Would the heat generated by the compost keep the worms alive in cold winter months in the northeast? Some nights can be as cold as below zero
328131
I definitely get some heat from the compost in mine.It seems to help on my unheated back porch down to the forties and we will find out soon about the thirties.I think zero would really be pushing it and in your situation would build a cabinet for the worm farm. I would include a provision for a small electric heater in case the compost needs a bit of help to keep the worms from freezing.
328132
I live in Colorado where it does get cold, but maybe not as cold as where you live. Nevertheless, I had to buy new worms year 2 because they seemed to die out by early June. I attribute that in part to the cold weather they endured here, but I will also tell you that I know people who have worm composts here that seem to regenerate very well every year. I think that if you keep the factory out of the wind and give the worms plenty of paper and other insulating materials, you might do just fine. After all, they do regenerate in the soil. It's just that you need to provide them with whatever you can to give them a fighting chance.
328133
I keep mine in the garage and run a Hydor 25w Hydrokable Substrate Heater coiled on top of the compost in the second box from the bottom. This is the second winter I've done this and can keep it plugged in without if getting so hot that it drives the worms out of the top bin but still warm enough that the top bin does not freeze even with the recent temps at close to 0F.
328134
I live in Colorado where it does get cold, but maybe not as cold as where you live. Nevertheless, I had to buy new worms year 2 because they seemed to die out by early June. I attribute that in part to the cold weather they endured here, but I will also tell you that I know people who have worm composts here that seem to regenerate very well every year. I think that if you keep the factory out of the wind and give the worms plenty of paper and other insulating materials, you might do just fine. After all, they do regenerate in the soil. It's just that you need to provide them with whatever you can to give them a fighting chance. I live in Colorado where it does get cold, but maybe not as cold as where you live. Nevertheless, I had to buy new worms year 2 because they seemed to die out by early June. I attribute that in part to the cold weather they endured here, but I will also tell you that I know people who have worm composts here that seem to regenerate very well every year. I think that if you keep the factory out of the wind and give the worms plenty of paper and other insulating materials, you might do just fine. After all, they do regenerate in the soil. It's just that you need to provide them with whatever... » Read More I live in Colorado where it does get cold, but maybe not as cold as where you live. Nevertheless, I had to buy new worms year 2 because they seemed to die out by early June. I attribute that in part to the cold weather they endured here, but I will also tell you that I know people who have worm composts here that seem to regenerate very well every year. I think that if you keep the factory out of the wind and give the worms plenty of paper and other insulating materials, you might do just fine. After all, they do regenerate in the soil. It's just that you need to provide them with whatever you can to give them a fighting chance. « Show Less
125109
I have mine in my kitchen. No smell rarely fruit flies as long as I maintain keeping it taken care of. You will kill the worms if you put it outside in those temps since the bin itself has not insulation or a place for the worms to go deep in the ground during the winter if they were living in the ground. Do you have a garage? You could put it there during extreme weather temps. Worms like it when the temp is consistent. Nothing over 80 for mine. I rarely put it outside here in southern California as we get ups and downs of temps. If you have a greenhouse or hot house you could put them there. Not sure I helped much. I have mine in my kitchen. No smell rarely fruit flies as long as I maintain keeping it taken care of. You will kill the worms if you put it outside in those temps since the bin itself has not insulation or a place for the worms to go deep in the ground during the winter if they were living in the ground. Do you have a garage? You could put it there during extreme weather temps. Worms like it when the temp is consistent. Nothing over 80 for mine. I rarely put it outside here in southern California as we get ups and downs of temps. If you have a greenhouse or hot house you could put them... » Read More I have mine in my kitchen. No smell rarely fruit flies as long as I maintain keeping it taken care of. You will kill the worms if you put it outside in those temps since the bin itself has not insulation or a place for the worms to go deep in the ground during the winter if they were living in the ground. Do you have a garage? You could put it there during extreme weather temps. Worms like it when the temp is consistent. Nothing over 80 for mine. I rarely put it outside here in southern California as we get ups and downs of temps. If you have a greenhouse or hot house you could put them there. Not sure I helped much. « Show Less
535717
I've never had a problem with the lid freezing but, I've never heard of winter composting. When It gets cold everything shuts down. I garden in raised boxes. I make a trench in them ,fill it with scraps cover it with dirt.
1136942
I stored them for as long as 5 weeks. I bought some meal worm medium and put about half of it in a plastic tub that holds about 4 gallons, added the meal worms, and took a piece of an old sheet, and used a big rubber band to keep it in place. Amazingly, the worms did not appear to have tried to escape this contraption. Store the container in the coldest spot you have. A refrigerator is best, but next to an air conditioning vent will do. (The worms survived REALLY cold weather outside). Add more medium as they eat the supply you started with.
348215
So far I haven't had an issue with the cold. I like in northern North Dakota and it's worked great so far. Battery life is a bit shorter but I get the rechargeable batteries
1912443
Once I put the worms in the compost tube, I haven't seen them since....... I have lifted the top off the tube to add peelings to the compost and have seen no worms!
1939482
Yes! We live in upstate NY. I bring my plants in during the cold winter months. I place them under simple round grow lights. They did well this last winter. They need a about 6 weeks of cool fall evenings (around 40 degrees F) without freezing temps. in order to flower.
1196329
Grass clippings I would say no. The clippings would heat up the compost too much for the worms. Leaves on the other hand I have added with no problems, they are a nice brown to add to the worm factory and the worms seem to really like them.
1042369
I started using the composter at the beginning of this summer, so I don't know exactly how it will perform during the winter. Frankly I am not thrilled with it. I plan on cleaning it out next spring and giving it away.
852629
By all means yes... just give them the right environment. Avoid the anaerobic/stinky/mushy environment and they'll produce. I purchased a second worm farm and scooped some from the first and that one is fully populated.
2260485
We had the opposite problem. We ordered our worms in the dead of winter in upstate ny. They were dropped off on our front porch for hours before we noticed them. The package clearly said "perishable" and "live" yet the PO still left them to freeze, which they did. Out of 200 we probably had 50 still alive. If you need them in the summer go to Walmart. But if it is a cooler season for you then these are nice worms that come nicely packaged. Price wise walmart worms are 30 for $3ish. We supplemented ours with a few containers of walmart worms. As far as we know everyone got along. No worm wars. But many babies. ;-) We had the opposite problem. We ordered our worms in the dead of winter in upstate ny. They were dropped off on our front porch for hours before we noticed them. The package clearly said "perishable" and "live" yet the PO still left them to freeze, which they did. Out of 200 we probably had 50 still alive. If you need them in the summer go to Walmart. But if it is a cooler season for you then these are nice worms that come nicely packaged. Price wise walmart worms are 30 for $3ish. We supplemented ours with a few containers of walmart worms. As far as we know everyone... » Read More We had the opposite problem. We ordered our worms in the dead of winter in upstate ny. They were dropped off on our front porch for hours before we noticed them. The package clearly said "perishable" and "live" yet the PO still left them to freeze, which they did. Out of 200 we probably had 50 still alive. If you need them in the summer go to Walmart. But if it is a cooler season for you then these are nice worms that come nicely packaged. Price wise walmart worms are 30 for $3ish. We supplemented ours with a few containers of walmart worms. As far as we know everyone got along. No worm wars. But many babies. ;-) « Show Less
1942851
It will depend on how often you put things in it and sustain the heat. But in general, I bought it last year and was able to generate some nice compost within 6 weeks. I have it filled now - both sides and didn't really tumble throughout the cold winter and have yet to break into it, so I'm excited to see. Since it heats up faster than others, it truely is a faster compost cycle, but I'm new at it. I love it and highly recommend it. Can't wait to use what I have for this Spring and start some fresh. Enjoy!
14477
To my original batch of compostable materials I added some local worms as well as some red worms I purchased online. They seem to be doing just fine with a once a week tumble so I encourage the addition of some worms to your tumbler to speed and enhance the composting process. If my worms prove too frail to survive the tumbling, they don't deserve to be called real worms and they'll just become part of the compost!
1823347
This is the first winter that I have fully filled by Geobin. As of yet I have not noticed rodents. I do believe putting a tarp over it would slow the composting, depriving the compost materials of the rain, snow, and sun that are conducive to more efficient composting. I have put an approximate 4 inch diameter drainage pipe with holes (from Home Depot, approximately 4.5 feet high) in the center of the pile to also assist the water and snow to reach more compost material.
1912444
Yes!! The worms stay in the garden tower. If the worms are fed with your kitchen compost every few days, they will not wander. They love their home. I have 3 towers growing and about every 6 months you will notice that the worms begin to slow down in their consumption a bit. It is then time to remove the plug on the bottom, clean out the lovely compost, replace your plug and add the worms back into the center area and begin again. I will soak torn up cardboard egg cartons and put them in the center also. If you have any questions, please call. 614-832-4311. I sell these towers in Houston, Texas. Thanks, Teresa Yes!! The worms stay in the garden tower. If the worms are fed with your kitchen compost every few days, they will not wander. They love their home. I have 3 towers growing and about every 6 months you will notice that the worms begin to slow down in their consumption a bit. It is then time to remove the plug on the bottom, clean out the lovely compost, replace your plug and add the worms back into the center area and begin again. I will soak torn up cardboard egg cartons and put them in the center also. If you have any questions, please call. 614-832-4311. I sell these towers in Houston,... » Read More Yes!! The worms stay in the garden tower. If the worms are fed with your kitchen compost every few days, they will not wander. They love their home. I have 3 towers growing and about every 6 months you will notice that the worms begin to slow down in their consumption a bit. It is then time to remove the plug on the bottom, clean out the lovely compost, replace your plug and add the worms back into the center area and begin again. I will soak torn up cardboard egg cartons and put them in the center also. If you have any questions, please call. 614-832-4311. I sell these towers in Houston, Texas. Thanks, Teresa « Show Less
431851
If there are earth worms and other critters living in your soil, I'm pretty sure the red wigglers can survive the winter by digging deep into the ground.
1470966
It has been in my attic. I don't think it went to 0 degrees but was below freezing and never was an issue.