6 Ways to Keep Your Worms Cool During the Summer Heat
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- čas přidán 16. 08. 2024
- Video Summary: Steve explains how to keep your composting worms alive during the hot summer months
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Video Timeline:
0:00 Start of Video
0:23 What temperature range do worms need?
0:50 How thermal mass affects worm bin temperatures
2:22 Move your worm bin indoors
2:40 Keep your worm bin away from sunlight
2:55 Reduce food waste and increase carbon in your bin
3:41 Add ice bottles to your worm bin
4:19 Use an evaporative or "swamp" cooler for your worm farm
4:58 Use a solar reflective material to cover your outdoor bin
5:29 Download the Ultimate Guide to Vermicomposting
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I needed this vid. It one degree hotter than hell where I live pretty much all year. That solar covering is perfect.
For several summers I've used your ice hack in 4 UWBs here on my 4th story veranda in an apartment highrise in Tokyo. At first I was placing the ice bottles on clean cardboard inside the UWBS and sterilizing the outside of the thawed ice bottles at night to put them back in our kitchen freezer. Now I put them in inexpensive styrofoam coolers. (15cm deep by 25cm wide by 35cm long) With two bottles inside, the ice lasts all day and the whole box is cool. These coolers make broader surface contact and worms congregate in the cool condensation under the box. Occasionally some crawl up the side if it is dark but I've never seen a worm or any other critter get inside past the precisely fit airtight lids, so I can put the bottles back into the freezer at night after a simple rinse. I used to need two sets of bottles because they didn't re-freeze adequately during the night. Now the bottles are still half frozen when I return them to the freezer. As an additional note, With the UWB covers zipped closed, at least some of the moisture condensing onto the stryofoam coolers is drawn from the vermicompost mass below (I think) and actually will dry out a UWB. This is good trick to know if there is too much moisture down low and you want to draw it up to the surface. Another thing to mention is that my veranda is south facing and is all concrete. Temperatures rise often to 40C (104F). I also shade the UWBs. I've never lost a herd of worms.
Cover crops on a lid are very efficient at keeping temperature.
My worm bins are exposed to the sun, at Sao Paulo, and it gets near 40C some times. I use used bulk olive containers, the blue ones made of polypropylene, and cut an opening on the bottom half which is closed with with tensioned bicycle tire tube straps. I feed the worms with compost from my tumbler composter, so I handle it once a month in average. When I set up initially, I cover the lid (which has holding capacity) with worm castings and cover with a bushy boldo that's very resilient and has great capacity of living with almost no soil. After some months, the worm bin becomes a bush with a core of active vermicompost.
That is a *GREAT* idea
Thank you. My neighbour cut down a shade tree air conditioner. Kept the air cool anf the direct sun to a minimum. These ideas are so helpful. I have had my worm farm for 24 years. I am just out of Covid so I can now go out and buy somethng to protect them till I am fit enough to move them. I can't lift them by myself.
Thank you so much. Best video. Gonna be 35° in 2 days time. Summer and on the ocean so it is also humid. I just want to keep them safe.
Robyn
Australia
Glad it helped Robyn!
Better late than never. My garage gets up to about 90° on a hot day. This video made be feel better.
Glad we could help Franklin!
Such very practical information.
Thanks WhyteDavy!
Great video Steve!! I do a couple of these tips with my UWB and I'm gonna try a couple of the others!! The thermal mass explains so much of what I see in my UWB and in my other Outdoor Bin that sits on the ground taking advantage of the earth's thermal mass (without me really realizing why this whole time!) Love these videos, I learn so much every time!!🪱🪱🪱
You got it VLD!
as Im living in the middle east and the outside temp. reaches more than 45 C in sometime of the day for almost 2 months, I had to add freezing bottle of water 2 time in the day and the evening, this is keep my worm safe during. one more month I will stop adding these bottles as the temp. will be below 32 C.
Ok got a question... how do you keep them warm for the winter. I have 3 , 30 gallon totes with 3lbs in each one but im worried for them because there outside in my coop. Although there is plastic around the coop and a heater its getting pretty cool. What i was wondering can i just put all the worms in one container ? Would the be better off together or would that be to many?. It would just be till spring . Any advice would be super welcomed 😊
Wish you had posted this in June. I think I've lost all my worms.
Sorry X 2, Carol!
Mine are In the basement. I want them to be outside, but I’m in Nebraska.
That would probably be tough in winter, I'd imagine
Florida summers are definitely not good for worm farming.