Do I REALLY Have to Aerate My Compost?

  Inevitably when I am at a party, someone will introduce me as the "compost lady" or sometimes the "compost queen" if they really like me. And I always end up spending the next half hour talking about backyard composting. Good thing that is one of my favorite discussion topics. 

         Them: "Do I really have to turn the compost?" 

         Me: "No. You can be a lazy composter. But you will also have to be a                 patient composter."

Let's take a quick, compost terminology definition time out. 

• 
  Aerating your compost adds oxygen to your pile. You can passively aerate your pile by adding sticks or straw underneath the food scraps or pvc pipe with holes placed vertically to encourage air flow. You can also actively aerate your pile by turning. 
• Turning your compost is a form of aeration. You are physically moving the compost from one place to the other. Sometimes this is moving a pile with a pitch fork. Sometimes it is sticking your turning tool into the pile and "stirring" it up. Turning has the added benefit of moving materials from the outside to the inside of the pile where it is more likely to decompose. 

Back to the party. Whenever I am asked about turning or aerating your compost, I ask a question in return: "How quickly do you want finishing compost?" If you are patient and don't mind waiting more than a year, then you can technically just let your compost sit and go through "cold composting."

Now, if your compost starts to smell like ammonia or sulfur, and you or your neighbors find it offensive, you should probably take a few minutes to aerate the pile. Just stick something pointy into the pile and poke it a bunch. 

Really, it is that easy. 

No need to turn/ aerate more than once per week for most composters. Once per month is usually sufficient. 

How often do you turn your compost? Let us know in the comments below.

Blogger: Michelle Balz