Resistance to hot manure in trees?

[nao57]

So... I heard someone out there was heating a winter greenhouse of orange trees using manure that's composting. I heard this second hand so I wish I had more details. This... shouldn't be done with normal production vegetable plants. You are supposed to wait until the compost becomes aged enough to be considered a cold manure. (Hot versus cold classification).

Does this mean resistance to bacteria, bugs, parasites is different for trees compared to smaller garden vegetables?

It seemed interesting to think about. I don't know who the guy was doing the greenhouse with orange trees so i don't have more details on it. But maybe they omitted other details that they forgot to tell me. But they seemed to imply that's what he was doing. (Maybe he actually had heated air currents from underground coming up as part of that also?)

Either way, it seemed interesting to ask about... technically trees have a very long thick trunk. Maybe that helps screen stuff out more? I still am not advising anyone to mess around with hot manure types. Its not a good idea. But sometimes I'd like to know how something works.

 

[Debbie292d]

Never heard of such a thing, but as far as trees withstanding hot manure vs. plants, that just goes to reason as they have thicker, deeper roots and a trunk. We mix manure, whether horse or cow for the garden and flower beds, but just toss it on the ground near the trees, but not touching. That goes for either uncomposted or composted as we've used both. Uncomposted (fresh) means more weeds by far, though!

That is interesting heating a greenhouse with it. Totally unrelated, our farmer had to get a large round bail of hay moved out of her barn as it was smoking from the middle. Your post reminded me of it.

 

[saysfaa]

Tree roots get burned too. That is a different kind of "hot" than temperature. Heating the greenhouse would be done by composting in a separate container rather than directly on the roots of the orange trees.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I think the biggest difference between hot(fresh) and cold (aged) manure is the nitrogen content regarding how plants deal with it. The bacteria, bugs and parasites aren't really a problem. Soil with a population of bacteria, fungus and invertebrates is healthy and often nutritious soil.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Yes, as others said, heating a greenhouse can be done by capturing the heat produced from the composting process. A good amount of volume is required to produce much heat, but it can be done.

The "hot" compost isn't applied to the plants, but composts in a vessel/pile in the greenhouse.

While "hot" manure shouldn't be used on any tree roots, it's more problematic on annual crops as those tend to be lower to the ground and consumed by humans...where a tree crop the plant is likely older/stronger than an annual and you're eating the fruit, not the plant itself.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

A video from Edible Acres about heating a greenhouse with compost:

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I think you need about 3 cu. ft. or more to generate much heat. That is the absolute minimum. Better to shoot for a couple cubic yards. It needs to be kept evenly moist and turned regularly, I recommend a compost thermometer.
This is a really good one with a 36" probe.
https://www.thermoworks.com/search.php?search_query=digital thermometer with 36" probe