Make a gardening hotbed to get a jump on growing. This step by step tutorial of how to make a gardening hotbed that uses the natural heat of animal manure to warm the soil. A hotbed is a pile of decaying organic matter warmer than its surroundings due to the heat given off by the metabolism of the microorganisms in the decomposing pile. A hotbed covered with a small glass cover (also called a hotbox) is used as a small version of a heated greenhouse. The bed is often made of manure from animals such as horses that pass much undigested plant cellulose in their droppings.
Here is one method besides the one you will read below.
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Dig a hole 6 feet long and 4 feet deep.
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Spread horse, chicken or pig poop (crap) the whole length of the hole at least a 1/2 foot deep but no more than 1 feet deep.
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Cover the whole length of the hole with 3 feet of soil to create a buffer that insulates but warms the soil.
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Grow seeds or seedlings as you normally would.
The 2nd method uses:
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horse manure
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bundle tree prunings
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wheelbarrow loads of leaves
Click here to read about how to make a gardening hotbed to get a jump on growing: