Gene wrote: >I come down on Jeavons pretty hard for the current condition of that title, >which you can read at >http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0898157676/ref=cm_mp_etc/ >104-1399661-7660715 Yes, i'm trying to support anyone involved with sustainable living but Jeavons has too much marketing and fantasy tossed into the mix. I did notice he has revised his basic steps up from 5 to 8. So, maybe he will evolve a new song someday. >I would be interested in reading what you learned >about hotbeds in greenhouses. It's that time of year when I, too, start >getting itchy seed-planting fingers. The presentation on hot beds was one i found interesting also. Basically, it involves growing on top of a compost pile. The speaker (Steve Rodgers) has been developing the method for 12 years and showed pictures from this winters market crops. The process goes like this: 1. Find area with discarded or available biomass. Steve is in a urban area and uses a lot of landscape trimmings. 2. Build a raised bed about 3 feet high out of the biomass. -add layers of wood chips or other non-compacting material to get air into the bed. -put layer of finished compost inside to kick off the bio processes. -put layer of finished compost on top to plant into. 3. Put sprouts or seeds into bed all winter. 4. When bed shrinks in summer use for summer plantings. The bed produces enough heat to keep plants near the surface growing well and is ideal for unheated greenhouses. The audience worried about all the wood chips stealing nitrogen and about whether the biomass was from organic sources. Steve didn't have good answers to these questions but for me the pictures said it all. This technique works. If someone can support themselves for 12 years on such a simple idea then i'm a believer. Another speaker (Frank Morton) had a similar conclusion at one point. He noted that the solution to most problems is compost and that all our worries about the problems (bugs, disease, water, ph, weather, etc.) may be a waste of time. If we simply pile on the compost and grow plants the natural processes usually sort themselves out. Morton showed his compost system which looked interesting. He builds two rows side by side. After initial heating the piles are joined by shoveling from the outside. This makes sure all weed seeds end up in the heat zone and are cooked. Next, he utilizes compost from one end and plants in area exposed. jeff (harvesting bok choi, corn salad, and broccoli today)
