Jim,
I lived an Alexandria for five years and remember spending many a weekend in the Pentagon City mall watching movies just for the air conditioning. With that said, I think you can farm in the garage as long as you take a few precautions. I'd say your best bet would be a large insulated wooden bin. There are some plans available for a continuous flow digester at vermico.com that work very well and include designs for a support rack if you want to add soil heater cables for the winter. I have built a couple in my cellar (my own Man's Land as you put it) and so far they are working out well.

If you want a simpler bin then you can make a decent one with a single sheet of plywood. Plans are here: www.seattletilth.org/resources/articles/WormBinPlans.pdf

Again, I would insulate the inside or outside with some greyboard and make sure you've got plenty of good air circulation in the summer. As long as the temperature of the vermicompost doesn't drop below 40 or get above 85 for extended periods of time your worms should do fine.

Kurt

Kurt,
Thank you so much for the information. I too get up to the D.C. area every once in a while since my corporate office is located in Reston.

I will look at the plans you've mentioned and decide on which one to make. I like the idea of making it from scratch. You mentioned soil heater cables. Since I also lived in the U.P. of Michigan I have a set of heater wires that I used to put on our copper pipes in the winter so they wouldn't freeze. Would these possibly be the same and would they work?

Thank you for the reply and the links.

Jim

Jim,
I'm not sure about the soil heater cable since I don't use them, but you can see them at the same website that sells the plans. My guess is they might be a different type, but don't quote me. You could probably ask at any nursery and they could tell you for sure.

Good luck with the bin.
Kurt

I'm in VA- at the beach. I've only been composting since feb, so my advice prolly isn't worth much.

But, so far, we haven't had any problems. My rubbermaid bin is outside in a shady area (probably comparable to garage temps). Although it's felt hot outside, the inside of my bin has never gotten hot. The inside compost just feels cool to the touch.

I plan to bring my bin in for the winter, since it seems ok outside for summer. At some points during the winter, I think my garage gets down to freezing, but I expect the worms to do fine. I planned to put their bin inside another box, surrounded in shredded newspaper for insulation.

Hi from a fellow VA Vermicomposter (virginia beach),
I have a few bins inside and one outside. I worry about my bins heating up 'cause inside they are at 80 in the summer. The one is fine so far outside in full shade, but I wouldn't put them in my garage because it gets pretty dang hot in the summer and doesn't have much in the way of a breeze to cool it down. I would think you'd be fine in the winter though.
Good luck,
Cathy

oh lookie! Another virginia beach person! yay! lol @ me- I've never met anyone wormy in virginia beach!

Thank you all for your responses. I am using a large cooler for my worm bin. I put a few sheets of dry newspaper on the bottom to bring the level up to the drain hole. I then put about 4-5 inches of shredded newspaper and corregated cardboard that I wetted with water and squeezed out the excess. Then I put a little bit of chopped banana peel, cantelope, tea bag and coffee grounds in a corner of the bin to start the process. Then, I put about three inches of dry newspaper on top to keep out flies and such. Lastly, I covered the top with a piece of wet burlap and shut the lid. I'm keeping it in a shady place for the summer and will bring it in the garage during the winter. I plan on adding worms in a few days. I have not yet decided on where to get them. I may just go to a few bait stores to get around a hundred reds.

How do you think I did?? Please let me know if I did anything wrong or if you would be doing it differently.

Jim

daddio57, I have a feeling you are going to be combating moisture issues. With my first bin, a rubbermaid tote, I had a hard time keeping my moisture level proper, and that is with holes drilled into it for drainage/air flow. You would probably be better off keeping the lid open, if you want to continue using the cooler.

I'm also under the impression that tea bags don't break down fully, as they are some sort of plastic.