Composting worms is best during the warm seasons of the year when the temperature is pleasant and warm, perfect for the health and growth of your red wriggler worms. The warmer temperatures assure you of a lesser risk as compared to the colder temperatures because warm temperatures can easily be remedied by the addition of moisture-adding ingredients into the compost bin.

On the other hand, the colder temperature of the winter season exposes your compost worms to the disadvantage of extremely cold conditions which is worm bin inactivity. When this happens, you lose a valuable source of natural fertilizer for your organic gardening activities! That is why it is very important to protect your worms from the winter cold. So is there a way for you to keep your red worms warm and working even though snow flakes are falling? Yes, there are ways to keep your worms warm and your worm composting system working through the cold season. 

Worm composting is all about keeping the conditions inside the bin pleasant for your worms to function effectively. Your worms want the atmosphere inside the bin to be agreeable and warm and not biting and cold if they are to work and compost.

That is why one of the keys to composting worms throughout the winter is keeping them warm inside their bins; to do that you have to create a considerable amount of microbial heat. You also have to insulate the compost bin system for the purpose of retaining as much heat as possible.

To keep your worms warm and toasty inside their bins, you could use a method called hot composting. Mixing mule manure with straw will produce good material to use for hot composting. Heaping it on the compost bin throughout periods of low temperatures will provide the bin with warmth and insulation, making it a perfect addition to your winter composting kit. Regular servings of rich organic material will start microbial heating which could aid in heating up your compost bin.

However there is a difference between sustaining the lives of your worms throughout the winter and effectively composting worms throughout the winter. Your worms are very tough creatures. They do not die easily of cold weather unless they freeze to death. Therefore keeping them alive during cold times is not really a pressing concern. What would be a pressing concern is their ability to work and compost efficiently. Effective worm composting during the winter requires that heat is produced for the compost bin environment. If done right, you could be composting worms in your winter parka and thick mittens before you know it.