I thought anaerobic microorganisms were bad
I have always heard how stirring up the compost was so good, and I know it does heat up the pile immensely. So with gardening I thought aerobic (with air) was good and would bring in more beneficial microbes, earthworms etc. a couple of weeks ago I thought that the ponytail palm which is in a fairly large pot really needed to be re-potted. I noticed that the water was not flowing through - rather sitting in a puddle on the top. Sometimes potting soil will develop a crust that stops the water going through, but I suspected the pot was not draining out of the bottom. I tipped the pot onto its side and as I dug out the earth I discovered that the lower third was compacted mud and stones (that had originally been put into the bottom of the pot for drainage.). There were also THOUSANDS of worms :) , OK maybe not quite a thousand, but certainly lots. The drainage ho...