Compost Sifter

Paulie is shoveling dirt while Eric, Patsy and Cina watch.
And yes, they found some grubs but no pupas.

Thanks to Mike for making a great compost sifter. It fits over the top of the wheelbarrow which makes it handy to transport and dump what you've sifted.

It also work very well if you decide you want to take out ALL the dirt in your bed and sift it looking for lumps, grubs, pupa, pecans and other assorted undesirables.  I'd heard about it and seen the end results but hadn't seen it in action.

If you want your own personal sifter at home I have one that is extremely easy to make and is very light so it is easy to use.  I got the idea from my friend Hal Massie about 20 years ago.

I use an old plant tray I got with plants one year (you want to use one with an open weave - a solid bottom one won't work.) Vic had a piece of hardware cloth that we cut down to size and then I attached it with twisties to the plant tray. Voila...a small, lightweight sifter.

Vicki's compost sifter

Denise  had sifter envy so went home and she made one for herself. She didn't have hardware cloth so she used a mesh with 1/4 inch holes which works well also. She also used zip ties (cable ties) to attach her mesh which I'll do the next time my twisties break.