they burrow deep into the middle and dont get frozen. so no need to worry. as the compost slowly decomposes it will generate a little warmth.

Worms don't freeze in the ground why would they in a nice warm compost bin?

if you go down 10 feet the ground is about 12 degrees above freezing and they are heating houses these days bye burying large like plastic radiators deep in the ground . bye nature a compost area is breaking down which naturaly produces warmth . the likes of grass snakes are likley in the right areas to hybernate in such places .what about fish in the river frezzing or ducks bare legs ? worms are experts at living in soil as that is all they do .

Yep, that's right - you don't get worm casts when its freezing cos they've burrowed right down into the ground where its warmer - which you probably already know, Merlin, and is why you're worried about the brandlings in the compost. If the composter is sufficiently full, they should be able to survive in the middle over winter, unless we get below freezing temperatures for a month or more.

My Green Joanna composter / food waste digester comes with an optional extra cold weather jacket - looks like the thing you wrap round a hot water cylinder. They suggest that you could wrap it up in cold weather, but take it off when the temperature's 5C or over.

I must admit, if we really are in for a worse winter than last year, I would be inclined to bubblewrap the composter for extra insulation.

You could always buy the worms body warmers!

;^)

Thanks everyone. I think I will be a real fusspot and wrap it up if this winter gets very cold for over a month. The bin is only half full although I've been adding to it for over a year. It already seems colder than usual for November, here in Devon.
I wonder if they sell worm-size bodywarmers on ebay?! Brilliant idea Anchorman!

Worm bodywarmers - you could boil some macaroni and tip it in for them to wear Merlin :-)

Oo er...

or super long boob choobs lol

Bamboo on a more serious note - if you wrap the bin in bubble wrap it wont be able to breath... the brandlings need to breath through the soil. I'd leave unwrapped no matter what. Our lot survived last winter and kept wriggling.

i totaly agree with moon grower for once lol .theyve managed for millions of years . as long as you keep putting your waste in there it will naturaly keep warm anyway .

I could point out that as worms are 'free to roam' they might think 'Gosh its too cold in here' and go off and hunker down somewhere warmer. They may be just be a tube with earth or compost going through it.....but they have survived the millenia and the European ice ages without any bubble wrap!! Methinks.

I did notice a shortage of worms in the compost bins last winter and assumed they'd gone deep for shelter from the cold. It took them ages to come back but there are plenty now.
Theory 2 - Perhaps all but a few perished and it took time for their numbers to build again?

They do seem to have masses of offspring don't they?

Macaroni and Boob tubes? Well fed sexy worms.

maybe I won't go to all the trouble of wrapping the bin after all.

I read that slugs can survive being frozen for x amount of time (can't remember how long) and they don't even need boob tubes!

"I could point out that as worms are 'free to roam' "

< Imagines worms with haversacks and walking boots>

:^)

Honestly, you lot! I guess if your composter has holes all round the outside, Moongrower's point is a valid one, it'll cut off air flow. And as for the worms going down into the soil,the ones in your compost heap won't - they're brandlings, not earthworms, and they don't live in the ground...

So where do all the brandlings go when the compost is finished, or it gets cold, Bamboo? I assumed they hung out in the ground when composters or drifts dead leaves were not available.

Not sure they don't just die, Beattie - their task in life is to turn rotting vegetation into 'compost' if you like, and they seem to appear within a compost heap reasonably quickly. I'm always puzzled as to exactly where they come from myself...

right, did a quick google - they're a species of earthworm adapted to feed on decaying organic matter - they will go into the soil if there's no choice, but won't stay there, not their environment, will always seek out decaying matter to live in, so I guess leaf litter layer if its damp, things like that.

I spread the remaining 8-10 inch layer of compost from my 'Dalek' style composter yesterday and was amazed at the amount of worms in it! Masses, all entangled in groups, a Robin came in for a few and I've looked today, before the rain fell, only to find they're still huddled together on the ground.

No sense of self preservation, brandlings!

Ha ha, Beattie! They need to huddle up tonight, it's cold out there!

Worms are 'free to roam' in my garden......often seen with tiny rucksacks, those bands they have around them. Boots are not easy, as no where for them to attach. I spread my leaves under shrubs and trees......So brandlings are welcome.....otherwise the worm equality gurus might have some objections to confining to compost heaps only. What happens if there is no compost heap and the gardener is compulsively tidy, and scoops up every last leaf? Shirley.....put some leaves over your worms and put a cover over them, They love it under the bottom of a bucket....brandlings (red wrigglies?) and their chunkier chums too.....later pick up the leaves+worms and put them 'free to roam'.

If there's no decaying matter, Dorjac, there's no brandlings... but there are other types of earthworms instead.

We do love our compost and our little squigglies!!
Well, you've given me a lot of laughs and much to ponder on too. Thankyou all.