My New Hotbed

[lcertuche]

Good luck on the teenage boys. Getting my 15 year old to do anything is like pulling teeth. My 12 year old likes to work outside but is particular about what he does. For instance he likes to mow but not dig. My 14 year old just comes home to visit. He likes to work outside on projects but is rarely here and when he is I hate to make him spend all his time working. We've just decided to break down and buy a tiller and then mulch heavily.

 

[Nyboy]

Have you tried $$$$$ works well here

 

[ducks4you]

Ha, ha!! Money talks, horse shXt walks! ...or maybe, cooks?!?

 

[Nyboy]

 

[ducks4you]

I checked the bed under the plastic after a thunderstorm yesterday. I had a little pond that I had to drain between the plastic and the windows, then replaced everything. I don't have my compost thermometer yet, the compost seemed warm, but not hot. I'm gonna wait to put the soil back and plant until I know the temperature, so it's gonna look like this for a few more days:

 

[ducks4you]

I was right about the winds. There are rips in the plastic which was brand new, deSPITE being held down by bricks and the windows AND the timbers. THAT is what we get here from straight line winds and why my previous experiments with just covered with plastic never worked. I would come home from work and see the plastic blown off and the bed exposed.
I guess if the compost isn't hot I'll just add soil tomorrow and treat it like a cold frame. I think I will need to experiment with my compost thermometer (WHEN it gets shipped to me!!!--**IMPATIENT!!!!** ) this year to figure out hot to make it hot, since it hasn't really felt like 105 degrees F like all of the articles I have read SAID that it would do. I WILL report my results. Some garden things are not as easy as they seem.
Still, I have started seeds inside in my little greenhouse



lettuce, spinach, Spanish onions and leeks (so far). I need to buy cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seeds. Probably tomorrow I will put down the soil. I will be mixing it with year old stall leavings compost which has decomposed fine pine shavings in it, JUST to be sure that the soil is broken up and won't turn into cement when watered, even though it is the top 6 inches that I took off which was amended soil in 2016. I AM determined to make this work. Thanks for ALL of the well wishes!!!

 

[baymule]

Very interesting. I have some flats of tomato and pepper seeds that are sprouting, in the house under lights. But what you are doing is outstanding! I've thought about cold/hot frames, but that's about as far as I have gotten. I'll be watching this!

 

[ducks4you]

Like I said, I REALLY appreciate the support I have been getting for this project. STILL waiting on my compost thermometer and I now know that I will need to learn how to cook the manure, so I will document it. Some of my research says to fluff it up, some says to compress it. Still not sure exactly how to do it, but I understand that if you can cook the manure you can kill parasite eggs, so that will help me. I have poo places in my horse's turnouts that should be cleaned up this Spring.
Primarily I am fighting the extreme straight line winds that we get here! When I lived in town on a 1/4 acre lot I had no problem with winds bc I grew in the north back yard with 6 ft fencing on all sides. I had great tomatoes and cucumbers there, but NO wind problem. Today I will be home again and I think I'll add an old clear/white pattern shower curtain that I saved on top of the clear plastic to keep out the rain that we will be getting tonight. I also want to start tomatoes inside in a few weeks and transition THEM to this bed by May. I know that the cold weather crops will do just fine bc I could start them in an exposed bed right now. We are expected to have snow on Saturday!
I will post again later today with pictures. I am going to add the dirt mixed with last years stall leavings today and plant radishes and carrots together to start. I think that any vegetables that you buy at a garden center can be and MAYBE Should be started inside where I live. @baymule your Spring is already here. MY Spring is "still clinging to winter's chill!" (from LOTR)

 

[ducks4you]

Thought you'all might be interested in THIS article, something I had not considered:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/vegetables/vegetables-to-grow-in-shade-zm0z11zsto
DD's now want to plant vegetables in partial shade, so I did some research.

 

[thistlebloom]

Ducks, would a few bales of straw next to your hotbed help deflect the wind enough to make a difference?