I have an indoor bin so can't answer you directly, but have read that even if the worms perish in an outdoor bin the cocoons will most likely survive and hatch when the conditions are right (meaning when the temps are warm enough).

Similar problem; I have indoor worm bins but also outdoor compost bins. I think that outdoors, the worms sense the lowering temperatures and just burrow down below the frost line then come back up when the weather warms. Those outdoor worms of course are different than the EFs in the indoor bins. I have never planted any worms outdoors. I have only the naturally occurring ones.

Dave Nelson

i guess we'll all see soon enough. i also have a frozen outdoor bin.

luckily, just before winter i took out a handful of worms and put them in a (very) small indoor bin as a seed population in case the outdoor bin doesn't recover.

mwudan, your method has the added advantage of during the long, dark, cold winter, you get to visit some of them in the comfort of your home.

I would miss mine if I had to wait until spring to check up on them.

It might be a good idea to have a feast ready to attract them back in the spring. I will have to come up with a better plan next fall. Harvesting some worms in the fall is a good idea. Oh well this is an interesting learning experience.
Thanks for the input

The worms will bury into the warmest part of the pile, and most likely survive. And, when pile temperature and moisture are right in the spring, the eggs will hatch and you'll have bunches of new babies to play with!

There is a similar discussion on another thread, "I Want to go Large", where amongst other issues, they discuss insulation and other winter protective measures.

I liked the novel idea of using an aquarium aerator pump to push warmish air from inside the house (at room temperature) directly through a half inch pipe to the outside worm farm. It would use a trivial amount of electricity (after all these little air pumps are designed to be left running continuously for months).

If you wanted even warmer air in extreme conditions - put the air pump into a cardboard box with a low wattage light bulb. Obviously you should always bury or insulate the feeder pipe and put at least some insulation around your worm farm.

Here is a link that might be useful: I Want to go Large