Starting My Winter Garden In October | Self Heating Compost Greenhouses

With two hotbeds in one greenhouse I will be starting the first bed now and in January I will start the second bed to lengthen my growing season without needing a second greenhouse
My simple Hotbed Greenhouse Plans are on my etsy store:
www.etsy.com/shop/Dirtpatcheaven
Patreon:
www.patreon.com/Dirtpatcheaven

[@HelenEk7]

I absolutely LOVE that nothing looks perfect at your place. Makes it so real, and it shows that its possible to make something cheap, AND functional, which is really all that counts.

[@janearnold4737]

Your channel is a wealth of resourcefulness and practicality. Thank you for your sweet, informative way of sharing what you do, to give hope and encouragement that, raising and growing food can be done, using simple (and briiliant!) materials.

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Thank you Jane! What a lovely start to my day!

[@useme-0815]

That's a lot of nature!

[@sandhollowhomestead6972]

This is the best homesteading channel I know of . Teaching Homesteading on a Shoestring. I've always respected your honesty and clarity.

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Hey thank you!

[@michaspringphul]

@@dirtpatcheaven would you also consider to bury the bed half below ground? So you would also have additional isolation by the ground itself. Or would you consider the work to build this to intensive?

[@grannyanniesfarm4972]

Thank you for this video. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. Compost..... the best gardener i ever met was a top notch medical doctor and he told me that the rule of thumb for good compost was that anything that was once living goes in it. Cardboard.... such a valuable, useful thing on a farm! I get so tired of people that see my cardboard box stash, telling me to burn it and get rid of it. Right now i have csrdboard boxes laying out to rain wash the fire retardant off so i can make fire starters out of it. People that see it sure give me funny looks, but i dont care. Im saving money and nature.

[@sage0925]

Same. My neighbors think I'm a nutjob, but I'll end up using all that cardboard eventually. I use it for kindling in my woodstove, and as a base for any of my raised beds.

[@nikkistump3480]

Wow! Great hotbeds and turkeys!

[@CharlesGann1]

They are really therapeutic to go in on a bright cold day. That green rush and feeling like a few square feet of Spring!

[@danachoate5361]

I love that the birds are running around the garden. I also love the idea of composting all the things you do.

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Thank you!

[@8oclocktomatotalk]

Love how the ol rooster introduced the reveal of your warm season crops :-) thanks for the informative video. Been toying with the idea of doing this for a couple seasons now.

[@magtye40]

I admire your work ethics.. you are diligent and seemingly hard at year round.. the knowledge you lend is phenomenal.. thanks .. been watching and learning from you for several years now..

[@sage0925]

This woman works so hard, it embarrasses me. I bust my butt on my small homestead, but watching her videos makes me feel like a lazy cow.

[@amyblueskyirl16]

Love that you have an Etsy shop…I bought all the things! 😂

[@jenbear8652]

Charles Dowding successfully makes a hot bed that’s only 4x4 or 5x5, something like that. In fact, I think it’s the size of 4 pallets, wired together. I think the ingredients & layers of fresh manure are what’s critical for making the hot beds more than length, according to an old 1911 gardening book I read. I love David the Good & his book Compost Everything!

[@barbararuthsmith2882]

Hotbeds are a lot of work, take up a lot of room and don't help me because of my lack of light during Late Nove, Dec and January. Giving plants more warmth makes them even leggier if they doen't have the light to go with it. I have no way to light the greenhouse and the cost would be too much. Thanks anyway for your suggestions.

[@christineferrario1700]

@@barbararuthsmith2882 Good points. Where are you located? Zone?

[@barbararuthsmith2882]

@@christineferrario1700 in Sweden zone 5

[@luckyrobinshomestead]

I love this. I've been thinking about doing a cattle panel green house with the hotbeds for a long time, probably since the first one you did but I do need something that is off the ground. I have to have something tall enough for me to use with my walker, but short enough that if I eventually need to use a wheel chair, I can get in and do that. I think this would work for me.

[@Mardi-LovetheLandHomestead]

This is incredible. I needed to see this today. Your growing conditions are very similar to mine. Definitely going to do this. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@SoloClone]

What zone are you in?

[@danachoate5361]

Recycling all the fees bags, pallets and so much more! Seems like a much more affordable way to set up a homestead

[@BGraytful]

I am experimenting with a smaller size heat producing system for my small green house. I have collected the largest sized nursery pots (tree size) which I line up together and fill with compostables, kitchen scraps, etc., topped with a top layer of soil to plant into. The black plastic heats up, the composting scraps also heat up. And the bulk creates some degree of heat retention. I do not have animals (manure) or a large hot house so this is an experimental alternative to the kind of system you describe. We will see if it works.

[@darlenesmith2456]

You can find big pieces of cardboard in the recycling bin outside a furniture store

[@winf4864]

That is awesome! 😍I want to give this a try. I already do cold composting. I do recommend that you don't throw in white paper bags and rip tape or labels off shipping boxes. There was a lot of chemicals used to make those. I my opinion, not everything that is compostable should be composted because of other materials that have been added to the process. I even sometimes hesitate composting certain fruits or vegetables that have been known to have a lot of pesticides.

[@spoolsandbobbins]

This is one of the best videos on hot beds. Thank you with all my heart for your hard work and inspiration. I’m gonna do this! We have mini hoop beds but they get buried in snow and ice by Jan-Feb 🤷‍♀️

[@steventodd8366]

Add a 12 volt fan to inflate a double plastic wall and increase your heat holding ability also think about water lines in the raised bed .

[@dirtpatcheaven]

My conventional greenhouse did exactly that. It didn't work for our extreme cold. I ended up cutting the second layer away to increase sunlight to my plants. Only the hotbed has worked and it is especially nice that it doesn't require electricity and pinprick free plastic.

[@steventodd8366]

I would like to integrate water, animals, feed, plants and raised beds temp and light conditions will need to be met for all a closed loop that produces the needs of the next part put in raw materials and have your needs met. (space) square foot garden was one of the first raised beds for me.@@dirtpatcheaven

[@katigleiser5305]

this is wonderful, thank you. I love the raised and supported greenhouse with hot beds underneath. My greenhouse has been uncomfortable and cramped - this will be a wonderful solution to implement. Thank you

[@dirtpatcheaven]

My first homebuilt greenhouse was cramped and didnt work right. My second was so much better because the cow panels shed snow. This one is the best yet.

[@arnoldolson2509]

You what you do very good, nice to go back and see where you came from.

BOA NOITE AMIGA EXELENTE TRABALHO DEUS ABENÇOE MINHA AMIGA

[@neverendingharvest6413]

Oh to be young again, enjoyed your video.

[@anaborella1972]

Thanks!

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Thank you!

[@Asbestiparta84]

Lady, You are awesome!!! Thx for sharing 😊

[@gardenfunwithjane4897]

Hi new subscriber here. I just binge watched a lot of your hot bed videos. I am so curious and want to make some. So cool. I've done winter sowing almost 9 years. I'm excited to give this a go. Thanks

[@judygoodson5855]

Good job... food insecurity is a reality. Well done presentation on methods

[@DonnaRatliff1]

I learn so much from you.

[@myjunkmail007]

I couldn't love this any more!!

[@swedishpeace]

Inspiring video we gone start a hotbed in Sweden next year thanks to the video ❤

[@dirtpatcheaven]

I would love to see it when you finish!

[@tomm5228]

Charles dowding does this and a plus when sowing it increases growth

[@TheRealHonestInquiry]

Nice work! DtG would be proud :)

[@barbararuthsmith2882]

Hi, I live in Sweden and wonder how you grow year around with the lack of sunlight during the winter. It is a bit colder here than Idaho but there isn't a huge difference. During October, November, December and January its too dark for anything to grow, even beets and carrots. By the end of February we have enough light (even though there is snow and ice everywhere ) for things to begin to grow. I usually grow inside with growlights because of this. Loved your video, very informative in an easy to understand manner. Good luck with your 2023-2024 winter garden

[@spoolsandbobbins]

I’m in Canada, considerably more North than Idaho. I have to start my winter gardens not later than August for the same reasons.

[@barbararuthsmith2882]

@@spoolsandbobbins How du get a harvest if you start later than August? I start my winter plantings inside in June and plant them out in August and get a harvest right before the snow starts in late October if I am lucky. Any later and its too dark and too much snow to get any harvest.

[@youtubeaccount-gp5ml]

Idaho has considerably longer daylight and sunshine hours than Sweden during winter. Hours of sunshine in Gothenburg during December are 1 versus 3:50 in Boise, Idaho for example.

[@youtubeaccount-gp5ml]

I looked it up, and at the end of February, Gothenburg has about 3:40 hours of sunlight, so I guess Idaho provides pretty much exactly that amount during the shortest days!

[@victorygarden556]

Use stock tubs with fish or something productive for thermal mass inside in combination with composting

[@NewDimension7]

Good morning Yeay making compost , thanks you for sharing .

[@mairzydotes3548]

Impressive!

[@ColonelKlink100]

Very useful. Thank you!

[@LauraMichelGreenRaven]

Nice video. Great review.

[@barbarastefani254]

Thank you for all your info love it

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@RetroRobbin59]

Great video. Thank you for sharing this information.

[@jennifercatherine3732]

Thanks for the great info!

BOA NOITE AMIGA VOCÊ É MUITO ESFOSSADA DEUS ABENÇOE SEU TRABALHO

[@cody481]

You are awesome

[@ScotWalt858]

All good!

[@kishidabu]

The thing you have to worry about with composting inside your greenhouse, is when fresh manure is used, the by-product of decomposition is ammonia, which can be lethal to plants. I tried this with my aquaponics system once, thinking it would heat my water for the fish but it ended up killing all of the fish (ammonia dissolved into water) and killed most of the plants.

[@simeonbanner6204]

Problem you will get if you have the heat is the low light levels which I think will cancel out any gains.

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Greens like bok choi and tatsoi do really well in the Fall hotbeds.

[@nancyseery2213]

I'm new to your channel and would like to know your growing zone. I'm planning to build a greenhouse of high tunnel soon and would like to give hot beds a try. God bless y'all and keep growing.

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Apparently it’s 3b-7b but her latitude would be important as well I should think. I’m 6b in Nova Scotia Canada and our days get pretty short here…

[@sage0925]

Unless I'm very much mistaken, I believe she is in Idaho Falls, whatever zone that is. I'm SW of her in the Boise Mountains, and I'm Zone 5, so she has to be Zone 3-4.

[@lrmsmrls16]

Great video! Each year, do you then remove top layers and re layer each bed to “reheat” for the next year?

[@tracycrider7778]

Most likely yes

[@claudiadose]

Great idea! What do you do with the hotbed once its been through a season? It probably won't be hot the next year...

[@thornhedge9639]

Nice recap! Glad to see you using the cardboard. Did you ever get the doors changed to swing in?

[@dirtpatcheaven]

I like it best without a solid door. It means getting materials in is so easy there is nothing unpleasant about fighting snow or the structure in winter.

[@Nimbus350]

How do you manage gnats another annoying bugs? I just made our first hotbed in our little 6x8 hobby greenhouse, and I have been surprised at how many bugs are flying in my face each time I walk in there. I've just started spraying neem oil and Bt every few days, and it is seeming to thin their numbers a bit. But if there's anything else you use, I'm all ears!

[@aplaninmind]

Hi Juliana, I have a raised bed with a prefab greenhouse on top of it. It does well until January. After watching your video it occurred to me that There is no insulation in the bed itself or on the sides of the greenhouse frame. Any ideas on how I can insulate it. I’m thinking of wedging pieces of foam board down into the sides of bed

[@melig7543]

If I built a hot bed in my green house should I do it on the north side or does it not matter. I know north side is colder.

[@DonnaRatliff1]

How to find organic hay? Cant find any organic hay in Alabama. Seems impossible.

[@melissagoodwin2602]

Thanks for sharing. I'm just curious how is the taste of the goat milk?

[@sage0925]

Depends on who's raising them. I've had raw goat's milk from a farmer down the road that didn't taste much different from cow (maybe a very slight "goaty" aftertaste). I've also had goat milk from the grocery store that tasted like it came out of a goat's butt (ie, nasty).

[@melissagoodwin2602]

@@sage0925 helps alot thanks

[@sage0925]

@@melissagoodwin2602 If you can find a local that has raw milk, try it compared to pasteurized commercial. I absolutely cannot stand commercial pasteurized goat's milk. It's disgusting. I can put up with the slight goaty taste of raw local. I refused to drink it for decades before I tasted my neighbor's. Dogs absolutely LOVE goat milk. My Dorkies come running when they hear me shake the bottle.

[@kimivy7234]

Great video!!! What do you do when temps are in the teens or below zero? Most of the winter night temps in Kansas are mid 20s. Do you need another extra heat source ?

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Our low Temps are -20 and -30 Fahrenheit, depending on the year. I keep my frost clothes on the veggies at night or on cloudy days, the hotbed has plenty of heat, it is the ambient air temp that is cold so we just hold the heat in with white frost clothes.

[@kimivy7234]

@@dirtpatcheaven Cool! I really want to give this a try! Getting all the stuff together...

[@ErwinvanHolten]

i don't get it .. a hot bed that you're planting in? Are you composting or growing? What temperature difference does the hot compost make compaired to without and outside? Thanks, keep it up.

[@dirtpatcheaven]

I am composting and growing. The composting materials hear the soil on top and keep the seedlings warm in winter. The compost tops 165 Fahrenheit for about 2 weeks. Then is cools down to blood temp for about three months.

[@ErwinvanHolten]

@@dirtpatcheaven Very interesting. So the toplayer bed with the seedlings does actually sink? Do the wood chips generate heat as well? I didn't even know that. With the size of your bed you need quite a lot material and wood chips come in handy?

[@champagnjethersiahdduvenag6078]

❤

[@ashleylovepace1941]

Are you staying up there this winter? Seems like I saw a video about you traveling south for winter last year.

[@timiaxel6327]

Hello can you make a lambing assistance video?

[@cel6389]

Do they hold up to wind there? I would love to do this, but we live in the Very windy plains and I am unsure. Thanks!

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Our area had the first experimental wind farms in the United States. Greenhouses have done fine in 60 mph wind with gusting.

[@BlessedUpBlooms]

where did you get free billboard vinyl??

[@carolynmoody9460]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@joyceobeys6818]

What zone? Everyone should share their zone right off. ❤

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Zone 3 to 4. Idaho. Down to -30 Fahrenheit in really cold years.

[@GeertPypers]

Very interesting. I live in 7/ 7B myself so probably a tad bit warmer than where you live? We have frost until 13th/15th of May. What is the breed of small ehh Turkeys? that seem to roam free in your garden?

[@dirtpatcheaven]

They are a mix. Heritage birds that are light enough to fly easily. They live on bugs, Swiss chard, and scratch grain. Aren't they beautiful?

[@GeertPypers]

@@dirtpatcheaven Yeah, they seem to be rather low maintenance and very quiet for the part I did see. Would love to have some free roaming birds but I think my neighbours wouldn't like that haha

[@shirleysmith9353]

What town are you in? I’m from SE Idaho too! Would love to meet you.

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Rigby

[@dirtpatcheaven]

You could email me if you would like to meet. [e-mail]

[@Tsunseyu]

How do you keep rats and other pests out?

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Chickens and cats.

[@tracycrider7778]

Just curious what is the tube in the goats horns?

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Pvc. Also tennis balls. They keep her from putting her head through the fence ans getting stuck.

[@pang-ngiavang1956]

What zone are you?

[@dirtpatcheaven]

3 or 4 depending on the year.

[@vojzwoli8702]

❤U

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Thank you!

[@benspatoisgarden5982]

Whats your grow zone?

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Zone 3 to 4.

[@alekdog2694]

❤️🌅💯👍

[@dakotakyd]

Great Video! What are the dimensions of this newer Winter Garden design using the 2 cattle panels? And are these cattle panels 50” x 16’ 🌱🪴 ❄️❄️❄️

[@dirtpatcheaven]

Three pallets wide, the middle panel is the path. Four or five pallets long, can't remember off the top of my head. Minimum dimensions must be 4' by 8' for each hotbed itself. The cow panels are standard but I have also used hog panels, which are not as tall. I guess I should have linked the video where I built it.

[@dakotakyd]

@@dirtpatcheaven Thank you for answering 🥰

[@Ingemarssn]

Keeping rabbits in that cage is just so cruel. They never touch solid ground and hang in the air all the time, fully exposed to wind 😢

[@dirtpatcheaven]

We tried multiple time to keep them in housing that allowed them more space and contact with the ground. Each time they got sick with intestinal parasites. They need shade in the summer so their cages are under our fruit trees. Our weather is extreme in the winter. During that time they are in cages in the greenhouse to stay warm.

[@kennethmahler6450]

Have you seen the deep winter greenhouse? Keep the Vegetables Coming . A deep winter greenhouse provides good winter growing conditions. by Katie Knapp

[@thethrifterpicker-upper3584]

Do the bunnys have to stay in those tiny cages? That is no life for an animal. :( Bunny prison.

[@dirtpatcheaven]

We have tried other pens but if they are in contact with the ground they get intestinal parasites abs get sick.

[@raulvosandi2942]

vägev

[@mistymint7983]

Rabbits in small cages is cruel, I won’t be watching your channel

[@dirtpatcheaven]

We experimented with other ways of housing them but they always got parasites. The cages kept them healthy.

[@Shanngella]

I stopped watching as soon as I saw the rabbits in the cages unfortunetly....

[@dirtpatcheaven]

We switched them out of cages and they became infested with worms. Very sad. Cages were the only way to keep them healthy.

[@tracycrider7778]

People do what they can to keep their animals healthy ❤

[@meaww7373]

❤❤