You know, mine doesn't look like all that much. People would never, ever guess the variety I have out there, though, well over 70 different kinds of plants! Everything I did was on a much smaller scale than the average winter sower would do. I have a couple of lasagna pans with 13 different kinds of flowers in each, and then some kitty litter pans with 12 types in each. I guess normally that would be about 50 jugs? I also have quite a few water bottles and a dozen or so jugs. The gallon size jugs have at least four varieties in each. Most of it fits in my 3x5 cold frame.

Bring it inside and put it in a bright window that gets direct sun. The bud,if it is a bud,will hold on. Then put it back out if it goes back up to the 40's. They bloom anytime of the year. Mine has just put out its last bloom. But I am in Florida, so it is hot nearly all year. But it blooms from late spring to now. IF it doesnt get to cold,you CAN leave it outside and cover it with a light blanket or towel to keep the cold of it. That CAN save it by a few degrees. But if it is going to be cold for like a week. Bring it in! Good luck,let us know what happens.

Esmé, If I understand you correctly, your bin was half full of scraps before adding the worms ? It sounds like your bin is indeed composting by the sounds of it and having the worms in a hot bin like that is not ideal for your new residents. The heat from the composting process is driving off you moisture at least on the top. I would suggest to recue the worms from the bin while still possible then remove most of the hot composting materials and read the below post from our worm GURU Kelly. TC Posted by: Kelly_Slocum sw WA state (My Page) on Thu, Jun 2, 05 at 9:23 Many of the suggestions you read on how much a worm can eat and how much the bin can/should be fed are misinterpretations of recommendations that come from Mary Appelhof's book "Worms Eat My Garbage". Many of these recommendations were not based on scientific research, but were generalizations Mary had to make to aid a public demanding answers that science had not yet found or about which could not make general statements. As such, she intended them as guidelines to aid people in beginning a bin, as she recognized better than almost anyone that how much a worm can eat depends on the character of the feedstock, the environment, etc, etc. The internet turned Mary's generalized guidelines into "facts" and "rules" for worm behavior and worm bin management, however, and have now become so overstated as to be incorrect. When beginning a new bin, following the guideline that the system will process a weight of feedstock roughly equal to the weight of worms for the first week or two is a reasonable expectation. As the system matures, however, it will be able to process more and more, dependant, of course on the character of the feedstock and the environment. The wise vermicomposter will feed their bin not based on the suggested feeding rates found in a book, but on their own observations of how quickly their system is managing new feedstock additions. Each time the worms move into a new addition of feedstock this should be an indication that more feedstock can be added. The first feedstock does not have to be fully processed, it simply has to have worms actively working in it, indicating that it is sufficiently biologically active to be available to them. Adding new feedstock at this point gives the new stuff sufficient time to become biologically active while the previous addition of feedstock is being processed. The average healthy home worm bin supports about 1.5 pounds of worms per square foot of bin surface area on the average. The most populous vermicomposting system every documented supported roughly 4 pounds of worms per square foot of bin surface area, but that population density could not be sustained indefinitely. Don't get too caught up in the question of "how many worms are possible in the bin?" or "how many worms should my bin hold?" as the worms will populate based on the amount of available food and space. Put some worms in the bin (hell, you could begin with just two, or, believe it or not, even ONE, and end up with a maxed out population in several months), keep it moist, add some feedstock and they will make more worms for you at just the right speed and to just the right population level for the system as you are managing it. As to recommendations to add "decomposing material", that is exactly what you are adding when you put feedstock in the bin. Some folks suggest "pre-composting" the feedstock before adding it to the system, but I have to wonder what they perceive is the advantage to pre-composting it in a bucket separate from the bin over simply allowing it "pre-compost" IN the bin where there is massive biology to aid in the process. Sometimes the suggestion to add "decomposing material" refers to the use of compost or worm castings as a part of the bedding in a new bin to ensure the system has a relatively high level of biology at the outset, and this is actually good advice, though is certainly not a requirement. Compost in the bedding often helps the worms settle into the new environment more quickly than they would in a bin full of shredded paper and kitchen scraps alone. I know, I know, this is another of my long-winded posts, but the answers require some explanation if what we want is a truly educated vermicomposting public! I am working on brevity (you should have seen this post before I edited it!), so please be patient with me; brevity is not a general part of my nature and at 43 changing takes some time! Let me know if you have more question, Robin, or if any of this needs further explanation! Kelly S· Posted by: Kelly_Slocum sw WA state (My Page) on Thu, Jun 2, 05 at 12:59How to determine when the bin is ready to "harvest" depends on whether you are pocket feeding or top feeding. If you are pocket feeding then it's time to harvest when essentially all of the bedding has been converted to castings and is no longer recognizable, and the bin volume has decreased by roughly half. Top-fed bins are harvested when the bin is filled all the way to the top. Time to harvest is usually shorter in pocket-fed bins than in top-fed systems, and (surprise!) is widely variable, dependant on bin size, how much the system is fed, environmental conditions, feedstock, blah, blah, blah, blah. You've got a better grasp of this than you credit yourself with, Robin, if your questions are any indication. You are asking the right ones, have clearly not bought in to everything you read on the internet, and are thinking critically. Fascination and common sense are the only real prerequisites for effective vermicomposting on the part of the human involved, and you appear to have these in fine measure! Kelly S

Looking at your pics I would say I REALLY think you have a Live oak there. Just be happy with it, it is a nice tree. I will not envy you in about 6 months, but, enjoy your beautiful Live oak in your shorts now Bossy. My Live oak is wrapped in christmas lights, it's 32F now, will be about 22F all day tomorrow, my potted little Live oak is in a makeshift greenhouse now, tomorrow my butt will be in thre house watching TV NOT leaving the house. Unless our weatherunderground channel gave a inaccurate forecast. It wasn't supposed to turn like that, but we don't get "the weather channel" so I will just protect the potted LO tree anyway in case. Seriously Bossy Live oaks are iconic trees of the south, unless you have no room for any other trees, why not grow one? I haven't read above, you may have 20 more in your yard. Enjoy your nice winter, btw, do you ever get any winter to speak of bossy?