#HowTo

[@CharlesGann1]

Appreciate this all vegetable approach. Love the urine nitrogen kicker. Respect your commitment to your vegan lifestyle though I disagree with it as a religion. This compost only works by animal action as bacteria and fungi are the teeth of the forest and composting. As the bacteria and fungi multiply protozoa, nematodes ect eat the bacteria and fungi and excrete them contributing the energy to generate heat. Thank you for this valuable demonstration.

[@GreenpetesWorld]

Thankyou for your kind comment, Charles. We hope you enjoy the channel and wish you all the best 👍

[@robertjamesofwales]

Priceless ! absolutely fantastic ! Real people and proper Experiences .Thank you for sharing

[@elliottg.1954]

The best video on Hotbeds, on the internet...probably.

[@pdsimons1]

Best hotbed video on KZbin. Thanks for posting. Not smarmy and self-satisfied, just experience and straight talking. It's refreshing.

[@GreenpetesWorld]

Thank you AJ Simons.

[@northdevonpictures826]

Great little video and such a nice chap ; well-presented and professional vid, there,

[@HumanWisdom]

Thank you so much for the valuable and detailed explanations!

[@GreenpetesWorld]

You are welcome @HumanWisdom. Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoy the channel 👍 We're not sure if more videos will be made in future, but the subscriber and viewing figures are slowly increasing. It depends on demand and circumstances. Best wishes to you and to all our viewers.

[@GreenpetesWorld]

Hello, we hope you enjoyed this video, and that you're enjoying my channel. Maybe you have outdoor hotbeds at home, or you're thinking of building one? Share your own thoughts and ideas which we'd be happy to read. Let us know in the comments👍 We usually answer and we like to chat 😊

[@northdevonpictures826]

Very informative, thanks. And it's February, the ideal time to make these hotbeds for early veg and salads.

[@coryhinsch6234]

I would like to see these hot beds in action! It would be nice to see a tour of everything. I only just started going through your videos and I am really interested in your content. Keep up the good work.

[@northdevonpictures826]

Same. Just binge watching his new Playlist and you get a pretty good tour of that property. Must be a couple acres at least. Check out the apples video which I love too.

[@helenvanginkel7910]

Fantastic explanation, thank you! Any thoughts on the ammonia gasses that will eminate from the compost?

[@GreenpetesWorld]

Good point, it's relatively low toxic in our experience. Never had any problems. Thanks for taking part 👍

[@greenfingers359]

Could barley straw be used in place or dried grass cuttings? What ingredient in your hotbed replaces animal muck? Thank you for an informative video.

[@GreenpetesWorld]

Hi Maria. As an ethical vegan, we don't use animal products; it's all soft vegetation and organic kitchen waste. In other words: clean *green* manure not animal manure. It has not been passed through an animal's body. But YES👍 you can use dry, clean straw to make a hotbed. It may decompose slower but still provide nutrients eventually. Hay or legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried, are much better for fast decomposing hotbed compost. We recommend dry and clean ingredients; not wet, odorous or soggy stuff that smells and spoils your hotbed. Reference: www.livescience.com/63559-composting.html What we're after here, is nitrogen; plus carbon, water, the sun, and air. There are some concerns around animal manure, not least bacterial infections, which are discussed in the description. We can get great results using *green* manure instead of animal dung. The compost bed needs to break down fast and provide important nitrogen, as well as moisture. You could include some cardboard, scrunched up paper and fallen leaves. We heavily water that, and we mix it all up with a fork to introduce oxygen. To stop the compost 'cooking' the essential bacteria, we turn the compost sporadically. This introduces cool air and helps to even-out the ingredients and moisture, with the nutrients. Thanks for taking part - it's appreciated 😊

[@greenfingers359]

Thank you for your thorough explanation. I'm glad to have found your channel, I'm all up for green clean ingredients and its refreshing to know that this can be done without smelly animal manure.

[@GreenpetesWorld]

@@greenfingers359 We're help to help 👍Any time. The primary use of these hotbeds is to provide a warm and safe bed (base) for seedlings in spring, under cover in a sealed mini greenhouse. The beds provide constant under-heat; hence the wooden planks across the top, on which to stand seedlings.

[@Quarantain]

What if you don't have a loo like yours? What can one then use instead of urine?

[@GreenpetesWorld]

Hi Quarantain and thanks for your question. I can give you some assistance based on experience, but use it at your own risk 😉 Fortunately it doesn't have to be human pee; there are other options. Use plants to feed plants, but don't burn or overpower your hotbeds/compost with strong fertilizer, or poison your plants especially not seedlings. Wash your hands thoroughly afterwards and don't ingest toxic matter. Please note that compost for hotbeds is meant to provide underfloor heating in a sealed structure. This is all done by bacteria, oxygen, compost and water; a mutually beneficial relationship generating heat. It's especially beneficial during the colder months. It also works for protecting young plants in spring or inclement weather. Follow my methods in the Hotbeds video, I've had no problems to date. One of my other videos shows how to make fertilizer from rainwater, nettles and comfrey: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIStfXVtZrqYrrs. Rainwater is a better option than chlorinated water - rainwater is easily collected over time and it contains more nutrients. Check what is right for your individual plants, but I regularly use the 'dark liquids' sometimes called the "run-off", from the bottom of my garden-waste 'Dalek' composters. This is sometimes called "liquid gold"; it is quite potent and needs to be diluted 3:1 at least. Sitting your composters on top of raised beds, works wonders. Natural #organic fertilizers are better for soil and environmental #sustainability, as well as for human #health. They reduce environmental hazards, support #wildlife, lower the risks of toxic foods, and enhance soil with natural #nutrients. Regarding the toilet (and the gross out factor aside), it's necessary to have a specialised "separating toilet" because ONLY the pee is safe to use as a consumer micturition product. The other waste is buried deep, far away from property, humans and animals. Perhaps a "Bivvy Loo" might work for collecting only pee, and ageing it over a few months, downwind and inside a tent. I really don't know. Some research suggests adding wood ash to aged human pee used as a fertilizer. Human pee is full of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, which are the nutrients plants need to thrive. They are the main ingredients in common mineral fertilizers. All of this of course, assumes that the human pee is from a healthy person and that stringent hygiene and safety precautions are followed. Thanks for taking part, Quarantain 👍

[@GeoffreyFairfax]

Eew​saaaa,,@@GreenpetesWorld

[@5wisebannerguys]

You don't use animal matures. Is that because your vegan? Or because you do not have access to animal manures?

[@GreenpetesWorld]

Thanks for your question 👍Yes, I'm 100% ethical vegan and an organic gardener.