By:Lawrence L. Feltz
"Red Worms" (Eisenia fetida) thrive at
temperatures between 40 and 80 degrees Farenheit. With the pending
arrival of cold temperatures, on September 26, 2001, I moved my specially
constructed, but now emptied, wooden worm bin to the cellar for the winter. I
was in a bit of a quandary as to what to do with the "precious
contents".
I decided to keep half of the precious stuff in the newly
relocated box in the cellar to as the "starting culture" to continue composting
with worms inside during the winter. I carried in about two and
a half five-gallon bucket loads.
The contents were not
completely "finished" as there was some only-partially-decomposed organic matter
evident. I left the other half of the box contents outside to "finish".
Despite the cooling of the outdoor temperature, I plan to leave it out and let
the worms "finish"as best as they can ( at some point they will die either due
to the cold temperatures or to exhaustion of their food supply ).
Hopefully, the contents will be "done" in the spring and I will be
blessed with finished "black gold" to start off the gardening season.
Here
is photo of "worms only" taken from a single two gallon
bucket:
Below you can see the
newly relocated box in the beautiful, spacious, and well-appointed
cellar.
I made new bedding - 20
pounds of shredded newspaper, 60 pounds of water, 2 gallon of soil, and 50% of
the stuff from outside to serve as the "starter".
I hope to
compost with worms all winter. The literature says it will be odor-free,
rodent-free, without objectionable-messiness. Although an eager novice, I was
not sure I believed it. That is why I started early and "practiced" outside
during the summer. It is now February, and the Eisenia fetida have been in the house and trouble
free for 4 1/2 months. They continue to consume all our organic waste and
have been a source of "live food" for my tropical fish. Based on
this success, I am looking forward to composting with worms successfully
for many years to come.
