Photo Essay – How to Use The Soil Sifter

A very rocky section of soil is the starting point.

Start shoveling the dirt and rocks out of the area to be improved.

Gently empty the shovelsfull of dirt and rocks into The Soil Sifter positioned on your wheelbarrow.

Begin working the soil gently through the screen, leaving the rocks and twigs.

Remove the larger rocks first, shaking off the dirt and leaves.

Drop the rocks into a container such as this empty flower pot, for future use after cleaning.

Once all rocks and large twigs are removed, what’s left can be tossed out or used for deep fill.

Empty the freshly sifted soil back into the garden area.

The final results, with flowers, mulch, and cleaned rocks arranged around them!

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How I’m Using the Soil Sifter

I just created this site to talk about something I make and sell, called The Soil Sifter, which comes in several different models.  You can buy it by using the first link under Blogroll on the right.  But I don’t just make and sell Soil Sifters.  I’m also an enthusiastic user!  After all, I built my first one because I needed it to get the rocks and roots out of my home garden. I’m still working on that, since most of the garden areas around my house were filled with Colorado river rocks that the previous owners purchased and installed twenty years ago.  Every inch of the property had rocks up to a foot deep that had to be removed.  Today I’m still finding areas that need to be cleared before I can plant anything that doesn’t thrive in rocky soil.

This week I cleared an area about four feet by four feet, resulting in a wheelbarrow filled with sifted soil, six flower pots filled with rocks and another one full of rocks and twigs. I planted marigolds and begonias, then used an earlier version of my soil sifter (with 1/2″ screen instead of 1/4″ screen) to wash the dirt off the rocks, and then laid them down as a decorative border around the garden area. Couldn’t have done it without my Soil Sifter.  More photos to come!

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