Purpose:
Sifters are used to split the fine grains of finished compost from the larger chunks of organic matter that can be added back to an active compost pile.
Types
Different people have different methods of sifting depending on their setup but the most common are:
Each of the above is linked to more information about that specific type. They were picked at random, so leave a comment if it’s not a good link.
We use a sifter made from pieces of our old fence and 1/2 inch mesh cloth that came out of an old screen door from the ReStore. Some people like it as fine as 1/4 inch mesh, but I found that it was a bigger pain and the kids didn’t like helping with it. So, for our sanity it was 1/2 inch mesh. Larger chunks make it into the compost we spread, but in the end it breaks down quickly enough for us.
Happy composting!!