Any one tried a Victorian hot bed.

[MyLifeWithAndrew]

Three years ago I started to use the stuff from our recycling tip (compost made of garden waste at £1.25 for 50kg) plus the droppings from our three chooks and voila! hardly any weeds.

Yes, a combo of chicken & horse dung.
Unfortunately, nothing seems to kill the crouchgrass (or is it bindweed?) here.

[snakeshack]

I buy rotted cow manure and find very few weed seeds come with it .I also use manure from the chickens mixed with the hempcore bedding,wetted and rotted down in bulk delivery bags covered over wit black polythene,no weed seeds survive that composting either although it does get very hot and is always turned at the 2 week stage to mix in the cooler outside layers.

[MyLifeWithAndrew]

So using this process of horse manure mixed with chicken dung which has wood shavings (their bedding) and grass clippings should be similar?
I know cow is better, but the horse stuff is free.
I tend to throw coal & wood ash but will this ruin it?

Running out of places to put the ash.

[Feral007]

Watching this thread! I'm also running out of places to put the ash. And I like the horse poo to stay out in the paddocks as its needed out there as well! Ah, I need a poo-load more of poo!

[MyLifeWithAndrew]

Watching this thread! I'm also running out of places to put the ash.

Feral:
According to the OH, a little is ok, but just a little.
So...1 days' bucket went in, looking for places to put 364 days' worth.
(And if this is incorrect, I am sure someone will eventually set us straight?)

[Rhona]

We've sort of cobbled together hotbed-type thing. We have the remains of a greenhouse base at the very top of our plot (south facing, on a slight slope). We dug out the soil and rubble and piled manure in, and semi-covered with clear plastic panes. I've popped some peppers and aubergines into it - it's very sheltered and the brick work helps retain the warmth. We grew a few chillies outdoors at the lottie last year so we'll see. Hopefully we can extend the season long enough to ripen any fruit we get on them.

[treviow]

hi all.just joined this forum as i came across it while researching about hotbeds.did try one few years ago with limited results but this year i am really getting into this idea.first a bit of background.i live in an old farm cottage on the southern side of the isle of wight.at one time i kept sheep and chickens but no longer have the time,i also used to collect and restore old tractors and farm machinery but now just have my old grey fergie and a few implements.one of the jobs i use it for is carting the stable dung away from a stable 200 yds from me.for years we have just tipped in a large crater in the ground,some of it must have been there close on 15 yrs now.last year i grew a few early spuds in the garden plus a bit of salad stuff.with the distaterous weather last year i decide to give up growing and put it all down to grass.then this year when i saw the price of spuds i thought about trying growing spuds in a drum.following on from that i remembered the hotbed and thought i could combine the two ideas.to that end i have built a square structure from 4 pallets,filled it with about 2 ft stable dung and intend to use the really well rotted stuff(which is now like peat)as the growing medium.the first crop is to be early spuds.i usually use'swift' for this but was unable to get any from the garden centre near me.however,they did have' international kidney' -otherwise known as 'jersey royals'.today when i put a cane in the manure it is already heating up.the top will be covered with fleece fitted on a top frame.a second 'box' will be made for maincrop spuds.this will with the rotted dung also(no hotbed) firstly about a foot deep then topped up as the haulm grows.i am fortunate in having access to horse manure,pallets and a tractor so we will see how it goes.not sure if you can post pics on here ,if you can i will record my success or otherwise!trev iow