My Shade is GONE!

10 years ago

During our last rainfall, a tree in my backyard fell, taking the worm's shade with it. I live in a (rented) fourplex and our backyard is shared. The way I had my bin set up was keeping it on the side of the house away from the main community area of the backyard. But because of the tree falling, my worms are in the sun from about 10am to 3ish pm. How important is it to keep them in the shade? I put a wood board on top of my bin so it's shaded by the wood board (board is larger than the top of the bin so it provides a little shade to the sides of the bin). A temporary fix. How much shade do you give your worms? Do you think my wood board on top of the bin is enough for the sunny hours of the day? Or should I create a better solution? I love my worm bin and love to garden, but in a rental, I worry about putting too much money into the property so I wouldn't want to build any sort of permanent shade structure. Any ideas? thoughts? Has anyone made a DIY shade for their bin?

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Comments (6)

chuckiebtoo
10 years ago
How hot does it get where you live? It'll probably be too hot for them from the looks of your pic since it shows greenery. And since it sets on a concrete(?) walkway, it'll probably saute a wormbed by the 4th of July.

Spring for a thermometer to put inside the bin. When the temps approach 80 or so, cooling is recommended.

Spritzing the bin with cold water will lower the temps, uh.....temporarily.

Keep us posted about it.

Chuckiebtoo
PRO
equinoxequinox
10 years ago
The bin is nice enough for inside. Can it live inside for 8 weeks? That just might get the bin over most of the heat. Perhaps it would be a good time to harvest and start with new bedding at the same time. Consider a micro bin inside in case of overheat of your main bin. For shade I am thinking bamboo poles making half of a tee-pee that is structural so you can just move it aside to work on... play with the bin. Or perhaps something that looks like an old fashioned child's doll house that can be moved aside and is hollow inside. You do not want the sun to touch the sides of the bin. You do not want the sun to heat up the side of the building or walking bricks. The picture helps us greatly. In the summer will the sun's path cross the walking path left to right with both buildings providing some shade? or shoot straight down the middle of the path all day? Where is South and are you above the equator? Can you put a hollow brick into the ditch right next to the house and move the bin over on to the bricks? This might provide a tiny bit more of shade which may make a difference. There seems to be a window above the bin. Can the air conditioner drip onto the bin or cover? This walkway may be a fire isle. Can you move the shelf on the right along the path and put a few stepping stones across where the shelf was across from the bin? It is great to see people taking what they have available to them even if it is not ideal and turning it into something beautiful that was not there before and would not be available for others to see if it was not for the gardener making the world a better place.
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equinoxequinox
10 years ago
And look at that tall tropical palm like plant at the end of the row. It has been a long winter here and still is. I see dirty snow. What is the vine growing all along the fence? If you temporarily put a pole from the fence to higher up on the house would something grow and make shade?
SelenaD-Composter
Original Author
10 years ago
I live in southern California. No snow here. Our winter gets to 50 and summers get to 85. My humidity varies but it's not usually too dry. The buildings shade the bin during the morning and late afternoon but my tree that used to cover the sun when it was straight up is gone. So basically the sun rises from one building to behind the other. The vine is filled with ants. I would avoid letting that vine get to the house. The bamboo pole idea is kind of cool. I also might measure the space in between the fence and walkway and see if that provides it shade. So many great ideas from you all!
PRO
equinoxequinox
10 years ago
Possibly duct tape half an umbrella to the wall above the bin. One of those decorative nice looking rice paper ones. Just for two months.
chuckiebtoo
10 years ago
If your upper temps only make 85, you will probably have heat buildup to about that. Keep it moist. Use a thermometer. A good way to lower the temps: drop a plastic sandwich bag of ice cubes into the bin....the wormies won't eat it.

cb2

My Shade is GONE!

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chuckiebtoo

equinoxequinox

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My Shade is GONE!

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chuckiebtoo

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SelenaD-ComposterOriginal Author

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