Setting up a hot layer
This technical sheet explains how to set up a hotbed on your farm in order to benefit from a heated table for your nursery seedlings.
Alterrenative
Julien (at L'alterrenative) creates his hotbed from horse manure mixed with some BRF brought by his neighbor. He receives between 1 m³ and 1.5 m³ of manure every 15 days. Julien therefore expands his hotbed every 15 days starting from early January to carry out his first tomato sowings. By mid-March, the hotbed is already 10 m long!
To have continuous heat, the hotbed must be reactivated every 3 weeks by mixing the hotbed. This is physical work but it allows a temperature of 60°C on the recent part and 35°C on the oldest part!
To succeed with his hotbed, Julien recommends at least 1.5 m³ to have thermal inertia.
La ferme du Château
Dairy cows are present at La ferme du Chateau, which allows the use of their cattle manure to make a hotbed. According to Didier, it is more difficult to make an effective hotbed with horse manure because it is not possible to make several successive layers. Hotbeds made from horse manure do not last long, which forces Julien to expand his hotbed gradually and move the plants with it. This adds working time.
According to Didier, if the manure is too fatty, too wet, or lacks enough straw, the manure will not generate heat. The hotbed is used as compost the following year.
