Re: CULT: question - hot bed?

Linda  --  This seems like a project of monumental proportions.  I'm afraid
my only experience is with things of this sort that were of far smaller
dimensions and produced by cows.  Almost invariably, though, their heat
retention was enough to keep them in a semi-liquid state long enough to put
the unwary on a slippery slope, even on level ground.  How long they might
have kept a potted iris happy, I don't know.

The thought occurs to me that there may be an imbalance here between effort
and result.  I mean, how many potted irises (or pots of seeds, whichever)
can sit atop a 45-gallon tub of steaming horse by-product laced with alfalfa
pellets?  Not to mention the labor and materials involved in constructing
this edifice  --  the arched frame of woven wire fencing, the two layers of
Reemay, the boards anchoring all.  Then there is the danger factor  --
might it explode?  I would not want to be in the vicinity.

Even if I wanted to attempt duplicating your experiment, I'm afraid the laws
of Fairfax County would prohibit it.  We can't even burn leaves or weeds
here.  Outdoor incinerators have long since been banned, and the zealots are
after our fireplaces and our portable grills (not because of danger of fire,
but because of pollution and global warming).  But I stray from the subject,
which is about heat, not fire.

There was a time when I composted my grass clippings, and that produced a
fair amount of heat, but I acceded to my neighbor's request to desist.  I
can't blame him, really -- he IS downwind.  All in all, I think that, to
find someone who has experience with the kind of activity in which you are
engaging, one would have to look for someone situated in an area similar to
the wilds of east Tennessee.  These days, I think that must be located
somewhere between the Elysian fields and the Augean stables.  --  Griff

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Linda Mann" <lmann@volfirst.net>
To: "iris- talk" <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 9:52 AM
Subject: [iris] CULT: question - hot bed?


> Anybody have experience with heating a hotbed with fermenting manure?  I
> would like to know how long it will stay above freezing once it finishes
> heating up and starts to cool.
>
> Fermenting manure and alfalfa pellets in the 45 gallon tub have reached
> 90oF this AM, keeping an 8 inch pot of potting soil sitting on top at
> nearly 50o with outside air temperatures down to 12oF.
>
> Whole thing is covered with an arched frame of woven wire fencing,
> covered with two layers of lightweight Reemay type fabric, anchored with
> boards.  Tub is insulated with hay bales tied tightly around the tub.
>
> --
> Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
> East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.korrnet.org/etis>
> American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
> talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
> photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
> online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>
>
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