My son is "helping???" With the compost.

For some reason my youngest son started showing interest in the compost. At first it was to help me. He saw me turning the compost, and could do it easier, and faster. I certainly appreciate it.  
Lately he has started turning the compost with the cultivator attachment for our battery operated weed eater, about once a week.
I'm not sure about this. It seems to be working. What was a large pile has broken down and looks pretty close to finished compost in a short time. I did talk to him about the possibility that the cultivator is killing worms, and disturbing the microbes, and other critters that actually make the compost. He said he sees tons of worms, and doesn't think it's causing harm.
Helpful? Or harmful? What do you think? Should I be grateful he's making me more, faster compost? Or is it doing harm, and he should stop? Thanks

You, and your son, have fell victim to one of the classic permaculture blunders! The most famous of which is "Don't make a swale off contour", but only less well known is this: Compost can be made successfully in a variety of ways!

Anyone like the Princess Bride? No? Okay I will get back on topic.

Personally, I would encourage you son to continue to do what he does in the view of it being an experiment. Is it still breaking down? Is it still full of worms as he works it? Consider large scale composting processes and their success when they turn windrows.



That is a lot of material and power being moved at a rip! I would figure that your son MIGHT not be every worms friend when he turns the pile but I would imagine the population would recover just fine. As some oversight, take a peek yourself and perhaps coax out questions to get his thought process going on if something is seeming to have a positive, neutral or negative effect?

Depending on his age, it might be worth a quick check to be sure he isn't drinking/toking/smoking out there and using his compost time to cover it? But otherwise? He might just enjoy the physical activity, or using those particular tools, or having some time in his own thoughts, or being able to actively watch the changes in things as they break down.

I have a friend who absolutely loves every chance she gets to use a chainsaw. Several who love burning things. More than a few who grab at every chance to do demo with a sledgehammer. I actually really enjoy shoveling snow. His thing might just be turning the compost.

My son is 25. Mostly I think he thinks he is helping me.  He eats from the garden every day, and feels a lot healthier for it. He told me not long ago he's going to help me in the garden this year. It's a lot of work, and I keep adding on to it every year. I think he's just realizing how much time and work it takes to grow so much.
He loves his tools, and is all about working smarter not harder. In the not so distant past he would have given me the cultivator and told me it's a more efficient way to do it ( to my equal amounts of being irritated he didn't help, and the need to laugh when he would show up with a tool and then leave. If nothing else at least he isn't sexist and thinks I'm capable)
A couple weeks ago he cleaned up the area I grew pumpkins and melons in, and hadn't gotten around to cleaning yet.
I'm a do it myself kind of person, but I've been a little disappointed none of my children have any interest in gardening. So I will take any help I can get, and hope it will coultavate a love of gardening.
I think I will take the advice given and consider it an experiment. I suck at composting anyway, so if he can help in that area it would save me lots of time, and money so I don't have to buy as much.
Thanks