Garden Tip: Sifting Soil


No matter what one thinks about working in the garden, there is always a need for a garden soil sifter. You're asking yourself, why would anyone need a soil sifter? Right?  Do you have a garden bed that has a lot of weeds, rocks, or stones? Why throw away good top soil only to go buy more, just sift off the soil and discard the rubbish and rocks.

This little do it yourself project will cost you about $15 to make versus buying yards of soil at the rate of $20 -$30 a yard. Plus you'll have to buy a minimum of ten yards for the garden center to deliver it to your home. Then you'll still have to move it to your garden. Ok so you'll probably do that anyway, but you'll still have to get rid of the rocks, stones and weeds, so sift them out and save some money.

Here's how you do it.

1 1 x 4 x 8 framing lumber
1 Roll Hardware cloth (mesh)
Staple gun with 1/2 inch staples
8 2 inch Screws
Drill
Hammer

Decide on the size of your sifter, usually the best gauge is to measure the top of your wheel barrel or largest container top, which ever you'll be sifting over to catch your fine soil. Then cut your wood into four equal lengths. You can make your center pieces smaller, should you wish to have handles to work with. As you can see, I chose the square look.  Once you have your wood cut and screwed together, cut a piece of the hardware making sure you allow for folding over the edges. The best way to ensure you have the right size is to lay out your mesh, place your box on top, and pre-fold up one side to determine where to cut.  Now that you've got your mesh cut, your box made, now's the time to put it together. It's actually fairly simple to do. Just fold your mesh over and staple down every few inches. When you're done securing your mesh with the staples, go back over every staple with a hammer, tamping down each staple; this will hold it in place. Cut off any lingering pieces of mesh that might catch your fingers, and you're done. ENJOY

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