Sure you can. I also live in a hot weather area with lots of 100+ degree days. The three things to do are: 1) keep it in the shade, 2) keep it wet, and 3) make it big.

Full, complete shade will stop your bin from gaining solar energy during the day, giving it a chance to cool off at night. I live in a very dry climate, so I need to keep the worms wet. I water the bin almost every day. This also keeps them cooler as the water evaporates. We have cool nights, and taking the top of the bin off will let air flow through and drop the temp. Be sure to keep some sort of wire screen on top or the birds will help themselves.

The bigger a bin is, the slower it changes temperature. It also gives the worms somewhere to run if things do heat up. A bin in contact with the ground works well, the ground below the bin will be moist and stay cool enough for the worms to live through a heat wave.

Good luck,

Dick

I live in Longview, and have 6-10 & 18 gallon plastic bins in my back yard in splotchy shade all day. I disagree about keeping them in contact with the ground. The one time I left a bin on the ground, it became infested with ants. I do keep them "as wet as a wrung out sponge". I would start with 10 gallon size bins.

Chuckiebtoo

As mentioned above the bigger the bin the easier it is to moderate the temp. Keeping it in the ground or in contanct has advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages being ants and burrowing animals (like moles and voles). The main advantage is that after about 18 inches deep the dirt maintains a pretty constant temperature year round. Garages and sheds tend to heat up more and retain more heat than the outdoors, so you may want to look for an area of your property that funnels any wind. The north side of your house also tends to be alot shadier (thus cooler).

You can also keep it indoors ::grins::

Bryan

Thanks for the advice.

I think Im gonna have to put it in the ground. We don't have any trees and there is no "cool" area of the yard in Texas summer ;)

I guess I'll just have to figure out a way to keep the ant population to a minimum.

davlanders:
The prob with ants is they are predatary with worms. Co-habitation is not an alternative. My bin became completely overwhelmed by ants overnight, and my only alternative was sorting the worms out by hand.

I believe your bins will survive without trees...just shade them from the afternoon sun and heat. If they're not sunken into the ground, the portability aspect is worth considering.

Chuckiebtoo

Another suggestion;

Erect some sort of frame and cover with shade cloth, even landscape fabric would work for a period of time. The frame could be made from something as cheap as EMT conduit
Ants won't cross a barrier of grease or the legs could be set in a small container filled with water with a little dishsoap added to break surface tension.

bruce

Ok, hang on now; the vast majority of ant species are NOT predatory on earthworms and, in fact, are not themselves at all problematic in a vermicomposting system from the worm point of view. Most ant species will not nest in a healthy worm bin, however, because it is too wet, though they will sometimes visit in search of food or water. Worm population decline in a bin where ants have set up housekeeping is rarely a result of the ants, but is almost always a result of the sytem being too dry.

The exception to the above, which is important to you Texans, is, naturally, fire ants. These buggers are not deterred by the moisture in healthy worm systems and will often set up nests in or adjacent to worm windrows or bins in soil contact. Even fire ants do not always kill the worms present, though they sometimes do and, regardless, are a threat to the human who interacts with the system, thus they should be controlled.

Ant hormone baits are effective controls that do not harm the worms or other beneficial organisms in the system.

As to vermicomposting in Texas in general, I have clients all over the state who vermicompost in uncovered windrows in the wide open, some who vermicompost in windrows or bins under cover, many who home vermicompost in bins in the garage, many more who keep their bins on the back porch or patio, and a few who keep their bins in the house. The trick in most areas of TX is to keep the bedding sufficiently damp that evaporation keeps the worms cool. TX, AZ, NM and outhern CA vermicomposters sometimes put drip irrigation systems in their worm bins to aid in maintaining moist conditions, but not all.

The bottom line is that vermicomposting can be practiced very effectively in TX. Simply manage the bin to maintain moisture.

Kelly S

Yeah, we tend to forget there are other creatures than the fire ant that still fall under that name. To most people around here an Ant is a mindless biting ball of fire out to make you dance and curse.

I live in Houston, TX. I would like to start Vermicompost
in a plastic bin in my backyard. Where can I buy a bag of warms to start vermicompost. Is there is source in or around Houston?

Thanks.