I have written previously (e.g. here and here) about sieving the contents of my hot compost bins to produce a finer grade of soil improver for use throughout the vegetable and flower garden. This year I took delivery of my new soil/compost sieve (Photo 1); more on this later.
Photo 1: New Rotary Compost Sieve - Not to be Used Indoors!
If your waste organic matter comprises soft growth (e.g. herbaceous trimmings and lawn mowings) and/or kitchen waste, then I would strongly advise against sieving; the finished compost should already be suitably granular, the humic/microbial structure of the compost is fully retained, and you will save yourself much time and effort, not to mention money. This review is a little old but still worth reading.
For better or for worse, my organic waste includes plenty of woody material that takes much longer to break down in the composting process. I choose to include this hard-to-compost woody material because it reduces the number of road trips to the waste recycling centre (for myself and the seven neighbours that I accept garden waste from). Unsieved soil improver, even with lots of woody bits, is fine for many garden applications; for example, earthing up potatoes (also here) and as a general mulch/fertilizer. I sieve a portion of my compost for the preparation of potting compost and decorative mulch (e.g. flower beds); any recovered woody bits are recycled through the hot composting process.
My original compost sieve was a simple manual affair (Photo 2) costing less than a fiver. It found most use when sieving soil as I set up the kitchen garden. I worked my way through 2 or 3 sieves recovering the soil from what was, effectively, a building site and filling half a dozen four yard skips in the process! It was hard slow work.
Photo 2: First Compost Sieve
In 2020, I bought a rotary sieve (Photo 3) and this has served me well for 4 years. As with all these 'compost' sieves, they are designed primarily for removing stones and large debris from soil. Sieving homemade compost is harder especially if the compost is wet but this rotary format is reasonably efficient provided you do not overload the hopper.
Photo 3: Rotary Compost Sieve - Again, Do Not Use Indoors
I also recommend using this type of rotary sieve on a raised platform; I used one of my hot compost bins (Photo 4). Back and arm strain is reduced when the rotary action is around shoulder level.
Photo 4: Solid, Raised Base for the Rotary Sieve
After four years of heavy use, the mesh of this rotary sieve started to corrode (Photo 5) and the sieving process became less efficient. To be fair, the sieve was left outdoors in all weathers; its lifetime would certainly be extended if regularly cleaned, dried and stored under cover.
Photo 5: Corroded Mesh after 4 Years Use
The new rotary sieve, bought here, arrived in April 2024 ...
Photo 6: The Mattis Sieve Arrives
... and was unpacked.
Photo 7: Some Assembly Required
Assembly takes about 30 minutes to an hour for one person; the pictoral instructions were clear with the only tricky bit being the installation of the collection tray held in position by the legs of the stand. Only fully tighten the nuts and bolts once assembly is complete (Photo 8).
Photo 8: Fully Assembled Rotary Sieve
The two short videos below demonstrate the opening of the rear hatch (to remove unsieved material) - Video 1 - and the smooth operation of the rotary arm that forces the compost through the mesh (Video 2). In Part II, I'll report on the performance of the Mattis sieve.
Video 1: Rear Hatch of Mattis Rotary Soil/Compost Sieve
Video 2: Smooth Rotor Arm Action - Mattis Rotary Soil/Compost Sieve
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