The nights are drawing in, the temperature is dropping and the rain seems to fall day and night. None of this is good news for your wormery.

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So what should you do?

Firstly, try and move the wormery somewhere out of the rain - a shed or garage is perfect for over wintering as it will help keep the frost, as well as the rain, off. If you can't move it under cover keep it as close to a house wall as possible so it gains some heat and is at least a little sheltered from the wind, rain and frost.

During the summer I often rely on shredded paper and cardboard for keeping the wormery dry and this doesn't alter much in the Winter either as paper is good at drying a wormery out when too wet, keeps the compost aerated by stopping it getting compacted and adds much-needed carbon for the worms while also producing great compost that can be used for top dressing your plants or improving the soil in your borders.

However, it also helps to try and keep the rain out and the worms warm so that they will continue to break down your waste as well as they can during the winter months. It's well worth buying a couple of moisture mats (these are good for the summer as well but less necessary when it's warmer). They keep the worms in the dark (so they work better), dryer and warmer. It's worth noting that the worms will slow down a bit as it gets colder anyway so every little helps to keep them active.

If it gets very cold and falls below freezing for a length of time then it really is advisable to get them under cover but if that's not possible then bubble wrap, old carpet and placing it near the flu from the central heating will also help. Not too close to that flu though as the last thing you want is them being affected by carbon monoxide poisoning!

You'll also want to feed less when it's very cold as they do slow down quite a bit and uneaten waste can easily rot, causing acidic and anaerobic conditions that will make the wormery smell and possibly kill off your worms.