Home The Pile Pro Glossary

Agirate - Combination of agitate and separate. Synonym for "declump" below.

Batch Method - A method that has a pile being built all at once, as opposed to the "Continuous" Method, where materials are added to the pile as they become available

Declump - Break a clumpy pile into bits which are considerably smaller and more numerous than its original bits.

Bendover Bin - Any of a number of bins that features a trap door or doors at the bottom.

Celebration Of Stupid - For another glossary, just noting it here.

CS - Composted Stuff. I may be the only person who believes "compost" is a verb.

Dalek (or Darlek) Bin - A United Kingdom term that could also apply to the Bendover Bin, though some "Daleks" do not feature a Trap Door. It is named after blob-shaped outer space aliens from the TV series Doctor Who. There are Blackwall Darleks, Earth Machine Darleks, and Soil Saver Darleks. They are black and [pointlessly] conical. The best feature of the darlek is its lid.

Grades A, B, C, D - Compost material particle sizes. A < 1/4" < B < 1/2" < C < 1" < D.

HFWM - Hose-Fork Watering Method.

HPC - Human-Powered Composting. (As opposed to worm-* or machine-powered methods.)

IWM - Ideal Watering Method.

Leafloader - My invention that greatly facilitates transferring stuff from a bag into buckets.

Leaf Explosion - The result of compressed, bagged leaves upon being freed from the bag and declumped. Dry leaves behave like springs and store mechanical energy. A controlled release of the stored mechanical energy in a compressed bundle of leaves. Lowrow - Derived from "windrow". A flattened windrow formed from fresh, siftable materials that are moist and clumped. Such materials need to be declumped and dried prior to sifting.

Overworked - 1) Anyone who composts per the conventional wisdom; 2) Too many definitions attached to a single word. "Compost" is overworked

Rearrange - An near-ideal version of what others call "turning."

Solid Mass of Muck - What you find at the bottom of improper compost bins. The result of organic materials, moisture, pressure, and time.

Trap Door - A bogus hatch at the base of many plastic compost bins from which finished CS is supposed to pour out. It is a complete shame and I am very proud to be the first person to point this out to the world.

I hope you enjoy the chapters! Next - "Composting Myths And Questionable Conventional Wisdom"