The heat we're interested in from a composting point of view is the heat of decomposition.
Your idea of covering the compost heap would probably be a good one if your goal is to continue composting in colder weather. I'd think the benefit would consist more of conserving the heat of decomposition than from any 'external' solar heating. Retention of moisture would also be a benefit.
I can see a couple of possible downsides to covering the pile. You would want to be careful not to get the pile TOO hot and kill the microorganisms that are doing the composting. 160 is the max temperature, above that, things start dying. Secondly, I'd be a little concerned about a sufficient supply of oxygen. If the pile goes anerobic, you get a smelly, slimy mess.
Still, it's an interesting concept, and one I'll pick a few brains about at my next class, or when the "Pro's From Dover" come down to have a look at my operation.
Do not use your horse manure unless it has been well composted. If you compost it right the week problem will be a lot less. Horse manure is high in nitrogen and that is why it will burn your plants if it is not well composed. Just rake up the manure along with any hay that falls on the ground and put it in a pile. Good luck and happy gardening.
I suspect with all the Jack Pine in your area the soil is a bit on the acid side. Get a soil test and go from there. They will tell you what you need to add to bring the ph down so veggies will thrive. Lots of free manure is availble in the area so plan on tilling in a few pickup loads. Aged cow manure works great, horse has to much weed seed. You should have good luck with tomatoes, Improved Early Girl is a good choice. If you have ample water you should do well. Don't try to get an early jump, garden in by Mothers Day is a good rule of thumb.
The soil here varies from very sandy to clay. Our garden happens to be mostly clay. I've done a few things to make it more hospitible, but it is basically not plant friendly.
Last year was the first planting. My Dad happened to be here at the time, and showed me a "trick" he uses. For example, for corn, he removes a couple trowels of dirt where each seed will go and places a scoop of bagged steer manure in each hole. Then, the seed goes in and is covered with dirt. Same with tomato plants. For something like beans, you can hoe a shallow trench, fill with manure, place seeds and cover with dirt.
Even in poor soil, the manure supplies enough nutrients to help the plants grow well. I think you could use this technique to plant your whole garden space this season with reasonable expectation of a respectible first year crop.
OKieG, some manures are too rich and will burn plants, but otherwise that's a great way to plant and your dad knew what he was doing. When I was raising rabbits, I let the manure dry, then ran it through the little chipper/shredder which made it almost a powder and did the same thing with that. I don't know of a better fertilizer than rabbit manure; won't burn plants and you don't have to worry about using too much. One year when my clay wouldn't till right, too many big hard clods, I planted 48 tomato plants (a dozen each of 4 varieties) just as you said and after harvesting an estimated 1,500 pounds and when we simply had no use for anymore, I mowed them down even though they were still producing great.
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