Project: Hotbed/box

Hannah Schofield

March 2008

This is a good way of using fresh manure, getting tender or early veg/fruit in the process. Victorian gardeners used this method to grow fruit such as pineapple in Britain, outdoors!

All you need is a quantity of fresh manure mixed with straw – the bulkier the better. Horse is best – horses are not usually fed antibiotics or other medicines prophylactically – but any kind will do, as it generates heat as it rots. Surround the pile with wooden boards such as those from a pallet, or simply pile it about 8” deep. Add a little lime in the form of calcified seaweed or seaweed meal to counteract acidity. Top with 2” of soil. Repeat until the height is suitable for whatever you’re growing.

At first it is too hot to plant into, but it can be used to start seeds in trays, or you can build a shelving unit to fit over the hotbed, to hold the trays.

Check with a soil thermometer for a stable temperature of 60’-70’F, when it is ready to plant directly into.

At the end of the season the by now well rotted manure can be worked into the soil.