Sieving compost?

[oldmoleskins]

Now and again, I find myself automatically doing something and then wonder if I'm barmy, or if it's something worth sharing...

I was sowing some aubretia today, and sieving compost, as you do, and saving the coarse stuff that's left in the sieve.

I never put it back in the compost bag (you'll only find it again next time you sieve) and I don't throw it away. I put it in an old compost bag (to save it drying out too much) and use it mixed with 'normal' compost when potting-up or planting-out shrubs or trees.

Those larger nodules of peat or whatever help drainage and by making the planting medium more open in texture, coarser rooted stuff establishes quicker - imho.

OM.

[Spruance]

Barmy? Well if you are OM then I must be too. I always sieve/riddle compost these days when sowing seeds and sometimes for pricking out too as it is easier to mix the finer grade material.

I use the large 'nodules' in the base of troughs and pots.

I don't know about you but I find that there seems to be all sorts of rubbish in compost these days. I'm sure that this wasn't always the case.

[Deleted]

Sounds like a sensible plan to me (saving the rough bits in a seperate bag). I always use a tea strainer to sieve compost over seeds, which has my partner cracking up .... cheers ...

[Plocket]

I don't usually bother with sieving compost, unless it's the stuff I'm getting out of my composter, and then I put the big bits back in. It sounds like a reasonable idea, but I'm fairly tough on my plants, and if they don't like a little lump of compost then they are weaklings ;D

[TeeGee]

I find a lot depends upon the quality of the compost in the first instance.

I usually seive for seeds and cuttings for two reasons;

1) I think it gets things of to a good start.

2) Because I generally use multipurpose compost for this and not knowing the fertiliser content I prefer to add up to 50% silver sand to my mix to dilute the fertilser content and open up the compost to make it more free draining.

I usually put the lumps on my compost as it tends to break up the layers of different composting materials e.g. household waste/grass cuttings.

See pictures here of what I mean (click on to enlage) tinyurl.com/y9coek