A YouTube video that prompted a lot of engagement demonstrated an ancient gardening technique known as hotbeds — a warmed, protected environment that uses heat from decaying matter. To put it simply, it acts like a mini-makeshift greenhouse that's perfect for an early start on crops during the cold season.
The scoop
Huw Richards wrote: "This ancient gardening technique is, per square foot, to be the most useful and productive element of my kitchen garden this growing season."
Many people use horse manure, but it's not the only option. "If you got enough material, you can start sowing hotbeds in late January," he says. "... What you create most importantly is a frost-free growing zone."
So, what goes into the hotbed? He used wood chips instead of horse manure, poultry bedding, coffee grounds, lots of water, and about 6 inches of mature compost to begin sowing seeds.
Pallets, timber, old windows, old fences, or scrap wood are materials that can go on top. After you harvest or transplant crops, what's left behind will eventually become compost by the end of the year as it breaks down, but you can repurpose it back into your garden.
How it's helping
Many people are tired of rising grocery prices, which aren't limited to eggs. Plus, there's uncertainty over the modification of genetically modified organisms and what other additives may be in your food. According to the National Research Council (US) Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer, there are 2,500 chemical substances added to foods to modify flavor, color, stability, and texture.
Luckily, when you grow your own food, you're taking control over your physical health by producing better-tasting and more nutrient-dense food while enjoying mental benefits. After all, several studies, such as the ones cited by Elsevier's Preventive Medicine Reports, state that improved dementia symptoms, better sleep, reduced anxiety and depression, and the possibility of community support are vital pros of gardening.
Plus, the Earth loves gardens just as much as your stomach, mind, and wallet. Gardens add to the ecosystem as they provide homes and food for pollinating insects, prevent erosion, improve the air by producing oxygen and absorbing carbon, and are a place to reduce waste by taking on compost.
What everyone's saying
Many in the comments had their own tales of hotbeds. One person "experienced/discovered this concept completely on accident this winter when my 5-gallon open compost bin sprouted 100 bell pepper seedlings voluntarily in December (zone 8)."
About the use of manure, however, one person explained why it can sometimes not be a good option.
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Every day 🥗 "Horse, cow, and goat manure can be a real garden killer because much of the feed they are given have been treated with a weed killer that goes through the animal and ends up in their manure and urine."
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