09/04/2020
good morning to you all
just thought i would share this little thing with you about how to make a hotbed for your polytunnel , greenhouse , or even for outside
its kept me busy for a good few hours and made me very happy that i had all the parts to hand and that i had saved and gathered in waiting (in some cases) for the job to crop up that would fit the bill
firstly i pinched the design from this fine book
photos in sequence
then i made the box
dug out the soil from the area it was now covering and was amazed how much it 'fluffed' up i have not dug in the greenhouse for a long time ....
the barrow shows half of the amount i dug out
into the hole i put a mix of horse and cow manure that was quite well rotted
and to this i added chainsaw dust that i had been saving for the compost loo.... this i mixed very well with the manure. i mixed in the wood dust because i want to kick start the composting process again and by adding this i am adding carbon to the manure which is quite high in nitrogen.
i still need to add one more ingredient as it says in the description from the process as described in the book
the manure was quite old so had already been quite composted another kick of nitrogen to really get things going with those lovely composting bacteria ......
its in the watering can and ready to go a bit of p*e , wee , p**s or what we usually flush off down the loo .... here it is doing a job of value in the garden. Its in the watering can and in the final photo you can see the sawdust and manure mix ready to get the boost of nitrogen
final bit is to put the soil you dug out erlier back on top perfect for the plants to be planted directly into once the bed has selled down on a couple of days time
the process of composting will make a bit of heat and that will help keep the tender plants that will go out frost free at night
at time of posting this the far north of scotland is still getting frosts so here is a great way of saving energy and keeping the plants safe that will work all through the uk when frost and cold temperatures are threatening.
it will also feed the ground and the plants for years to come till the next time
enjoy
chrisp