We are moving around Feb. 15th. We have a worm bed that we bring into our basement in the winter. The place we are moving to, does not have a basement and the barns are not heated. What should I do with my worms? If the ground is not frozen solid, will they be able to dig down in the garden at the new place and not die? We live in NE Ohio. Any ideas would be appreciated and just so you know, putting them IN my house is NOT an option.

-- M & M (amazinggraze@valkyrie.net), January 11, 2002

Answers

How big is the bin? I kept a 15 gallon bin in my living room with a cotton table cloth over it as an "end table" by the kitchen doorway before expansion into large scale, If it is to big consider seeding a smaller unit to be kept inside , then turning the remainder out in a 18 to 24 inch deep pit filled with leaves ,bedding and food and a layer of soil and covering it deep (2 to 3 feet above ground level) with straw and leaves by the garden.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), January 11, 2002.

Perhaps Shannon@Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary could rescue them? If not, I can always use ice-fishing bait. --Happy trails, CF

-- Cabin Fever (cabinfever_mn@yahoo.com), January 11, 2002.

I keep a plastic bin on my back porch year-round here in Florida, where it doesn't get very cold. We had frost three nights last week and though the bedding got kind of cold the worms are fine. They do slow down as far as breeding and eating in cold weather, but they survive. How cold will it get inside the barn? I would think that you could move the bed (how big is it, anyway?), into the barn and insulate the outside with hay bales or something; fill the inside up with a good layer of leaves, etc., and maybe put enough extra feed in one part of it, say on one end, that it will heat up a bit, like your compost pile does. Make sure the worms have enough room left in the bed to get away from the heat in case it gets too hot. Putting them out in the garden would not be advisable- worms need to be kept in the environment into which they were hatched- the organic content of your bin is much higher than that of your garden soil, and they will probably die. You COULD try digging a trench in your garden, say 2-3' deep, and filling that with manure and other organic material, then putting some worms in there. You'd have to keep it moist, though, and again, cover it well. They might survive. If you do this I would recommend putting only a portion of the worms in it the first year, just in case it doesn't work. If I were me, I'd try the barn first.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), January 11, 2002.

How about getting a big chest freezer (one that dosn't work and free) and drill a small hole in the top of the side and mount a light inside it. It is so insulated and water tight the light should keep it from freezing. I would not think a light running all the time would hurt them tho I know they like the dark. Maybe you could put a piece of wood over half of the soil in it so if they really wanted out of the light they would have a place real dark.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), January 11, 2002.

Theresa- THAT is a great suggestion- wish I'd thought of it myself. The light won't matter because the worms will burrow down into the bedding. Around here commercial growers use open pits which are outdoors and have light all day. Just remember that the worms will need air, so drill some holes for ventilation.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), January 11, 2002.

The worm compost people were at the garden show last year and they showed how you could use a Rubbermaid garden bench in the way Teresa was talking about. I'm sure your county extension would know exactly how many holes to drill, and so forth.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 11, 2002.