Do Compost Piles Need to be Watered?
I just got back from a two week trip, and the first thing I thought about was 'how are my compost systems doing?' It ends up that things are pretty good. It hasn't rained here much, so I added water to my compost bins. This is a new behavior for me- it's normally stated as unnecessary to water compost systems, but I think this mostly applies to poorly designed compost systems that don't have adequate aeration, therefore becoming that damp and smelly nightmare we've heard of but probably haven't experienced. My new trash can composting system (seen below) was looking pretty dried out. The key reason: air holes. This isn't a big deal, and I'd rather have this situation than a soggy mess (not that that can't be cured quickly…