Simple, but laborious, and not fast.
Salvaged floor joist from a hotel I was working at that was being remodeled. 1/2" hardware cloth stapled to the top, and then some 2x4's screwed in to form the sides so the material being sifted wouldn't fall off the sides.
An old scrub brush on a long handle to push the material back and forth with to sift.
About 20 minutes to get a half a garbage can.
This all comes out of an in ground swimming pool half filled with
wood chips, with year + old rain
water completely covered by the wood chips. I used to
pump the water out, but the
composting probably goes ten times faster with the water in bottom. It supports a huge population of worms because it never dries out. I can't sift the really wet stuff. It gets kind of annoying finding the "sweet" spots to grab from, but I
think it's worth it due to the sped up process.
The pool also houses nine old hens, and I throw all my food scraps, and a lot of garden waste (and greens for the chickens) (Back to Eden like).
The chickens love the anaerobic water under it all. It smells very sweet. I try to prevent them from digging down to it to drink from by piling the chips high, but every once in a while they dig out a section and I see them drink from it when it's available. I don't like that they do it, I worry about it, but my hens are all healthy and old. I haven't lost a
chicken in more than three years, and my youngest is four years old now. Oldest is going on over ten years.
It's not the most efficient method, but it's good exercise. I have no want for an electric method like a cement mixer sifter, or a vibrating sifter. I've tried slanting the screen using gravity to sift, but it's much less efficient unless the material is completely dry.
This is my third year doing this. I have a wood chipper/shredder that I'll use to
mulch the beds with after I'm done filling them. The results have been fantastic, and every years has gotten better.
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