Every year, as we go into the spring and fall seasons, the same questions keep popping up concerning extreme temperatures, whether it be heat or cold. Now obviously, if your worms are in a temperature controlled situation this won't concern you, but if your bin or bins are outdoors you need to know.
The good Lord created this animal with a specific purpose for existance, if only people lived up to our purpose as well. In order to fulfill that purpose, the worms must survive, and survive they do in the wild and on their own. When we harness the earthworm, we also take on the responsibility for that worm's welfare.
Primarily, when we talk about temperatures, we're speaking of IDEAL temperatures for growth, reproduction, etc., but I've seen worms directly under ice encrusted cover, and crawling and feeding in 100 degree horse manure. I think the question here is how long they can take it and survive.
In the wild, when worms are stressed by heat, cold, drought or famine, they breed like crazy and leave as many of those tough little cocoons behind as possible. They then find the best possible spot where they curl into a 'ball' of worms and go into 'diapause', a hibernation like state, where bodily functions slow way down and somewhat suspend until conditions improve. If conditions do not improve, they die, and those tough little cocoons take over from there, and life goes on.
In a bin, we control their environment, bedding, food, moisture and air and yes temperature as well, to some degree. They can, however, move only as far as the confines of their bin, and bedding depth will allow.
Trinity Ranch is located near St. Louis, Missouri. Our midwest summers can be very hot and humid, and the winters can be pretty miserable as well, but nothing like the extreme northern states and Canadian provinces, though we've shipped to most of these areas.
Since this is being written in the fall of the year, we'll deal with winter first. In our area we'll get wintertime temps routinely in the teens, and infrequently in single digits. Sometimes we'll get below zero, and we do have wind and humidity. I can only tell what we do here, but plan to add regionalized info from veteran growers in other areas.
Here at Trinity our worms are housed in a drafty old horse barn (horses too), although they're under roof, there is no additional heat or insulation at this time. We get by in the winter by bedding deeper than normal, and feeding hotter food stuffs...fresh horse manure, etc. Remember, what we're dealing with here are ambient temperatures, not air temperature. I want temps in the beds warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than the air outside. I've used a meat thermometer on occassion to check these temps.
I understand fish tank and reptile heaters work well if you have only a bin or two. I've also seen mention of heat tape, though I've never used any of these. Many folks will stack bales of hay or straw around their outdoor bins for extra insulation. Snow itself can be good insulation. Some sink their bins in the ground...in most places the frost line will be about 18 inches deep.
People moving to new areas very quickly learn to adapt to the special weather needs of that area. What we know about ourselves we need to apply to our worms. Common sense really works with these critters. Stay tuned, we have a lot to add in this section. Seeya, Bob
