My Projects

A few months before I made this version, my first compost sifter was way too laborious to manually shake back and forth. It resembled an like an old gold miners, sifting pan. This version 2 model, while it doesn’t look like much, sifts dirt and compost down to a nice fine aggregate, which is great for growing plants and holding lots of oxygen. So far, this sifter has sifted it’s way through 25 -30 wheel-barrow loads of dirt. I am currently designing a sturdier version for next spring.

I am getting ready to plant my fall 2009 garden so I grabbed some fresh compost out of my horizontal composter today. It really needs to be screened and all the organics that haven’t broken down to the correct size will be mulched again and put back into the composter to help start the new batch. Looks like I need to bust out the old compost sifter!

This is my 2nd DIY composter. This model is based on a vertical tumbler and cost less then $40 to construct. Below are images of the vertical design in-action and a close-up of the axle construction.

Images of my first composter. Cost less then $50 to construct and can make 100 lbs of compost ever 60 days.