It’s going to getting really chilly here in the next week so it’s a good time to start thinking about how to protect our worm friends from the cold. Now, here in Southern Nevada when I say cold I mean it’ll get down around freezing overnight. Yes, it does happen from time to time and it usually only lasts a few days, thankfully. I really don’t miss the crazy cold winters that I grew up with in the upper mid-west. However, it’s best to be prepared and protect your outdoor worm compost bin from the cold winter nights.
It’s not ideal to keep a worm farm outside year round here, but it can be done. We have to protect them during the cold winter nights and hot summer days. Worms like the temperature inside their bedding between 40-80 degrees. They process food and reproduce faster when the temperature is near the higher end of that range. I leave a thermometer in the bin all of the time to easily monitor the temperature.
This past week we’ve had a few nights down to 40 degrees and the temperature inside my worm bin was 50-55 degrees when I checked on them first thing in the morning. Here are my top tips for keeping them warm during this time of year. If you live in a much colder climate you may need to try all of the options at once and keep a close eye on them.
Protect Composting Worms in the Cold Weather
Location – Put the bin in the warmest area of your yard and protect it from the wind. If your days are still a bit warm, monitor the temperature in the worm bin during the day to make sure the worms don’t over heat. I use a remote sensor thermometer to monitor different areas of our yard.
Outer insulation – Surround your bin with insulating materials such as cardboard boxes, Styrofoam, straw bales, or bags of leaves. Place the bin on top of cardboard boxes it insulate it from the cold ground.
Shredded Newspaper for Worm Bedding
Bedding – Add lots of extra bedding. Fill the container completely with bedding to help insulate it. If you have a tray system, like the Worm Factory 360, add any extra trays you have and fill them with bedding. Use shredded black and white newspaper and cardboard. Dried fall leaves work well too and they’ll add to the microbe population.
Cover it – Make sure you have a lid on the bin. Wrap a frost blanket, burlap, or other blanket around it. However, make sure that air circulation isn’t cut off. Wrapping it tightly in plastic is not a good idea.
Dig a hole – If possible you can sink it down into the ground. That may be difficult in our area because our ground can be very difficult to dig. Many people install in-ground gardens with a jackhammer here!
Bring it in – Bring the worms inside even if it’s just temporarily during the coldest part of the winter. Garages are popular for those who don’t want a worm bin in the house. A shed is also a great option. We don’t have basements where we live, but that would be a fantastic location as well.
Heat source – Use a heat lamp or a seed starting heat mat as a heat source. Be careful that it doesn’t get too hot. It doesn’t really get cold enough here to need a heat source, but it may be needed for colder climates.
With a little bit of effort and planning we can protect our worm compost bin from the cold winter and keep them outside year round. Some climates focus on just getting them to survive the winter. With our mild winters we can keep them thriving so that we’ll have fresh vermicompost ready to harvest throughout the year!
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[…] the weather was turning colder, I wrote about how to keep your worm friends warm through the winter. Now that the heat of the summer is here, it’s time to tackle the opposite issue. I keep my worm […]