On 21 Feb, 14:37, Sacha wrote:
On 2010-02-21 12:45:20 +0000, "Bertie Doe" said:







"David WE Roberts" wrote in message

"Bertie Doe" wrote in message

This will leave a space of about 18" at the bottom of the new coldframe.
Suppose I was to fill this space with fresh material from the
composter. I noticed when topping up the composter with household waste
today, that the contents were starting to warm up a bit, despite the
recent cold weather.
Can anyone foresee any problems? I've got an outdoor max/min
thermometer, so there should be no danger of me overcooking the
seedlings - I hope!

This is the way old time gardeners provided bottom heat in cold frames
- a layer of active compost underneath the beds.

Thanks David, that's reassuring. I could always remove compost if it
starts to overheat. By March end it'll probably be warm enough, so
extra heat won't be required.

It sounds rather like the old-fashioned pineapple pits. *Horse manure
and rotting bark were put along the bottom of those to heat them
naturally. *You might have seen them if *you've ever visited The Lost
Gardens of Heligan.
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This method of growing was wide spread in the dayd of "The Big House"
and the team of gardners. Sometimes used as Sacha says for pineapples,
but more often for Cucumbers etc early in the season.
There was a trench the width of the bed taken out to around 12 inches,
this was then filled with around 2ft of rotting horse manure that was
still getting hotter, ther soil capping was put back on and then as
the temp of the dung was starting to drop then the plants were put in.
This method was also used out side when they would put a set of
English lights over the bed and it would be used again for early veg.
English Lights were like large window s they were 6ft by 6ft and were
made up of small panes of glass, around 12 inch square. they took 2
people to handle them.
They were hard work.
This growing system was the fore runner of todays soil warming.
Talking of soil warming, in the 30's 40's and into the 50's you could
get a 12v system of soil warming that used galvanised wire burried in
the ground. this might be an idea today with a 12v wind generator.
David Hill