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Hot Beds: How to grow early crops using an age-old technique

New edition

Hot Beds: How to grow early crops using an age-old technique cover

Hot Beds: How to grow early crops using an age-old technique

New edition

Quantity
Pre-order. Available Feb 10 2026
$21.60 RRP $24.00 Website price saving $2.40 (10%)

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Description

A fully updated practical guide on cultivating out-of-season vegetables in small spaces, using the age-old technique of growing in hot beds.

The ancient method of growing vegetables in hot beds harnesses the natural process of decay to cultivate out-of-season crops. Now in its second edition, in Hot Beds, Jack First shares essential tips on how to reap the rewards available from modernising and adapting this remarkable technique used by the Victorians and the Romans. With just stable manure (or alternatives), a simple frame and a small space to build your bed, you can be harvesting salads in March and potatoes in early April.

This accessible guide has been redesigned to clearly illustrate everything you need to understand how to use this highly productive, low-cost, year-round, eco-friendly gardening system. The new edition also features a foreword by Huw Richards and revised text throughout, as well as updated photos and diagrams to show how you too can grow early veg without fossil-fuel energy or elaborate equipment.

Make the most of compact space with this low-cost, sustainable approach.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Huw Richards
Introduction
Hot beds are nothing new
How hot beds work
The advantages of hot beds
Preparing the hot bed
Creating the hot bed
Planning and sowing
What to grow, and varieties
Management of your hot beds
Case studies
Further possibilities
Resources

Product details

Published Feb 10 2026
Format Paperback
Edition 2nd
Extent 208
ISBN 9781399419635
Imprint Green Books
Illustrations Colour photos throughout
Dimensions 7 x 5 inches
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Jack First

Jack First is an experienced horticulturalist who…

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