How can you keep a worm farm in the winter in Maine?
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Question by irongrama: How can you keep a worm farm in the winter in Maine?
I live in Maine and am taking a master gardeners class. They are going to give us worms to keep through the winter and then sell at a fair in the Spring. I have a very small house with no basement or garage, how can I do this?
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5 Responses to How can you keep a worm farm in the winter in Maine?
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When they hand out these little guys, don’t they tell you how to take care of them?
marla w
October 17, 2011 at 12:03 am
how about the closet.
Carroll C
October 17, 2011 at 12:54 am
I used to hear about people taking old refrigerators or freezers and burying them in the ground, than filling them with good dirt almost the the top. This is suppose to help insulate them and prevent them from escaping. Old cardboard, coffee grounds, oatmeal, and vegetable scraps are suppose to be food to feed them and you may have to sprinkle them with water once in a while during dry weather. I don’t know if this will definitely work, but it may give you a starting point. Good luck. And if this is too big, a large cooler should do the same job, only a smaller verson.
pat j
October 17, 2011 at 1:47 am
Up in northern Maine the class isn’t offered at all, I’m jealous!
They are probably Eisenia Foetida, they are composting redworms. They are fairly easy to take care of – just feed them leftovers (no meat scraps, dairy, or animal waste though).
Look at plans for building a worm bin, it’s basically a plastic tote with a cover that has air holes drilled. You can keep the tote inside and out of the way, maybe set something on it that would normally rest on the floor. It won’t smell like old garbage and having it that close will make it convenient to feed it scraps.
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Redwormsedit.htm
http://www.gardenguides.com/articles/worms.htm
http://vermitechnology.com/
always_cookin
October 17, 2011 at 2:08 am
Bring them indoors. Here some homes have their hotwater heaters in the garage which provides just enough heat to keep the worms happy snuggled near the heater.
The soil can not freeze but can get cold. I knew of one worm farmer who kept his worms under his kitchen sink so they could be easily fed. I’m not that dedicated. Just put them someplace where they won’t freeze…….how about a basement?
fluffernut
October 17, 2011 at 2:39 am