Free Heat for my Greenhouse & Chickens

[@sgtUSA2012]

The reason it took so long for the thermometer to show the “true” reading of the compost temperature is because: you took a pipe that had been setting outside in the cold ambient air and then stuck it in the middle of the compost. It take a while for the pipe (steel) to warm up enough to stabilize with the compost temperature. Basically, the compost pile had to warm up the pipe enough to get an accurate reading.

[@jeffdowler9130]

You have happy chickens and that's a plus in my book.

[@FtnHills38]

Check out Edible acres on you tube. He adds grain to the pile, and when it sprouts the chickens love the sprouts.

[@Guildbrookfarm]

Great stuff. I enjoy seeing how this is turning out.

[@dancingwithnature5303]

The double layer of plastic with air insulation between really works! We've been using it for decades. We also use passive solar heat. We fill 55gal drums with water. The barrels are painted black on the side facing the sun, and white on the side facing the plants to increase light.

[@katewizer2736]

I was Thrilled to see muskovey ducks and Pomeranian saddl-back geese! Each are my favorite breeds! One video I saw said Pomeranian saddl-back geese are very rare.

[@gerardabernadette7788]

I am old enough to be your mother so I can say this: you are adorable to watch. so informative.

[@sfetterly6200]

Using leech lines (PVC pipes with holes) placed every foot or so in your pile will allow enough air flow and heat exchange to keep your compost healthy. I would suggest a total of 4 leech lines in that size pile, 2 equally spaced near the bottom and 2 leech lines going the other direction about a foot or so higher. Add worms, bugs and edible mushrooms along with kitchen scraps and your chickens will eat good.

[@WayneDome-dm8iu]

Great Video, your doing a wonderful service for others to learn and try new things,

[@Lorel509]

I just found your videos and enjoying watching them. I've been growing compost piles for years also raised and breed a lot of chickens. I wish I had a large enough yard for your hoop house. I agree you need to increase the height as the added pressure will help increase the decomposition. I turn my pile when it gets to 130 degrees. The chickens might be eating bugs and worms (and worm eggs) that are beneficial for the composting but the pile is so large it likely won't do much damage. If it was my compost pile I would put chicken wire around it so the chickens don't scratch it all away. Also for every layer of plastic it holds in heat to equal one gardening zone. I heat my small 6x8 hot house with a 5 gallon bucket of water with a large aquarium heater in it but that produces too much humidity. Like your idea better.

[@janetfolkerts5827]

If you set multiple pipes up in your composting pile so the heat would rise up and out that would give you a continual heat out into the open. IF..you had a second rack next to the first you could 'turn over' your pile from the original pile to the 2nd. You would lose some of the heat temporarily but this would add to the 'working composting in the pile'. Since you don't have full capacity of chickens you appear to have room for a 3rd rack to create a 2nd working compost pile using one to be the alternate and rotate the piles from one to another at different times that way you would not have any 'down time' / total loss of heat like you would with just one pile. Once you have two working ventilated piles going you in theory would continuous heat even when rotate 'turning over' one of the working piles. I can see the dead space between the layers of plastic as a big help as well. I love what you are doing. Good luck..

[@TheRestorationCouple]

Hadn't realised it would be that warm. Very impressed, you could run pipes through that and heat a house!

[@simeonandalex]

Yes. We are right now talking about that on a bigger scale with the other families on the farm.

[@garymccoy2888]

Swedish Homestead n

[@candidethirtythree4324]

I think you should add some more kitchen scraps and rotted straw to the top and keep layering for a while. Once you turn it it will take days to heat up again and you lose your heating system. I would think that the heat would be more valuable to the chickens right now. You don't need the fertilizer aspect of the compost until closer to spring planting.

[@donnawalker3910]

I know nothing about chickens, composting, homesteading...but your chickens seem to love the compost pile! Keeps their feet warm =) I look forward to following your channel.

[@tracyismackie]

Another gentleman has large container where he uses leaves to compost and it warmed his greenhouse during the winter. The pile was generating 91 degrees. So placed a few more compost.piles and the mddle of winter with lots of snow on the ground the inside temperature was 79 degrees. Oh another comment on the compost piles it makes great feed for the chickens and warmth you cant go wrong placing many piles within your cold frame

[@losaltguy]

Great thinking. You inspired me on this cold morning in Michigan

[@mrmacgregorshomestead233]

Hello from Michigan, as well!!

[@stacier1069]

You are doing such a great job with your chickens and your farm. The compost biota and also the ruminant manure is very beneficial for the chickens, but they probably get most of their nutrients from the food scraps that Karl Hammer makes his Vermont compost from. Since your compost pile does not contain food scraps in large enough quantities to feed all the chickens that you have, you could use a Joel Salatin trick and sprinkle the chicken grain into the compost so the chickens will spend more time digging into it. I am really impressed with your channel, keep up the great videos :)

[@conradsenior5843]

You are doing very well. Love the scale of your project

[@antoinettegurdely8811]

There are long stem thermometers for composting. You leave the unit in the pile to gauge your piles progress.

[@christineortmann359]

Great to see you and your family- Blessings from America.

[@luminyam6145]

This is just a fascinating video and the first of your channel that I have seen. I have been watching videos where the owners are heating with compost and yours came into my feed. I am so glad I found your channel. Great video and I am going to keep watching. Good luck with your projects.

[@tanksoldier9770]

At the auto parts store they sell a hand held laser thermometer about $ 40.00 on sale here in the USA it's a cool tool just point and pull the trigger .l use it year round on checking farm,auto,cooking,livestock,anything you can think of ,even the sky it has paid for itself many times over especially on sealed bearings on the equiptment .

[@simeonandalex]

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

[@onedazinn998]

Nice setup & great idea on heating up the greenhouse. I hope to do that on a smaller scale once I get my greenhouse structures up and on dirt so there's no worries on rotting my barn's wooden floor.

[@edwardbenton8323]

Don't be afraid to try the compost on the North side from one end to the other. The sun doesn't hit that side and is usually cold, so heat there would help plus give you a couple of feet of warm insulation between the cold and the inside.

[@kimoteta8]

Very nice experiment. Geoff Lawton and his chicken tractor spread out the compost frequently and had finished compost within a month or two.

[@nealthomson9505]

The easiest thing to do would be to put a sort of roof ontop of the pile. Something to catch the warm air and to warm up. Like a big heat sink. At the moment your warmth is going streight up to the roof and warming up the roof. I bet there is no frost on the roof in the morning because of this. Another idea would be to put in water pipes that can take the heat to water troughs that you dont want freezing. You could even have the pipes run to a trough outside. . You have the heat, now you must just make use of it. Good job TGC Blessings in abundance:)

[@shepherdstablefarm1902]

if you ever decide to raise rabbits, you can mount the cages over worm beds with their poop falling through. only in winter have the rabbits in there as it would be to hot for them in the summer. they will warm the greenhouse along with the worm/compost beds. great channel.

[@maryelaine-blinstrubchambe6083]

Seems like your chickens are excited about the pile too. Even in a little backyard garden I keep adding veggies, cardboard torn up & shreds of paper & coffee grounds. It can get very cold. The snow always melts off the pile. I can always turn the pile. Not to mention my garden loves the soil I make for it.

[@veefriend4201]

So many good hints. Amazing concept.

[@tonyfrewin4822]

Just found your channel and love it. Can't see your ventilation in poly tunnel but seriously concerned you could have a build up of dangerous gasses in there. The rotting bird poo and vegetation could cause an atmosphere that's not safe.

[@gearheadted5110]

Another interesting video, Simeon. Good comments as well.

[@zemadeiran]

Your Urine/water mixed at a 1/9 ratio which will provide Urea, minerals and much more good stuff. The bacteria in the compost will love it! You could also use some conductive tubing within the pile and use an external radiator to heat the greenhouse and buffer the compost temp so it does not overheat. For insulation you can use cheap bubble wrap that is used for packaging glued to the existing greenhouse plastic. All the best

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks.

[@zemadeiran]

Compost needs lots of moisture to function properly hence the reason to dilute the urine along with the fact th it would spread more evenly throughout the pile.

[@user-wr3oo6fp1m]

Are you basically saying you could pump water to a radiator, through the compost pile like you would a stove and this works?

[@WalterDeRooij]

@B = indeed. There are quite a few videos out there explaining the concept. Here's one where they use the water for hot showers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3vQXpZvd5eSm9k but you could also run it through a radiator.

[@ozz5350]

In the bottom put a pipe for one side to the other at the bottom of the compose pile it will pull the head out but then it will rise so you put a small fan on low to move the air God bless you and you're family THANKS.

[@nandobreiter4075]

Well, others have said this, but just to drive the point home, I grew up in a family of greenhouse owner / operators, near Chicago in the US. A double layer of plastic with air blown in between was an absolute must to keep the greenhouses warm in the winter, otherwise the boilers could not keep up, and the heating bill would be too expensive. All you need to do is throw a piece of plastic over the top that will cover the entire arch, and secure it at the perimeter. No need to leave slack for air space - there will be sufficient space when it is inflated. There should be simple squirrel cage blowers that you can use. We mounted them on a piece of plywood for support, inside the greenhouse (of course, to protect it from the weather). Inflating the layer with warmer air from the inside keeps snow and ice from accumulating on the plastic and collapsing the insulating layer in the winter. Without an insulating layer of air, the heat inside easily radiates through the plastic and is lost.

[@michelestaples5547]

Simeon, I really enjoy your channel, they are full of useful information. My concern on this composting heat gathering is that as plant material s composting it makes gas. as in methane. if your greenhouse is relatively airtight you could wake up to dead chickens. Our garbage dumps have pipes down into the garbage to bring up the methane and burn it off as it comes out the tops of the piles😶

[@Theorimlig]

Michele Staples Ventilation is a concern when composting or using deep bedding. I'd be interested to hear what Simeon thinks about this.

[@simeonandalex]

Our greenhouse is not airtight. I think there is plenty of draft for ventilation.

[@lsieu]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this experiment. Your poultry look very healthy and happy.

[@jameshunt2905]

I’m thinking that this space could use another pile since it only alters the height of the surface for the chickens. Another thought that comes to mind relative to. Driving more heat of the piles and that is to line the sides with plastic to concentrate the heat and moisture. Through this trail I’d be looking for ideal timing in turning or consider adding pipe internally to circulate air and drain moisture from the interior. Though I realize that is only part of the scope of which approaches to combine for your ideal. Looks to be a great experiment and one that offers several different outputs or products for your use. Very interested in the progress and what you find to be good insights in the process there in the climate around you.

[@mikecox3659]

Agree with old time engineer, MHP Gardener did a good video on the two layers as well. All the best!

[@donnagile3687]

Adding wood ash to compost pile really increases temperature. Urine too. Add some good compost dirt from another area to inoculate with microbes. Swamp water.

[@spex357]

Firstly insulate the ground under the stack. If the purpose is to use the warmth to heat the air then a pipe system with an input close to the stack can travel through the stack split in to numerous outlets and be warm on its way out especially if the exit is higher. 50mm pipe with three or four pipe runs coming off it.

[@vwseramas]

I've use a 100 x 32 Foot greenhouse with double 8 mill thick film (plastic) sitting on top of 42" cement foundation and dirt floor. Starting with 100 (3.8 cubic Ft) bags of peat moss, 5 cubic yards of horse manure and 20 cubic yards of saw dust. This was rotor tilled together NO water added. All the roosts, nest boxes, feeders and watering nipples were suspended from racks with ropes that raised them to as high as 6 feet to allow the compost to be tilled with the rototiller. It had 50 turkeys, 125 Isa Brown layers, 200 broilers, 50 french guineas. Once or twice a week would till the compost to keep it working (heating up). By spring there would be about 2 feet of compost. It kept the greenhouse above freezing all winter long and the auto-watering system from freezing. Never added water to this at all because the birds droppings were plenty moist enough to keep the compost working (heating up). Each spring we removed all but 6 inches of the compost for the gardens. What was left was tilled as usual and by the following spring it was 2 foot deep without adding any thing but what the birds we leaving behind. To keep the birds away for the rototiller we used a plastic snow fence stretched across greenhouse herding the birds to opposite ends as we tilled. When finished it rolled up and removed to keep it clean (the snow fence). Have run, out of time but will tell you later how we kept feed cost very low by growing sprouts to feed them.

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks for the info.

[@tattedupdaddy1]

Aside from adding some piping for air like others suggested. The only other thing I know of to add to a compost pile is worms. If you were to use them to help break things down I'd dig a shallow hole, dump them in and then cover it with the shovel like you did with the thermometer so the chickens don't gobble them up right away. They'll migrate into the pile, and eventually the chickens will get them. If they realize they are in there it may make them dig through the pile more to try and find them.

[@simeonandalex]

There were a lot of worms added to it when I build the pile. Check out the video.

[@Mark-ni3st]

You treat your animals much better than most modern farms

[@kathleenoliver5461]

Your compost heap looks great. Perhaps some black plastic around the sides would help and also if you got some black plastic barrels (55 gal.) filled with water around edge of your greenhouse would absorb sunlight/infrared heat and re-radiate into your greenhouse at night. Nice job.

[@acanadianineurope814]

HI Simeon, if you put 1-2 cm strapping over your wooden ribs on the greenhouse, you could attach a second layer of plastic, and get your airspace without needing a fan. A small pellet stove with a 24 hour feeder would help as well.

[@simeonandalex]

We have thought about that too for a while... We'll see.

[@murchlk]

An idea I have seen is to take plastic water piping and run it through the pile and have a small solar pump circulating the water through a radiator and it will give off heat and keep the greenhouse above freezing

[@MsVan13]

There are great videos out on this topic but I agree you need the heat not the soil until spring. I saw a video how they used compost piles to heat water for showering. So weave pipes through the center to heat greenhouse.

[@sarahcross3443]

Thank you so much for filming your trials. I am absolutely learning from you on how to do it right when we get chickens. We have never had a steaming compost pile...I think it might be from adding too many greens and not enough browns to the pile.

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks. Maybe you are right about your pile. We are all learning together here.

[@billwillard6828]

I suggest looking into the Jean Pain method, where you put some sort of tank filled with water in the center of the pile and run pex or flexible plastic piping out to a number of baseboard style heaters within the greenhouse. You'd get a LOT more heat in your greenhouse, with better heat distribution throughout the greenhouse as well.

[@johnransom1146]

Run a few pieces of perforated drainage tile through the bed to supply air. Saves turning

[@1d1hamby]

you can lift the pole fence to get the pile higher and create more heat.

[@Trek_erRick]

Good job on the compost idea. I would suggest allowing the pile to "cook" as long as its generating heat inside. When it begins to cool down you can turn it with a fork and add more matter to it. Putting a second layer of plastic on the inside of your wooden frame will give you an insulating effect if there is an airspace maintained between the plastic. People in our community use small blower fans to inflate it and keep the plastic from touching and loosing heat.

[@heavyhorsestransport3919]

Place piping in the pile with a low blower on the intake, of course keep the exhaust somewhere that cant burn the birds when it is blowing. One pipe across (maybe pvc 3" or so) with numerous pipes coming out from a T in the first pipe. Kind of like a garden rake style. And make the "tines" pipes so they are long enough that they rise above the pile a few inches above the chickens.( maybe put a bigger pipe around the risers so they are insulated against the inner pipe?) And if you use a blower on it then of course you would want to block one end of the first pipe, the horizontal pipe. You might not even need a blower at those temps tho. Thats some high heat, it may cause the air to flow naturally without a blower. If the first pipes work, you might want to install maybe 3 or 4 sets in the pile.

[@Edwinedwin1]

You should also add some blood from the chicken and turkeys you slaughter to your compost pile. It helps a lot because the blood is rich in a lot of minerals useful for the plants as well.

[@StefanvanKammen]

In school i have learned that the tempreture goes up to 60/62 degrees celcius. I should wait until t is coold down again than you can turn it. So the outside can be composed. If you do it te early you wil waist energie because the inside is not done composting and needs to warm up again. Mayby a tip for your spring project to have one compost pile tarped up with plastic so you can see te differens between composting and fermenting. Tanks for your great video's

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks.

[@finpainter1]

4 inch flex pipe in a circle in pile with a very slow fan inside will circulate the air in pile

[@dantucker1806]

try putting a layer of bubble wrap over the plastic then a layer of plastic over the bubble wrap seen this done before in the north east of england

[@simeonandalex]

Interesting. Thanks.

[@TheEmptynester]

A double layer with a fan will help a lot. I plan to do that with my build. I have seen so may others using it. I wish you well with your compost pile. Some turn them when they cool off. Some turn every week. There are pro and cons to both ways. Arabic or anaerobic, It is fun to learn which way works best for your area. Best wishes to you. E :)

[@simeonandalex]

Thank you.

[@cashk100]

In the U.K. We usually cover our green houses with bubble wrap in winter but yours is huge.

[@abefrohman1759]

Chickens and ducks love a compost pile. Even free range chickens will pick through compost if they have access to it.

[@christobin4925]

Nice job! Enjoy your videos.

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks.

[@deaddragon8563]

Simeon. I was raised in the greenhouse business (pun intended ). We always used the two layers of plastic with an inflation fan. It makes a tremendous difference . You are able to keep more of that solar heat gain inside . John Suscovich @ Farm marketing solutions tried something similar to this with his flock a few winters ago. He said it wasn't for him but I think you might be on the right track. Keep up the good work. The Tomte

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks. I think I will try it next time we change the plastic.

[@livingladolcevita7318]

you could try putting some roosting poles over the compost pile so your chickens could have warm bums overnight from any rising heat and save on feed keeping them warm?

[@simeonandalex]

Some of them sit there already...

[@chad4031]

Great idea! I was wandering, if no one else suggested it, something simple might be to have your piles along your walls a couple of feet up to add some insulation and heating.

[@hermitld]

Very interesting experiment. Have you seen Eliot Colemans videos's and books on plastic covered greenhouses and layering the plastic film? Eliot and Barbara Damarish have been farming in New England for years, teaching the organic and sustainable methods for many years. I oppollogize for the misspelled names.

[@simeonandalex]

No. I will have to check them out.

[@conradsenior5843]

The stars bail idea is a good. You should be able to create a cavity without blowing air

[@menopassini9348]

You need to mix brown material which is carbon like straw and dry leaves with green material like fresh grass and mature which is nitrogen to have a proper compost mix. The ratio is about 3 to 1. The more green the smellier and hotter it with get. But it won't break do as fast, that why you bulk it up with brown material. A long time ago the garbage dumps would spread all the Fall leaves over the garbage just before closing. In the areas where this was done the garbage decomposted faster and gave off more gas, which was burned off. The laws changed that you couldn't mix the two, now the garbage takes longer to decompose. I had organic gardens for decades, check the Ph of your soil after you mix in your compost. Ph determines if the plants will pick up the nutrients or not.

[@markstevenson9080]

Have you tried shaping the compost heap into a triangle or pyramid shape? Make it as long and tall as you have room for in your poly tunnel and let the chickens turn it, Just reform it into a long triangle shape as often as you can..It will heat up that way.

[@pyledryver]

The compost needs to be turned a bit to speed up the composting process. That will also invite more bugs. The chickens will handle the bugs/worm issues. The composed material then can be used in your gardens to sweeten the soil for better growing. As to the lack of heating the building. A) just add another layer of plastic to the inside of the barn. but be sure to add some ventilation between the sheets or you will get mildew/mold growing between your plastic. To warm our green houses we use Black 55 gallon plastic drums filled with water inside the greenhouse. The solar heats the water. and then slowly releases it during the night. You might try that.

[@ladurant1975]

Put the air vent through the compost heap, the compost would heat the vent pipe and the fan will distribute the hot air.

[@anitahaywood7620]

Hi! I am wondering why you can't put up solar panels to heat up the chicken greenhouse. I am not really a farmer but this show is so interesting. It is great to watch a show like this.

[@jesselarocque872]

What if you add perforated drain pipes under your pile to aerate it from the bottom. You can also add more pipes to let the heat escape the compost into the green house. Heat is a byproduct of the bacteria working their magic, but compost doesn't absolutely need the heat to keep composting and can actually kill the bacteria if it gets too hot so might as well harvest the most we can.

[@danijeldankic5320]

Hey, also subscribed right after Justin methods😉 You should def. get a better thermometer with a built in hygrometer so you can keep track of moisture! Also, you can find Really cheap bubblewrap at Biltema or Rusta and line the inside with it for an extra insulating effect 😉 Great stuff so far, you are my go to guy right after Justin😉

[@simeonandalex]

Do you know anything about UV resistance on bubble wrap?

[@danijeldankic5320]

It's probably non exsisting, but if your outer plastic is UV resistent it should protect the more fragile bubblewrap right?😉

[@simeonandalex]

I don't think it would protect it. The UV light goes through the plastic. I know there is UV resistant bubble wrap in the US. Worth to look into.

[@peterellis4262]

Mollison had a story about a greenhouse in Kentucky where they were growing mangos. The heat source for this greenhouse was five hundred chickens. ;) The chickens will warm the space themselves, if there are enough of them...

[@MaghoxFr]

Poultry looks entertaining. Animals are hilarious.

[@MetaView7]

you need to aerate the pile a bit ... it does not have enough oxygen yet.

[@travisnorseman8648]

when you fill it, bury several 4" duct pipes across, roughly between the middle and the bottom of the pile, were they will just stick out through an opening in the cattle fence.

[@e9999qwe]

enjoying your vids. If you want to measure the temp in the pile more accurately, just bury the probe directly in there. Or if you want to use a pipe, a thin capped plastic pipe not sticking out much would be better as the long big metal one will give you underestimated temperatures. Good to see you making a conscious effort to go back to nature unlike many others!

[@joenadeau4419]

Great little study on compost heat

[@caljarvis]

the rubble plastic trice works well plus stops water and mold in side

[@АлександрПетров-ч7с]

pour branches under a layer of 0.5 meters. There is a layer of straw on them. Straw material. Cover the top with a layer of wet straw. And branches from chickens.

[@Mr71paul71]

look at Sir Albert Howards Indore compost method, perfect for your homestead, and Steve Solomon composting audio book is well worth listening to.

[@aldredge3039]

Run a pipe under the compost pile and blow air in it with a small fan that will heat your greenhouse and make the compost develop faster.

[@aceshigh235]

At 160F (C?) you need to turn the piles that it does not become anaerobic. It only takes half a day to heat up if built properly.

[@lurmot]

2 thoughts I'd add: firstly, if you block the top of the pipe you may get a more accurate reading as the heat will rise out of the pipe. Maybe stuff some bubble wrap in the top? secondly, a hot compost pile will keep a lot of the insect life out of the pile and therefore mean less food for the chickens. Maybe just a warm pile might be a good thing to aim for?

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks for the tips.

[@karlagrecar4317]

Thanks for the update, was wondering how this was going to work. great idea. I subbed after the Justin Rhodes method video you did.

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks.

[@PANTTERA1959]

It's a small pile with plenty of moisture within. Just let it cook for a few weeks till temp drops. You'll see mold string throughout the pile. The chicks will love eating it and bugs will show up to speed the process.

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks.

[@atlas5919]

nice and very inspiring videos.keep up the good work.

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks.

[@FixItYerself]

124°F / 51.3°C is a nice heater. Next time I see a straw bale left on the road, I'm picking it up.

[@lizhaydon2250]

Your birds look very healthy.

[@JudahOstara]

this is a great idea. I love your videos, keep it up!

[@JohnSmith-ki2eq]

Just a thought but if you were to run a couple of hundred metres of water filled plastic pipe through that pile and then pump that water around the greenhouse that would heat the place up real nice

[@pyledryver]

That would be bad and you would lower the temp of the compost to the point it would no longer be effective.

[@markroeder2491]

No need to add pipe, the heat is in the greenhouse. KISS

[@mikethespikemorgan]

I visited an earth ship where they had just outside, a pile of woodchips, with coiled plastic pipe in the middle. They used it to heat their water. Once in a while the pile was turned or when no longer able to cook new chips were brought in. I've also seen food cooked in plastic bags in a compost heap.

[@cyberknightftnwo5505]

no the water into barrels would act as a heat sink

[@sapodotroposo]

That is brilliant, and seemingly works great, provided that the pile is big enough or continuosly added to. Check out Michael Paine+ compost heat!

[@nicholasbeck4183]

If you double layer your plastic with the fan blowing air between them I guarantee it will not freeze inside anymore. Maybe without the compost but especially with it and the chickens

[@andrewkirwin6629]

Leave it a couple of weeks to heat up properly then move the railings into a square next to the pile and shovel it all back into the next position ( sides of old pile into centre of new pile and old centre on top, ) the new pile will heat up more .its the good bacteria using the oxygen trapped inside

[@andrewkirwin6629]

Added to wrong KZbin clip sorry

[@pollyjetix2027]

Would it be difficult to attach a second layer of plastic to the underside of your greenhouse framework, using thin strips of wood to tack through? Just take the center of the plastic to the top ridge, and tack it through a few thin boards.... the plastic could be stretched so it creates a gap between the upper and inner layers. No fan needed. Just a dead air space.

[@demonrathunter]

I am really Interested in this also and will be following you through this closely to learn!

[@simeonandalex]

Nice. I hope we can learn together.

[@MrsStevenBrown]

We rotate our compost piles 3 times during the winter, keeps the oxygen and decomposing moving in the pile, and creates a lot of heat in the green house, so much so that we grow cold crops like broccoli and lettuce in the winter ❄️, I’m tempted now to convert one for the chickens this next winter! I’m not as cold as you, maybe -15*C at the coldest so they would be cozy 🥰

[@marcomartin5928]

Great post. In order to help keep the heat in, you may try to line the outside with a couple of rows of straw or hay stacked on top of one another, snug against the building. Or snow would help. It would protect againts the wind as well as keep the ground around the greenhouse from freezing. In canada we use this method for barns also.

[@thunderbird4636]

To heat the greenhouse you should try taking gallon jugs paint them black fill them with water and put them in the green house. The sun will heat the jugs throught the day and slowly release the heat throughtout the night.

[@TheEarthandyou]

well done... keep it simple like you got it!