It is that time of year again.  The weather is getting chilly and you may need to protect your worms from the cold.  We would like to share a couple of ways to keep your worms toasty warm throughout the winter.

 1. Bury a glass jar 3/4 of the way down in one corner of your worm bin. Fill the jar with warm water.  Submerse a small aquarium heater in the jar and turn on.  The heater will heat the jar of water to about 75-80 degrees.  This will keep one corner of your bin nice and warm for your worms and keep them from freezing.  By placing the jar in a corner the worms have room to leave the area if it gets to hot for them and they can return when they get too cold.

2.  Similar to the idea above but instead of submersing a jar in the bin, place the heater in a 5 gallon bucket or old cooler that you can drill a few holes in.  You will also need a small pond/fountain pump and some tubing.  Place the heater and the pump into the bucket/cooler.  On the side or lid, drill one hole for the cords and two holes for the tubing.  Attach the tubing to the pump and run through one of the holes in the lid.  You can then wrap the tubing around your bin or lay it on top just slightly buried in the bedding depending on the type of bin you have. Run the end of the tube back to the bucket through the other hole.  The water will circulate through the tubing and back to the bucket.  The heater will keep the water at a constant temperature.  This is the system we use with our worms and they love it!

3.  Find an old water bed heating pad or seed starting heat mat to place under your bin.  If you have one with a temperature control all the better.

4.  If you are feeling adventurous, strip down and crawl into your bin.  Human body heat is ideal for keeping worms warm!  Snuggle away! 

 These are a few ideas to get you started.  Now keep in mind, ultimately YOU will be responsible for checking the temperature and maintaining your system.  The tips stated above are for informational purposes only, and different climates require different techniques for keeping your worms happy. NUMBER 4 WAS INTENDED FOR HUMOR PORPOSES ONLY...DON'T SNUGGLE WITH YOUR WORMS!  (eeew!)

Now that your worms are accustomed to their new home you will want to start slowly feeding them.  We recommend that you start out with small amounts of food to get to know what your wigglers like to eat and also to monitor the quantity.

Red Wigglers are known to love Watermelon, Pureed Pumpkin (pie filling), and Corn Meal.  Here are some do's and don'ts when it comes to feeding your worms.

Dont's:     

•  glossy paper products
•  meat products
•  dairy products
•  jalapenos and other spicy foods
•  cat and dog poo - can be composted by the worms but not if castings are to be used in the garden.  Poses a health risk.
•  citrus - can make the bin acidic.  OK in very small quantities on occasion

Do's:

• small pieces,  it is a good idea to chop food or soften it by freezing then thawing
• bury food under the bedding at least 3" to deter fruit flies and gnats
• use rain water or well water if using  city water let it sit in a bucket for 24hours before using on bedding to reduce the chemicals used in the water.  Worms are like organics, they do not like chemicals.
• OK, this is Don't but it is under the Do's.  Don't worry about bacteria, mold and microbe populations.  These organisms help break down the food matter to make it easier for the worms to consume.  They also contribute to the castings.  Great compost is full of microbial organisms.  And castings are full of them! 

Here is a list of a few of the foods we feed to our worms:

    (note is is better to try small quantities of new items at first to see if your worm herd enjoys them first)

Now you can move on how to Harvest Your Castings.