thinking about this. But seeing it really helps a lot!
I have plenty of horse manure here. So I'll try this.
My grandfather made hotbeds to start cantaloupe.
We have some month-old wood chip that is pretty warm - I shall have a go at making one of these with some of that, some pallets and a couple of sheets of glass our neighbours gave us.
And your new book just arrived! :)
Love this idea!
Last season my radishes became even leggier than yours, but I decided to plant them in the garden anyway. Thanks to it, however, the red part of the stem developed into the biggest ( small APPLE SIZED) radishes I've ever seen. I ate them like apples and they were absolutely amazing!
Fantastic.
Thank you, I went and bought the book immediately 👍 I will see if I can get this started here in New Zealand
I’ve been thinking about how I could use something like this within a greenhouse to help produce a little heat. I’m trying to figure out things that would work grid down.
Charles Dowling has his in the greenhouse too
In Deutschland nennen es warmes Frühbeet, in dem das erste Aussagen eben früher gezogen werden können. Es wird eine spatentiefe Grube ausgehoben, die mit ca 20 cm Mist gefüllt wird und die ausgehobene Erde wieder oben drauf kommt. Drumherum natürlich der Frühbeet- Kasten, dessen Rückseite etwas höher ist als die Vorderseite, die zur Sonne hin zeigt und mit einem entsprechenden Glasdeckel, etwa 1-2 alte Fenster, geöffnet werden kann. Das ist alles. Man kann ihn auch später noch als ganz normales, kaltes, Anzuchtbeet benutzen, was ja nützlich ist, da es abgedeckt werden kann😉 Man benötig dazu also nicht einen Haufen Material, wie bei einem Kompost-Meiler, den ich wahrscheinlich eher in ein Gewächshaus zum Erwärmen stellen würde.
I've been telling people to heat their greenhouses with compost for ages.
Great video, going to try it. Please do a video on how to avoid buying soil, fertilizer in plastic bags. It is crazy we gardeners, try to be organic, but buy plastic bags of soil. My housing association bought 2 tonnes and let people take what they needed.
I successfully grow microgreens in simple rotisserie containers. I live in Florida so a heat source isn’t too much of an issue except when it is cold outside. I know some people start seeds using warming pads and lights and transplant them in the ground when they are strong enough. For my purposes though, I don’t need them too mature. The warming pad gave me the idea to try and start seeds in the rotisserie container on top of compost in a enclosed compost bin. Since there is less mass in a medium-sized container, the heat on top is not consistent nor long lasting (so it needs more turning than a large amount of compost). I can see what is done in your diagram using the channeled heat and greenhouse roof. It is quite brilliant. I am curious: 1) Does the organic material give off consistent heat? 2) How long is there heat for? I would imagine a while. 3) Have you ever tried horse manure? Is it a superior source of organic material? I know someone that has a very large home garden, and his compost is always very hot because he has three horses and much of the manure is put into the compost. Thanks!
Good job good luck
Local forestry uses similar hotbeds to raise saplings from seeds and clippings
There is a fascinating series called The Victorian Garden, the Victorian Flower Garden, the Victorian Pharmacy i think. And mentions the hotbed idea.
Excellent series, they utilize wonderful early growing ideas. Thanks for mentioning them. Everyone should track them down!
Could you kindly share the link to basic gardening tools required ? And basic knowledge to learn ?
Very good video!!! The compost underneath would be considered a heat mat plus the cold frame effect above keeps the heat in. Now if we could just figure out how to create more daylight hours in Winter? Maybe some type of solar collector that will release, when activated, the essential properties of the sun during the short days and long nights of the Winter. No hardening off necessary!!!
Thank you for the info, really appreciate you. But the music is annoying… too much
Excellent video.
I would love a hard copy of Jack's book. Amazon only has a kindle version. Any ideas about where I might be able to buy it?
Isn’t the PH still fluctuating when the bed is hot? I’ve always been told to be wary of PH issues with this, a lot of old timers have told me it’s better to use the compost as a heater for a greenhouse than anything else.
Either way super cool stuff dude!!!
Be sure if you use old windows that you've stripped any old paint contain lead which will get into your soil
Thanks!
EM effective microorganisms, seaweed, bentonite, lava powder, stone meal, woodchips, charcoal granules, worms, there you go full bio dynamic 😊
My grandfather had what he called a coldframe. would that be considerd the same? His was only about 1 ft. high in the front, sloping up to about 18 inch's in the back. Southern full sun exposure.
No. That’s like a mini green house. This has manure under it.
The only thing different between a cold frame and hot bed is that the latter has a heat source.
Do you have a supplier that will ship your seedling trays to the EU?
How do you get the angle to the low winter sun just right?
I want to hear this so badly but there is literally no sound when I play it… based on comments others did not have this problem! What do I need to do to get the sound track?
I'd love to make a hotbed but don't have any access to horse manure or big quantities of woodchip. So I've been playing with the idea of using a large concrete paving stone 3ftx2ft putting it up of a frame, then have a couple of the smallest paraffin greenhouse heaters underneath it or oil candles which will burn for a long time to warm the paver and either use this as a off grid propagator with a poly cloche or old window on top or on top of the slab, put a layer of compost several inches thick to create a hotbed without the muck or woodchips.
I was thinking maybe We could do it with a bag of that black cow manure.
Also, are your poly tunnels heated?
We have a greenhouse, but it freezes in there in the winter.
I guess I was accidentally doing this in buckets by using kitchen scraps as a layer of filler topped by soil and planted with potatoes. It worked decently well, but I had to keep adding soil as the scraps broke down and settled, which is no problem for potatoes. At the end of the season, just dump them out.
@huwrichards I’m trying to get away from wooden edging as it provides hiding spots for SLUGS! Do your tops keep these voracious visitors from entering or do have another method to prevent them or maybe you don’t have as many as we do in the west coast of Canada ;) 🐌🐌🐌
your voice is only coming out of the left channel for me, the music is coming out of the right channel
Dirt patch heaven uses these very successfully!
I haven't try this method before. I have a question that noone in comment section asks: do hotbeds "sink" and cave in with all of the plants after a bottom layers start to compress?
I tried that many times over the years and unfortunately rats love the warmth too. The end result is usually quite messy .Maybe I should try putting some mesh at the bottom. Any ideas ?
With 2 neighbour cats on patrol, I don't have rats (my cat is too small), but I DO have moles. Many many many many moles. I've successfully used mesh on my beds in the garden, but it has to be small enough as moles are tiny. If it's just rats, you won't need such small mesh.
It's a good idea, but for people with small gardens it seems like too much work for little surface area, then excess compost at the end, I really do not think it needs to be that deep though. I have allotments on the other side of my fence who make hotbeds much lower to the ground as a no dig plot, its basically the same principle, is it not?
I can't hear your commentary, just the guitar music, at the start and very quiet afterward, fortunately, the subtitles work. I think this method was used to grow mushrooms inside too.
Class
this allow you to plant in January
what is the usual time for safe planting
so we can adjust for local climes??
How do you prevent rats tunneling into your hot beds?
Love the idea and have already incorporated it into my garden plan. 🙂
Did I hear correctly that you plant seeds straight into fine tilth compost ??
Curious - How do you transplant your seedlings once they are sown into the bed? I imagine the roots just interlock and spread with nothing confining them.
I just signed up! Will this also show how you build the compost bin? Thanks!
I'd like to learn more about this method. Earned a new Sub. Thanks 👍
I was expecting a few degrees above ambient, but is that really reading 60°C?!
Yep!
Dont the materials getting composted underneath need to be mixed periodically?
Good video. Consider mixing your dialogue across both left and right channels for those of us that may only use one earbud.
Please read pinned comment.
Absolutely mad about this idea.
I wish I had more soil & compost to work with.
I wish you were nearby Denver, Sandra, so you could share in my excess compost! We collect manure from five horses every morning, and we have more compost than we can possibly use!
I built my first hot frame last year after watching this video. The first year was a great success! I just finished rebuilding and planting it for the new season.
I live in zone 5b , not sure if it will work here
Why is your voice only on the left audio channel? I had one ear off on my headphones n i was so confused
I’m sure someone has said something but I thought I’d point out it could be risky using pallets and treated wood because of the chemicals they’re treated with.
I wonder if I could make a mini-hotbed for a kitchen windowsill...??? 8D
When my grandmother was young if a horse did its business in the street ( delivery vans etc) it was her job to get the jobs, bucket and shovel .
Can you add subtitles?
Can you use rabbit manure?
I've started a hotbed and it's sunk by about 6 inch do I top it up now or just leave it thanks
Steve, I built a hot frame last year after watching this video, and the planting surface sunk nearly a foot over the course of the growing season as the horse manure composted and settled. I simply left it, and the plants happily kept growing. As a bonus, it is easier reaching into the bed to harvest after things have sunk a bit!
I just finished rebuilding and planting the bed for the new season. It sure is nice to be able to get started early: in the Rocky Mountains, my last average frost date is still two months out. Without the hot frame, the growing season is awfully short here!
no sound, can't hear you but I watched you.
How is this different from a cold frame?
The only difference is that that hot beds have a heat source.