Building & Using Cold Frames by Charles Siegchrist

Author:Charles Siegchrist
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin
Published: 1980-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

After a week tie a thermometer to a long stick and plunge the instrument into the heart of the manure pile. Leave it for five minutes or so. If the temperature is 90°F or below, you may safely set seeds into the soil.

Of all the means of providing artificial heat for a hotbed, this is the least desirable. It involves excavating a cubic yard of earth and securing a like amount of fresh manure. The rate of decomposition of and thus the heat given off by the manure pile is also subject to a number of variables, including:

The amount of bedding or plant material in the manure. The higher the proportion of pure manure, the hotter the pile will become.

The type of manure used. Generally speaking, the smaller the animal, the richer its manure. Poultry dung will make much more heat than that from a cow.

The diet of the animal from which the manure is secured. A pig on a diet of straight grain will give a richer manure than one eating table scarps, garbage, and hay.

The combination of these unknowns and the amount of labor involved make manure heating the least attractive method of warming a hotbed.

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