Comments on: Building Hotbeds For Your Garden http://www.yourlocalmarketblog.com/2008/07/23/building-hotbeds-for-your-garden/ Organic Grocery Market, Shop Local, Small Farms, Family Farms Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:01:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Gene Logsdon http://www.yourlocalmarketblog.com/2008/07/23/building-hotbeds-for-your-garden/#comment-2518 Gene Logsdon Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:29:26 +0000 http://organictobe.org/?p=1158#comment-2518 Ryan, Sure it would work for other veggies. When I have tried to do this from about Christmas through most of February, it didn't work very well. Yes, birdsfoot trefoil is an enduring legume, especially for very cold areas. Grazing animals will not bloat on it, you are right, but I don't think it prevents bloat if animals are also eating lusher clovers. I grew birdsfoot for awhile, but found it not nearly as productive as other clovers. It still persists in my pastures but not in an important way. Gene Granny: My experience with growing vegetables in winter as you describe is that the real tough part is germination. Some vegetable seeds need almost 90 degrees F to germinate and the easiest way to do that is to sprout the plants in your house or in a really well-heated hotbed. Gene Ryan, I've always used old windows. None broke but my grandson fell into one and got cut badly. Gene Ryan, Sure it would work for other veggies. When I have tried to do this from about Christmas through most of February, it didn’t work very well. Yes, birdsfoot trefoil is an enduring legume, especially for very cold areas. Grazing animals will not bloat on it, you are right, but I don’t think it prevents bloat if animals are also eating lusher clovers. I grew birdsfoot for awhile, but found it not nearly as productive as other clovers. It still persists in my pastures but not in an important way. Gene
Granny: My experience with growing vegetables in winter as you describe is that the real tough part is germination. Some vegetable seeds need almost 90 degrees F to germinate and the easiest way to do that is to sprout the plants in your house or in a really well-heated hotbed. Gene
Ryan, I’ve always used old windows. None broke but my grandson fell into one and got cut badly. Gene

]]> By: Rob http://www.yourlocalmarketblog.com/2008/07/23/building-hotbeds-for-your-garden/#comment-2512 Rob Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:07:31 +0000 http://organictobe.org/?p=1158#comment-2512 Gene, Where do you get the "glass sash?" Are there sashes that aren't made of breakable glass? I've tried to use a used window and it broke on me. Thanks. Rob Gene,

Where do you get the “glass sash?” Are there sashes that aren’t made of breakable glass? I’ve tried to use a used window and it broke on me. Thanks.

Rob

]]> By: Granny Miller http://www.yourlocalmarketblog.com/2008/07/23/building-hotbeds-for-your-garden/#comment-2511 Granny Miller Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:54:17 +0000 http://organictobe.org/?p=1158#comment-2511 Thank you so much for posting this! I was just discussing this today with a neighbor. I want to construct a hot bed on the south side of my house and see if I can grow lettuce during the winter months. Apparently there is a lady nearby who using hoop/tunnel/chick/goat house to grow greens all winter long. She puts a row cover over the plants inside the tunnel. The neighbor tells me she was selling lettuce up until May. Thank you so much for posting this!

I was just discussing this today with a neighbor.
I want to construct a hot bed on the south side of my house and see if I can grow lettuce during the winter months.

Apparently there is a lady nearby who using hoop/tunnel/chick/goat house to grow greens all winter long. She puts a row cover over the plants inside the tunnel.
The neighbor tells me she was selling lettuce up until May.

]]> By: Ryan http://www.yourlocalmarketblog.com/2008/07/23/building-hotbeds-for-your-garden/#comment-2507 Ryan Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:27:01 +0000 http://organictobe.org/?p=1158#comment-2507 Could this work with other veggies as well? Any idea on how cold is too cold for this to work? On another topic, Gene, perhaps you have, but if not you should add some birdsfoot trefoil to your pastures. It has lovely yellow flowers all summer, is seeded very easily with frost seeding, and even a little bit of it will prevent bloat on lush clover/alfalfa. It too will reseed itself as well, if not better than white clover. Could this work with other veggies as well? Any idea on how cold is too cold for this to work?
On another topic, Gene, perhaps you have, but if not you should add some birdsfoot trefoil to your pastures. It has lovely yellow flowers all summer, is seeded very easily with frost seeding, and even a little bit of it will prevent bloat on lush clover/alfalfa. It too will reseed itself as well, if not better than white clover.

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