As far as the temperature is concerned your worms won't go dormant. They might slow down some but not stop. I have kept worms outside in colorado all winter and they were fine and continued their 'work' albeit slower. The bin only had straw around it and a tarp over the top. I have no idea on the worms being small or skinny, what do you mean by skinny? How long are they and how big around, size of a pencil lead or size of a pencil or something in between. Just something for a reference.

How cold did it get in the winter? I'm in Houston and was thinking of putting mine in the garage with a blanket over them. Will that suffice? Our temps can get as low as 30.

:)
Tina

Bill - About the size of a pencil lead and about an inch to an inch and a half long.

At about 50-55 degrees, worm activity slows down to almost dormancy. At 30 degrees, your worms in the garage would freeze solid and never recover.

If the worms are about 60 degrees they should process food all winter. IMHO.. there is nothing wrong with bedrun worms. Perhaps , you should not pay top dollar, but I would prefer to have bedrun. I think getting worms in all stages is a good thing. Baby worms seem to be the first to move into new food. Worms born into your bin seem to thrive better than the older worms.

I keep my bins in the garage and it's definately colder here than it is in Houston. I doubt your garage gets below freezing. Am I wrong? My worms continue to work all winter in the garage. I think the food I put in keeps the bin warmer than the garage temperatures.

Mkitten,

What kind of food do you put in to warm the bin? I tried corn meal (sprinkling on the top) and it didn't disappear very quickly at all - like maybe they weren't interested? Maybe I should have buried it?

Do you throw a blanket over the bins?

:)
Tina

Some people have mentioned using grains to help warm the bin. I haven't done anything special. I just feed them whatever I happen to have. All of my bins are bunched together under my potting bench. I don't insulate them or anything. My garage stays warmer than the outside. I don't think it freezes (or hasn't yet) I've thought about insulating them so they'll process things faster, but have never gotten around to it. They come back in full force the next spring.

Mkitten,
Thanks for the info. Silly question...is your garage attached to your house? We have a detached garage and I wonder if it might be colder than yours?

:)

Tina

If you want grain to heat your bin, you should bury it..but be careful! Only put it in one corner so the worms have a place to go to until it cools off. Worms love grain.

My garage is attached so a wall and a half are insulated from the cold. Maybe that makes the difference :).

Mariann

Sqh1,
Could you give me some idea of the best type of grain, how often to give and how much would be adequate to warm the little guys up during the winter cold months?
thanks much,
Tina

I know you don't want to hear this, as it's easier to get an exact answer..:)...This is something you will need to experiment with. With a 10 gallon rubbermaid type, I might start burying a 1/4 cup in a corner. Check it's temperature every-so-often but don't disturb/un-bury it. You could get a little cheapy thermometer, and leave it in the bin. You would like it to stay around 60-70 degrees. I do not like to jack the temps way up, which is easy to do with too much, and then let it cool way down. I think that is too stressful. When the grain cools off, the worms will move into it and you can bury in a different corner. If the temps did not come up on the first time to 60-70 then add a half cup this next time and see how that goes. Of course, I would use old grain that I could not use to eat. I do not like to buy stuff. That being said, corn meal is great and cheap. I have gone to a feed store and bought a 50lb, broken bag of chicken feed for $5 (2 years ago..and still have lots.) Ground up any kind of grain (old cereal) works just fine. I even grind up veggies and use that the same way.

No offense meant, but I think the idea of creating a mini compost hot spot in the bin is a bad idea in the sense that it would likely be thermally inconsistent and potentially detrimental to the worms.

Since worms seem to do best at room temperature of around 70F, it seems to me my basement in the winter at about 50F is going to slow things down considerably.

Since no one has reported doing this, I am going to try the seed starting mat and monitor the temperature of the bedding to see if I can maintain a better, even temperature.

What is a seed starting mat?
:)
Tina

Dad, hot spots are no big deal. The worms will just go to whatever part of the bin they are most comfortable in. That is, as long as you don't turn the whole bin into a nuclear pile. I did that once with too many coffee grounds. My worms were not pleased with me.

AbbeysDad.. I will be interested in your results. I have been testing the "creating heat" for outdoor bins and indoor bins in unheated rooms. It does not cost me anything energy-wise and seems to work well. I can use grain or pulverized veggies, buried in a pocket in a corner of the bin. The worms have room to move away from the heat. The bins stay between 60-70 and all seem happy. When the grain/veggies cool down the worms move in and process it. I then bury in a different pocket. I do this big time in my outdoor in-ground bins and the place where the plug is, stays about 70-80 all winter, with steam coming off it, even with snow on top. The worms are up and working all around the edges all winter.

There have been lots of suggestions about burying a jar of water in the bin and putting an aquarium heater in it. The worms could get as close to the heat as they would like. I guess it would be easier to regulate than trying to bury grains.

Tina - a seed starting mat is a heating element mat designed to go under a seed flat to create extra warmth for starting seeds (especially in cooler places).
The claim is that it raises the temperature 10-20F above the surrounding ambient temperature. With this in mind, it seemed like placing one under my bin in the basement would increase the bedding temp from 50-55F to 60-75F. By monitoring, I could reposition the bin/mat (e.g. half on) to achieve an optimum temperature in the bedding to keep the worms more active during the winter.

Getting back to decomposing hot spots, I think this is 'safe' and often the case when adding 'compostables', I just don't see it as reliable environmental control.
I am looking for an easy means of maintaining a consistent bin temperature (so the worms remain more active) that doesn't swing in wide ranges depending on decomposing materials. Ideally that would be under the kitchen sink or in the pantry UPSTAIRS, but the cost of divorce is just too high! lol

AbbeysDad... I agree with you that this is not a reliable or consistent way to keep bin temps up. I however have 15 bins to consider, and if I can even keep them at 55-60 in the unheated space they claim now, I will be happy...and still married!

Joe,
Could you say how many is too many coffee grounds? I figure it depends on bin size etc. but can you give an estimate (grounds for 1 pot of coffee per day is ok or too much???)?
:)
Thanks,

Tina, I bring coffee grounds home from the office in one of those big cat litter buckets. I went overboard one time with a pile of grounds about the size of a three pound can of coffee tossed into my small bin. The bin got hot as a firecracker and really ticked off the worms. The grounds from one pot of coffee at a time would not cause any problems in my experience.