# Worm composting



## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

Anyone have an idea as to where I can find worms in January? It'd be great if I could dig up my own but that sure won't happen with this frozen ground and snow! I want to start a compost for my spring garden. Thanks!


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

A bait and tackle shop.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

JustCliff said:


> A bait and tackle shop.


Hrmm. I'm new to my area. Looks like I got to do some digging.


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

They can also be ordered through the mail. When I had my compost bin, I ordered red wigglers to stock it. I also dug nightcrawlers from my yard, but red wigglers did a much better job composting.

FWIW, I had one large garbage can that I kept in the greenhouse and the worms were active all winter. However, one can was not enough to keep up with a family of four. It also did not provide enough compost to do much good and it was a lot of work to keep the temperature and moisture just right. We lived in an area where the ground seldom froze, so I went back to digging the table scraps directly into the garden in winter. In summer, I maintained a regular compost pile.

That said, when I emptied my worm bin, that was the prettiest, best smelling dirt ever.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

GaryS said:


> They can also be ordered through the mail. When I had my compost bin, I ordered red wigglers to stock it. I also dug nightcrawlers from my yard, but red wigglers did a much better job composting.
> 
> FWIW, I had one large garbage can that I kept in the greenhouse and the worms were active all winter. However, one can was not enough to keep up with a family of four. It also did not provide enough compost to do much good and it was a lot of work to keep the temperature and moisture just right. We lived in an area where the ground seldom froze, so I went back to digging the table scraps directly into the garden in winter. In summer, I maintained a regular compost pile.
> 
> That said, when I emptied my worm bin, that was the prettiest, best smelling dirt ever.


Thank you for the information on the red wigglers. I'll see if I can find them online.

It's just myself and my husband at the moment, and we live in an apartment. I'm doing container gardening, and can only do container gardening. I'll have to keep the compost in my house until it's ready. Whatever compost that doesn't get used in the containers will probably be mixed into the soil of the poor dilapidated bush next to my doorstep. 

When the compost is ready, do I have to separate the worms from the compost before I put it outside in the garbage can? Or can some worms go outside with the compost? I don't have a form of shelter outside my apartment. Will the compost be okay outside?. Totally newbie at keeping my own compost pile. :gaah: Lol.


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

In my experience, the worms congregated near the food supply, and would work toward the top as the can filled. The castings were at the bottom. I didn't have a problem separating the working worms from the composted material, but there were thousands of tiny worms and some got into the part I needed. Not to worry if you take a few with the soil, as they will quickly be replaced by new ones.


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

Tons of places to buy red wigglers online, just find the closest one.
They multiply like mad, so keeping them around shouldnt be an issue inside. They arent so tolerant to heat/cold or excessive moisture, those are your biggest worries.
Certainly ok to split them up, theyll replenish tmeselves wherever they go, as in inside in your bin and then outside.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

Immolatus said:


> Tons of places to buy red wigglers online, just find the closest one.
> They multiply like mad, so keeping them around shouldnt be an issue inside. They arent so tolerant to heat/cold or excessive moisture, those are your biggest worries.
> Certainly ok to split them up, theyll replenish tmeselves wherever they go, as in inside in your bin and then outside.


How would I keep them from the cold once I set some outside? Like I said before, I have a porch but I don't have access to shelter outside, or a cellar.


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

uH, i UNNO, i THOUGHT YOU COULD KEEP EM INSIDE UNTIL THE LAST (sorry!) freeze? Maybe build em some kind of greenhouse? If they are unprotected outside they will freeze.I think in the 'wild' (lol, wild worms!) they bury themselves below the frost like regular earthworms. Earthworms do actually work, but 'they' say not as well, but they are much hardier, and definitely multiply also.
Can you keep em inside in some kind of plastic bin? As long as it has drainage you should be ok. It wont smell at all. They do sell those fancy premade bins, but they are too small to be worth anything. If you dont have the space inside, then you might as well wait until spring if you cant come up with a way to keep em warm enough. I would suppose once the decomposition starts and its generating heat on it own they may be ok.
Hmm. Maybe rig something up under a dryer vent?


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

Even if your worms survived being outside in winter, they would not be active enough to create compost. They need to be inside, and if they are not overloaded with food they won't smell at all.


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## Frugal_Farmers (Dec 13, 2010)

Check out the folks at Georgia Wigglers Worm Farm. (No personal endorsement implied)


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

GaryS said:


> Even if your worms survived being outside in winter, they would not be active enough to create compost. They need to be inside, and if they are not overloaded with food they won't smell at all.


Having the worm compost in my house is no biggie, I was just concerned about the worms composting too fast for me to keep up with in the house, but I will get my bin ready to go! Thanks everyone for the input.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

Frugal_Farmers said:


> Check out the folks at Georgia Wigglers Worm Farm. (No personal endorsement implied)


Thanks Frugal!


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## teachv (Oct 15, 2008)

Salekdarling said:


> How would I keep them from the cold once I set some outside? Like I said before, I have a porch but I don't have access to shelter outside, or a cellar.


You can't keep them outside in freezing weather - they'll freeze. Just keep them inside a bin in the house, with a ventilated cover and holes in the bottom for drainage, and something to drain into. If you keep them properly ventilated, drained, remember to put in cellulose (newspaper) and don't overfeed, you won't have a smell problem. And those little buggers process a LOT of food before you have to get rid of some castings.


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## teachv (Oct 15, 2008)

Salekdarling said:


> I was just concerned about the worms composting too fast for me to keep up with in the house, but I will get my bin ready to go! Thanks everyone for the input.


They can turn a LOT of waste into a very small amount of castings. We're a family of three, and I typically only need to empty it out 4 or 5 times a year. And if they do fill up your box in the dead of winter... well, so what? Scoop the excess outside onto where your garden WILL be in the spring, let it freeze, and it will thaw out onto the garden in warmer weather!


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

teachv said:


> They can turn a LOT of waste into a very small amount of castings. We're a family of three, and I typically only need to empty it out 4 or 5 times a year. And if they do fill up your box in the dead of winter... well, so what? Scoop the excess outside onto where your garden WILL be in the spring, let it freeze, and it will thaw out onto the garden in warmer weather!


True, I tend to over analyze everything and miss the big picture when it comes to decisions like this. Lol. I guess it won't be such an issue to throw dirt around when I get too much of it.:2thumb:


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

I ordered my worms today. I got red wigglers from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm. Super excited to be able to compost. Just one more step towards self sufficiency! :beercheer:


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## TommyJefferson (May 12, 2010)

When I worked in the forest products industry I met engineers from Minnesota who told me the ground there can sometimes freeze down to 5 or 7 feet deep.

I wonder how worms survive in such horrific conditions. Do they do go deeper? Do northern worm breeds have some kind of antifreeze blood? Anybody know?


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

TommyJefferson said:


> When I worked in the forest products industry I met engineers from Minnesota who told me the ground there can sometimes freeze down to 5 or 7 feet deep.
> 
> I wonder how worms survive in such horrific conditions. Do they do go deeper? Do northern worm breeds have some kind of antifreeze blood? Anybody know?


Q. Can earthworms freeze?

A. Like all invertebrates their body processes or metabolism slow down with falling temperatures. They will hibernate at near freezing temperature. If frozen they will die. They react to advancing colder winter weather by burrowing deep (up to two meters) in the soil to avoid the extreme cold.

Q. Can earthworms survive freezing?

A. If frozen, they will die. Earthworms fall into the category of freeze-avoiding invertebrates. Some adults survive freezing temperatures by going below the frost line in winter to "sleep." Earthworm cocoons, however, are much more tolerant to freezing and worm eggs within a cocoon survive deep in the soil over winter to hatch in the spring when conditions are right.

That should answer your question. Both questions from different sites. (.org and .gov)


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