How to Make a Soil Sifter Box for Healthy Compost

Sifting soil and compost is one aspect of gardening that can sometimes be challenging—but always pays off. This small sifter box makes it easy to shake out and keep the good stuff and return the leftovers to your compost pile. And it's the perfect size for one person to handle by themselves in a modest garden.

There are plenty of benefits to composting, such as enriching the soil we use for gardening. You also can reduce up to 30 percent of the things you normally throw in the trash by composting food scraps and yard waste instead. When composting at home, it’s important to sift your compost to separate the organic material that’s suitable for gardening and the stuff that still needs some time to decompose. The good stuff, called humus, is dark, fluffy, and rich in nitrogen and other things that plants thrive on. Depending on what organic materials you add to your compost pile, how much, and climate factors like heat and humidity, it can take up to a year for humus to develop. The good news is, once you’ve started the cycle and continue adding materials to your compost, you’ll be reaping that sweet, sweet humus for years to come.