Homemade Topsoil Screen

Topsoil screens, or soil sifters, are used to remove larger particles from composted material and dirt. The screens themselves come in many sizes. Small screen openings use 1/4-inch hardware cloth while larger screens use a 1-inch poultry netting. The overall size of the screen frame is your choice as to how much soil you want to process at any given time. The frame can fit over a small wheelbarrow or a garden bed.

The Frame

The frame is made to the overall width of the screen material. Hardware cloth typically comes either 2-feet or 4-feet wide. Poultry netting also comes in equivalent widths. Construct the frame from either 2 by 4 or 2 by 6 pressure treated lumber. The height of the frame determines how much material you can sift through the screen at one time. For wheelbarrows, cut two 2 by 4s that are 21 inches in length. Cut another two 2 by 4s that are 48 inches in length. Place the 21-inch 2 by 4s inside the two longer 48 inch pieces of lumber. The shape will resemble a rectangle.

Secure the Frame

Use two 3-inch long screws for each corner of the frame. This will securely hold the wood 2 by 4s together. Cut a section of the wire 24 inches wide by 48 inches long. You can use either the 1-inch poultry netting or the 1/4-inch hardware cloth. Fit the wire to one side of the wooden frame to form a box with a wire bottom. Attach the wire to the frame with 1-inch long screws. The screws will fit nicely inside the 1/4-inch openings of the hardware cloth. You will have to use oversized washers to hold the poultry netting in place. Run the screw through the washer and place the assembly over the poultry netting wire. Secure the wire by placing a screw every 4 inches to 5 inches around the outside edge of the frame. Align the edge of the wire to the outside edge of the wooden frame. You can construct two frames with different sized screens of this type.

Using the Topsoil Screen

Place the 1/4-inch screen frame directly over the wheelbarrow opening. Set the 1-inch poultry netting screen on top of the first frame. You now will have a stack of screens over the wheelbarrow. Larger material will be trapped in the larger screen above the smaller screen frame. Place the material into the upper screen and shake the frames. The smaller particles will fall into the 1/4-inch screen and then into the wheelbarrow. You can attach a set of hinges to one edge of the two screen frames. This will allow you to dump out the upper screen when it becomes full. You can place this arrangement in front of your compost pile. When the upper screen becomes full, simply toss the larger particles back into another section of the compost pile. Once the wheelbarrow is full, remove the screens and roll the sifted soil to the nearest garden bed.

References

• Build a Dirt Sifter

Resources

• Tractor Forum