victorian hot box

[caithnesscrofter]

i have one side of my humanure/compost hacienda full. I have built what looks like a large coldframe against the south facing wall of it. About 1.5 meters by .7 meter wide with the back about 1.2 meter high and the front about 45 cm high. The point is to take advantage of the heat from the compost pile plus painted it dark brown to absorb sunlight. My question is what to put in to heat from the bottom? Do u just add straight horse manure in the bottom? Mix it with straw, what? I plan to plant in fish boxes on top of this hot heap. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

[marshlander]

we get a trailer load of fresh sheep manure each spring. The trailer driver tips it into a pretty neat heap about 8 x 4 x 4 so we just square it up and put a box made of 8" x 3/2" strips of ply on top filled compost and soil.

we get a bumper load of courgettes from this bed 'though i guess it would be good for melons and all sorts.

Now the stack is only about 2 ft high and we are busy mulching with it.

[yugogypsy]

Fresh horse manure well packed down is also good


Lois

[ina]

I'd say, any muck that hasn't finished composting yet, so it still produces some heat.

[caithnesscrofter]

the fresher the better i can understand. Thanks for replies. I need to get out shovellin.

[ina]

So do I... We are refurbishing one of our sheds, and there is very old, deep, black muck by the ton that I need to get out! No good for hotbeds, but great for direct mulching.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Chap up the road from us has a selection of hot frames. He uses fresh-as-possible horse poo over laid with well-rotted compost to avoid, so he tells me, scorched seedlings. I have to say that they do stink, but his supply of winter salade stuff is superb.

[ina]

I'm hoping to do something like that... Plenty of muck about here. If - and a very big IF it is, I get my a*** in gear and get the frame made up!

[marshlander]

Just to make you laugh; We once, many years ago, begged some manure from a pig farmer who said we were welcome as long as we loaded our own bags from his huge stack.

When we duly arrived in shiny car and shiny townies wellies, empty compost bags in hand, the farmer (Jim) instructed us to follow him to the composted bit.

Jim went first, then me, followed by OH climbing up and along said HUGE stack.

We didn't get far when Jim and I realised OH was no longer following - he'd sunk up to his thighs in ooze and we had a job to get him out! He lost his wellies and threw his socks onto the pile in discust.

It took years for him to go near manure after that. He even complained when I bought bags of ready composted stuff from the garden centre! ( Ooo Garden centre sighs with nostalgia)

[marshlander]

P.S. OH is converted to country living now of course, even cleans out the chickens if bribed.

[Cheezy]

Last year on Gardners World Ol' Monty started off a hot box. And I built one as well.

Firstly if you just put fresh manure into a pile, it will eventually stop producing heat because the bacteria can't get enough air, and it will start to go slimy as it undergoes anerobic fermentation.

So what he suggested was you get your fresh manure delivered, and put into a pile. Then turn it once a week for 3 weeks, this will encourage a lot of bacteria to build up the heat, then you can put on top a layer of top soil/compost at a quarter of the thickness of the pile. This you can plant into it anything you want as it will get the heat but not be scortched by the manure.
I did not turn my 3 tonnes of manure I got delivered, as it was enough work getting into a hot box!. and I didn't add the top soil as I was growing pumpkins and squashes which are fine direct in manure. However my heap did not steam for very long, and the stuff we're putting on the garden once you get into the heap one year later is not as well rotted as I would like.
So I would definitely say you need to speand some time initially getting the air into the heap to ensure the heat build up.

[ina]

Couldn't you add some "ventilation"? Some bits of tube or so stuck in the sides for air access, or so...