Hot bed prepared and ready to go. Ready to plant seeds.

Here you can see I removed the manure I had been storing in my pit. Then I began to fill , water and tramp it down as I went. The hot bed is 3 feet by 12 feet. It took three pick up loads or three cubic feet of manure. Then I took compost and screened it through hardware cloth. It took about half a yard to fill it with 4-5 inches of compost to start the seeds in. I raked it smooth and put the covers on top. What I have read is that in 7-8 days the weed seeds will have sprouted. The bed will have heated up and cooled down to a temperature suitable for seed germination. After the weed seeds sprout, they can be killed and the garden seeds planted. So some time next week I should be able to start seeds. Today it is snowing very hard and we might get 8 inches, so I finished just in time.

Another Load of Horse manure

I went and got a second load of manure today. It is now covered and protected against the elements. I don't really need it for about another ten days, but now I am about ready. When the time comes to water it and pack it down I will probably need about one more load. It is just piled loosely, with the cover it won't be frozen when i need it no matter how cold it gets in the mean time. It is so much easier to do this work when there is no snow, so this week was a good opportunity. Now I have to hook up my electricity. You can see the romex I ran from inside the house. Also I am going to hook up a vent fan and install a vent for fresh air to enter.

Horse Manure and Straw for the Seed Starting Hot Bed.

I went and got a load of manure and straw from some race horses yesterday. It will take at least one more load. I am stockpiling it, so I have it ready to "charge" the bed on February 26th. I will have to dig it out of the pit, water it and tamp it down as I go.