Okay, I admit it, I LOVE a nice sifted compost. The absence of rocks, twigs, leaves etc. make the virgin soil look perfect. I’ve had people marvel at how beautiful my planting beds look after running my compost and dirt through a screen. Yea, yeah, I know it isn’t necessary to screen compost before adding it to your garden, but the payoff is (now) worth the work.
I’ve tried quite a few ways of sifting compost, but most of them require a lot of back breaking lifting and shaking. Well, following an idea I got here I modified the plans and made an incredible compost sifting device.
Here I am breaking my back. It doesn’t look like very much fun does it.
BEFORE
And here I am with my new sifting device. Boy is this MUCH easier than before! If I could just find a way to get past the shoveling of material into the screen and from the wheelbarrow I’d be home free.
AFTER
Here’s the screen I’m using. My dad calls it “expanded metal lath”. It is pretty small, but it was what was available around the house. Lots of work, but great lookin’ dirt. Biggest problem (besides the time) is that the worms don’t pass through so well.
I think I’m going to go buy some strong 1/2 inch and 1 inch welded wire. 2 inch would be too big. I know because I have something that is about 1.5 inch and 99.9% of my compost goes right through it. Maybe that just means I have good finished compost? 
The main changes I made to the design here was the change to the dimensions to fit perfectly lengthwise on my wheelbarrow and a lip that would keep it snug on the top of the wheelbarrow.
Future versions may include a feature that will provide for easy dumping of the left over compost / dirt into another wheelbarrow. I’m also going to make another screen with larger holes to filter compost that I’m not as worried about it looking perfect. I’m thinking about adding a system that will allow me to tip the top portion over the front of the wheelbarrow to easily dump out the non-screened material.
I’m also playing with the idea of “attachments” that will allow “hot swapping” of the screen size, but there may not be any reason to do that if one size fits all.
I’ll get some more plans / pictures posted once it stops raining.
UPDATE 3/24/05:
Here is the second version. I used some pvc chicken netting. I was worried about it being strong enough, but it seems to be holding up pretty well.
I made this one quite a bit bigger than the other one. The good news is that it can sift a LOT of stuff. Bad news is that it is heavyer to haul around and dump.
In the backyard I went to our leaf pile where we’ve been dumping leaves for years. Under about a foot of leaves is some stuff that looks like it is completely composted. I took my new sifter out there and filled up the wheelbarrow in a few minutes. All the leaves, twigs, roots, etc. were out in a jiffy.
Am I loving my soil too much? See my post on my Garden Forum
UPDATE 6/1/08: I’ve been bested! Look at this Automatic Compost Sifter - Screen
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November 21st, 2007 at 4:38 am
I don’t know if the author still reads this as it is some years later than this post however if so… Lowes post a home built version that like yours fits wheel barrows. It doesn’t have the options your s does but does have a pair of long handles that allow one to pick it up and down a few inches creating a rocking motion. I wonder if you or anyone has any ideas as to how one might combine the two affects effectively? I can build but lack creative design skills so any imput is apreciated. thanks, WV Powers
November 21st, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Hi William. Originally I was looking at up down motion for the sifter, but in general this motion consumes much more energy than side to side. Once I added wax to the sides there was very little friction and it didn’t take much effort to sift the material. The only issue I need to resolve is how to easily remove the material that is left behind after sifting.
I’d like to invent a revolving model that I can spin where the unsifted / large particles just fall out. That said, the convenience of this model that fits snugly over the wheelbarrow and requires little energy has been ideal.
December 23rd, 2007 at 4:56 pm
After searching for a device that would work well for harvesting worms it looks like you have come up with a great solution. I don’t really compost but raise worms in peat moss and cow manure. I was wondering if you could give me an idea of what size wire I would need so the compost would fall through while the worms remain on the wire.
Thanks Roger
December 24th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Roger, I’m not sure there is a great solution for you that would allow worms to remain behind. Worms (at least the ones we have) are pretty good at getting between tiny spaces, so I think it would be really hard to find the perfect screen that would leave them behind, but let all the compost remain. You could try a triple screen technique where you screen out the stuff bigger than worms and then screen out the worms from that stuff. I’d be concerned that this, or any screening would harm, or at least stress out the worms.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
[…] Homemade Compost Sifter Screen Sieve shows the basic idea of making the screen slide, so you don’t have to hold it up. That’s the guy in the picture (that’s not me, although that’s exactly how i’m sifting now). Here are some detailed plans for how to make it with a slider, and some other people show how to build it with wheels. Some other people have built a rotating drum which looks nifty, and google even turns up some patents on that design. […]
January 31st, 2008 at 2:58 am
I have been searching for a sifter for Arson Investigations. I like your concept and would be interested in how much, and when you could send me one. You can call me at 800-742-2606 in Winchester, Va. It would seem to me tiny rollers on the bottom of the sifter would be effective to eliminate the friction problem.
Thanks,
Larry A. Peters
March 12th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Larry, rollers is an interesting idea, especially for smoother and longer lasting use. In my mind I’m picturing in-line skates removed from the shoe and placed on the bed of the sifter.
For the most part, my design has worked great. Sanding the wood and adding the wax has made the sifter amazingly smooth. There are a few tweaks I’d like to make to the next design and will post them when I get a chance to implement them.
BTW, I don’t sell these, but am tickled by the request. I think you, or someone that has a little bit of woodworking skills could throw one together pretty quickly.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Rob,
Excellent idea…something my husband and I were talking about yesterday. We have a huge compost pile of mostly leaves and lawn clippings with nice ready soil underneath. All that is left is to sift it all (sounds like fun). We’ll have to try something similar to your solution. We have two wheelbarrows so we’ll both get to sift it.
Thanks for the idea!
April 16th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Rob,
I am very interested in this, I sift soil for bonsai it is so tiring. I have multiple screen sizes 4 of which i made out of 1×4’s and 1/4,1/8, 1/2 and a fine window mesh. I am looking for a mesh size around 3/8. It is seemingly impossible to find what I am looking for. What is the approximate diameter of the opening of your chicken wire, and where abouts did you find it?
April 16th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Ben, the metal lath is usually used for stucco work (at least that’s where we got it) and is probably close to 3/8. The PVC chicken “wire” is about 3/4 inch and I got it at the local “Home Depot”
May 12th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I built one of these years ago to fit on my wheel barrow, I still use it today, it has grooves worn into it where it slides on top. I used 1/2” fencing screen and when I need potting soil I just drop in a 1/4” fence screen that fits inside. I’ve been thinking of a way to attached a mower engine to make it shake back and forth, the wheels are a great idea, although better suited to sit on saw horses since you add alot of extra weight with the tracks etc.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I also built a very large one of these about 3×6 feet and it sat off the ground 2 feet at the base and angled up at a 50 degree angle. I used it when I built my garden and front yard, I would just throw shovels of dirt at it and the rocks and garbage would just roll out the bottom and the dirt would sift through.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Great idea, i just built one like the first video yesterday. My arms are killing me. I will build the sliding frame tonight. Three years ago i build two composters, a simple wire circle of wire fenceing 6′ in diameter. I did not think it was composting, but when i removed the wire on my oldest one i was happy to find i have hundreds of pounds of very rich compost. So this idea is very much appreciated.