Comments on: Bentley’s “Ultimate” Winter Worm Food Bin

By: Carol

Carol — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:40:06 +0000

I only vermicompost indoors, thought too much cold killed them!? 20 below…! But how hot is too hot for my redworms? I am cautious about adding food in quantity sometimes since, as an avid outdoor composter (no worms, just whatever microorganisms join the fray) I commonly get those piles up to 140-160 F which I am assuming is way too hot for worms. Out in the open, of course, they can crawl down or away to where they are comfortable, but it is more difficult to escape a rubbermaid tote. — Well, actually, I guess that’s not so since a few months ago I had a major exodus that I did not discover until almost too late. Lots of the poor fellas ended up out on the basement floor, dead. I still do not know what caused them to flee but thankfully enough survived (and were transeferred quickly into a completely renovated box of bedding) that I now have a decent population built up again. By the way, they LOVE avocado and any kind of melon rind and this weekend they got a couple of old avocados for their holiday feast!

By: GA

GA — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 05:51:07 +0000

Nope, minus 20 C was what I meant – minus 25 or so now. Either way, it’s cold.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:14:46 +0000

Steve – Great to see you ’round these parts. Glad I can still draw you in with the winter composting stuff! lol
Kinda funny that I’ve never really put 2 and 2 together as far as UCG and fall leaves go – but it’s definitely looking like a great marriage (and readily available so that helps)!
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GA – Wow, that’s pretty cold (and I take it you are talking about the F scale? Although C and F merge down around minus 40 I believe, so perhaps that’s not much different than minus 20 C) – just checked (lol), it’s -28.9 C! Yeah I don’t imagine there would be much smell at those sorts of temps. lol
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John – very funny (he says with a deadpan look)…lol, ok it did make me laugh. But just you wait – you’re going to be wishing you had snow once July rolls around. haha
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Julie – not sure about tea grounds, but coffee grounds have proven time and time again to be an excellent material for stimulating heating, even in relatively small quantities.

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:48:16 +0000

Are coffee or tea grounds more likely to heat up more than other wastes?

By: John W.

John W. — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:39:40 +0000

I wish I would have thought of coffee grinds for heat earlier…I mean sometimes it gets down to 50 degrees here in FL…Heck on some days…I dump the extra ice from our freezer in there to cool down my bin 🙂

By: GA

GA — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 04:27:45 +0000

Minus 20 where I’m at and the part of the outdoor bin I can get at is frozen solid. I’m not too worried though – worms will appear in spring, but the way things are going, not earlier. On the positive side, there’s absolutely no smell from the bin!

By: Steve L.

Steve L. — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 23:17:15 +0000

Love your Winter Vermicomposting posts! UCG and Leaves are SO reliable, aren’t they? Your stockpile may come in handy later this year when your big indoor bin starts needing really consuming.

Thanks for the good read Bentley.