Topic: Metal/plastic sieve

[jellied]

I started using a sieve a few weeks ago to get my soil finer for the likes of carrots. Works a treat for getting larger stones out, plus the usual selection of broken glass from an old greenhouse that must have been present years ago.

Anyway - it's plastic and blocks quite easily even when the soil is fairly dry, plus it's not very kind to my back.

I was wondering if a metal one would be any better or is it worth the outlay to get a rotasieve. They're about £40 but wondered if they are really 10 times better than a non-rota version? I've followed a few threads on the site but still can't make up my mind.

[Georgie]

I love my rotasieve which I've had for a few years.  It's definitely easier on the back but it can make your arm ache if the soil is very lumpy.  I use mine to sieve my home made compost and it works a treat.

G x

[Tee Gee]

My seive (metal & ply) that I inherited from the 'dig for victory' days is still going strong.

Admittedly I only use it once a year to seive the stuff that comes out of my daleks.

I have a modern wire one & a plastic one but they are not a patch on the older one!

[Slug_killer]

I use a Wilko cheapie plastic one. I find it sits nicely ontop a B&Q buckit. I then rock both together vigerously.

I can do this sitting on a low stool and it doesn't hurt my back too much.

Also, if the holes get blocked, I have a bucket to whack it against.

[Hyacinth]

I use a Wilko cheapie plastic one. I find it sits nicely ontop a B&Q buckit. I then rock both together vigerously.

I can do this sitting on a low stool and it doesn't hurt my back too much.

Also, if the holes get blocked, I have a bucket to whack it against.

The hi-tech approach works eevry time, doesn't it?

[Anne Robertson]

A fellow lottie owner gave me a great tip when he saw me struggling to sieve my soil. He said hammer a nail near each end of 2 long inchwide (aprox) of wood and then lay them across my wheel barrow and slide the sieve rapidly along these. It was mush easier as I didn't have the weight of the soil to lift. Hope I've explained it clearly enough.

[kingston boy]

I only use a sieve for the home made compost but used to get so up tight that the thing clogs up, i decided to make my own. Its made of a for sale post cut to approx 18"X15" and some 1/4" mesh i had. Works well enough for me, the young woman a plot over also uses it far more than i do so i have to ask for it back.
Not so sure its a good idea to sieve raised beds as there are not enough stones left to stop the earth compacting quickly when we have a lot of rain.

[Al37]

I made one very similar to kingston boys but made it big enough to fit over the wheel barrow. I use my hands to push the soil back and forth over it. I think I will wear gloves next time though because my hands are a mess ;D

[muddylou]

I only use a sieve for the home made compost but used to get so up tight that the thing clogs up, i decided to make my own. Its made of a for sale post cut to approx 18"X15" and some 1/4" mesh i had. Works well enough for me, the young woman a plot over also uses it far more than i do so i have to ask for it back.
Not so sure its a good idea to sieve raised beds as there are not enough stones left to stop the earth compacting quickly when we have a lot of rain.

I didn't know that you needed stones in the soil, I'm new to this and have been digging my new plot for months. All the stones (and roots) I've found I've removed as I thought that was the thing to do.
   Should I have left the stones in? my soil is quite clayey (if that's a word).

[Eristic]

I use a wire mesh sheet from DIY stores nailed to a timber frame. This will sit over the wheelbarrow and the soil or compost is stirred through with a hand fork. The size I use most is the 1" mesh but I have a 0.25" screen as well.

[gardentg44]

As a fisherman[sorry ex fisherman] the lottie takes up all my time,

i use a exlarge maggot riddle it works fine and

a fraction of the cost of a garden centre sieve

[Robert_Brenchley]

I wouldn't say stones are 'needed' in our climate, but they certainly don't do any harm as long as they're not massive, and there aren't so many the soil becomes hard to get a spade into. Soil compacts, but you just dump some more in next year.

[Baccy Man]

A lot of people make compost screens based on this design adapting measurements to fit their wheelbarrows. They are effective & easy to use but can be heavy to move.
http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/public_works/compost_screens.asp

On another gardening forum someone made a similar compost screen but motorised it. There are photos & a video in their photobucket album here.
http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n313/9fingersphotos/Soil%20Sifter/

I sift an awful lot of soil each year so bought myself a scheppach which will sift 3 FIBC's of compost in an hour if I can shovel fast enough, compost goes into 1 barrow debris into another. Unfortunately the £350 price tag makes it unsuitable for most people to buy but if you had a lot of compost to sieve perhaps you could rent one from a tool hire shop.
http://www.scheppach.com/en/products/single-view.html?tx_ttproducts_pi1%5Bcat%5D=16&tx_ttproducts_pi1%5BbackPID%5D=57&tx_ttproducts_pi1%5Bproduct%5D=50&cHash=67d490db85

On another gardening forum there was somebody who made a sifter based on the scheppach design but manual not electric. They said it was very effective but required 2 people to operate it one to shovel the other to turn & remove debris.
Picture here unfortunately not very detailed but it's the only one they ever posted.

[Tee Gee]

That is one terrific machine, nearly as bad as a freind of mine, he mixes his compost in a cement mixer.

[ceres]

Sassymesclunsalad's link contains offensive images.

[asbean]

Wouldn't want to click on them, too risky.  ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Someone's deleted the post, thank goodness! I clicked one one, it was truly horrid! I don't see the attraction; the pics looked like something off a butcher's slab.

[cornykev]

I was going to have liver for my tea.  ;D ;D ;D