"N8N" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi all,

I've started to clean off my driveway - the previous owners of my
house were kind of eco-nuts, and didn't use it. They apparently put
down wood chips on the driveway and let them decompose, which makes
great topsoil, but there's already 12" or more of good topsoil over
the whole property so I don't need any more. I've already given away
quite a bit, but there's a lot more left to go until the whole
driveway is uncovered.

My problem is this; I think I've already gotten through all the "easy
pickins" - the one large pile that remains seems to have a lot of
gravel and rock mixed in with it, like at some point there was a
gravel mulched flowerbed that got covered over. I'd like to somehow
separate the topsoil from the gravel so I could use the gravel and
rocks rather than having to give the whole mess away as "fill dirt."
I'm envisioning some kind of coarse screening - window screen is too
fine - is there something readily available that would let me sift
this quickly? Maybe even something that I could rent for a couple of
days? What would I ask for?

thanks,

nate

(uncovered almost eight feet more of driveway this weekend, only
another 16 or so to go!)



There a misnamed product called hardware cloth which is not cloth at all,
but metal mesh with 1/4" square holes, perfect for sifting soil. Call some
real hardware or farm supply stores. You'll have to build a frame out of
wood and staple or screw the cloth to it. Your imagination should tell you
the details.