Today was a building day over at This Urban Homestead. It was time to sift through the compost bin, but I had nothing to sift it with. After much research, I decided that there was no need to go fancy. A good friend of mine, Ms. Nikki, gave me an easy method. I actually simplified her instuctions even more. Here is what we did.
Tools:
Something to cut wood, like a saw (You can also forget this step if you are smart and have them make your cuts at the lumber yard, which I did not do.)
An electric drill
Hammer
Wire cutters
Tape measure
Materials:
3 1X3 pieces of wood (mine were 48” long)
8 drywall screws (I suggest 2”)
A pencil
1/2” metal mesh(it comes in a roll)
fence staples
A buddy
Instructions:
So this compost sifter fits right over my wheel barrow. It happened to work out, when we went to go measure, that if we cut one of the boards in half, it would give us exactly the size pieces we wanted for the shorter sides. You want to make a frame with the wood, using the 3” side vertically so that your frame will be 3” deep.
We then measured the inside of the wheel barrow, it was 22” wide, to figure out where to place the short pieces. We measured 13” in on each side, and made our marks for where the screws would go. We measured a half inch in on each end of the shorter pieces, to mark where the screws would go there. PRE DRILL YOUR HOLES!!! You don’t want to splinter your wood.
After pre drilling all of your holes, put the screws through the long pieces so the tips are just sticking out and then attache to the short pieces. Get your wire mesh, hammer and fence staples and staple the mesh to one side of the frame. I suggest leaving it on the roll, not cutting until it is entirely attached, so as to try and avoid getting cut with the wire. You could also just wear gloves.
And there you have your compost sifter. It should look like this:
We also built up the retaining wall to try and keep the dogs out of the chard. They destroyed it once, so I had to replant. Photos to come later.
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