Winterizing the worms?

[su]

Any suggestions for keeping the worms happy in winter? I'm in Indiana where the cold weather lasts only 2 or 3 months. We get a few major snowfalls and a few hard freezes. Last year I had one stack of bins--a Worm Factory--which I put in the shed with a blanket on top and a light bulb underneath, and that worked fine. This year I have a second stack of bins (a Worm Factory style stack that I made myself)--and I'm not sure my partner is gong to appreciate sharing his shed with that many worms.

Someone here mentioned wheat bran. How much ?

Any other suggestions?

[redhen]

I have in-ground and stackable plastic type bins. In the in-ground bins, I have buried plugs of grain and the temps remain about 85 degrees all winter. Steam comes off of those piles, even in snow. My plastic bins, I stack when possible. I have, ( when placing them inside is not an option), either moved them next to the house, covered with an old blanket..or placed bales of straw around them for insulation. Grains will really do the trick when trying to heat a bin, but you would still have to monitor, so as not to make it too hot all the time, in an enclosed area.

[Jay Blair]

My first winter here, I buried a couple of my toolbox sized bins in 4 foot deep pits with sufficient feed to sustain the stock in the bins into and out of hibernation.

Since I buried them right before Halloween, the 'graves" made nice Halloween props also.

The following spring though , I was pressed for time working my worms around the constraints of my third shift job.

A patrolling police officer noticed me digging out a casket sized box from my garden at 10:30 at night before going to work at midnight and showed some interest in what I was doing.

After we talked and he made sure that my family was intact and my neighbors verified my worm farming hobby, he became a good friend and still comes by for some bait occasionally. I just wish he would quit calling me "Igor"

Seriously, a ventilated worm bin placed below your frost line is an excellent winterized storage if you can physically bury it.

Another alternative is to dig a shallow pit, cover the vented bin with straw then layer aged and fresh manure over the top of the straw then more straw or leaves over the manure.

Both of these techniques simulate a worms natural environment for winterizing while providing the barrier effect of the bin.

In both styles, the "grave" and the "aging manure pile" I achieved 80 to 90% recovery of the initial mass I originally buried within 30 days and within 90 days the bio- mass was closer to 150% to 175% by just eyeballing and filling my bait cups that spring.

BTW we are in Zone 7B although our past two summers have been more appropriate for zone 8A. Even the alligators and armadillos that have migrated up here to North Alabama have adapted to our climate mix.