TIL my compost pile did better after I stopped overthinking it

I spent 3 months carefully measuring greens and browns in a bin behind my garage in Portland, but it just sat there stinking. Then I dumped everything into a simple open pile and stopped turning it every week, and now it's breaking down fast with zero smell. Has anyone else found that doing less actually works better for compost?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela_harris11h ago

My last compost batch was basically a science experiment I failed, turns out nature is smarter than my spreadsheets. The pile just wanted to be left alone, not micromanaged like a bad boss. Definitely see the same thing with my rosemary plant, it got leggy when I fussed over it and then took off when I basically forgot it existed. Overthinking things is just my default mode, but the pile is teaching me that laziness actually works sometimes.

betty_kelly916h ago

Notice the same thing happens with houseplants. Water them on a strict schedule and they drop leaves. Ignore them for a bit and they flourish. Even my sourdough starter got better when I stopped feeding it every day and just left it in the fridge. It's like life responds best when we back off and let things do their thing.

blair_taylor3215h ago

Does that mean you think most problems come from US trying too hard to control things?