[Buryite]

Just wondering if there is anything i could use to filter the glass from the soil?.... I think the previous owner must have had greenhouse's at some time and the panels have smashed and blown all over.

If anyone has any idea's it would be much appreciated.

[joyfull]

All I can think about is to sieve a section at a time but this would take a long while, so I guess just wear gloves and pick out the big bits as you go along 

[loopylottie]

oh i know that feeling too well. uummm a large soil sieve might do it. it will take a age though. or failing that a thick pair of gloves and a bucket. nothing beats a bit of hard work. :happy:

LottieX

[Buryite]

 Can you buy these soil sieve's or do people usually make them?

[Ma and Pa Snip]

Unfortunately for you there is nothing that is going at work by magic to pick up glass.

In giving this answer I am assuming that some of this glass has broken into small pieces

As suggested it's
a) pick it up by hand
b) hand sieve the ground over a period of time

or

c) hire a mechanical sieve

The problem with b and c is that unless its a very fine sieve shards will still get through.

In any case I think a small first aid kit might be a handy addition to your allotment kit if it isn't part of it already.

*********
Sieves are available in various grades of sieve size from garden centres, hardware stores and stores such as B & Q, Homebase etc

[andy135]

Can you buy these soil sieve's or do people usually make them?

Been and queued at Bury. 

[Yorkie]

Also be aware that even once you've done the initial clearance, you will keep getting glass coming to the surface over time, so don't become too complacent.

[joyfull]

thats so true Yorkie - it seems rubbish has a habbit of rising to the surface for years.

[Mazzie]

I have the same problem, luckily its only a small area and the glass has been sat for a long while so isnt sharp.

The best thing ive found is a sieve, a fancy one like this would be great but im using a bog standard cheapy one. 

Good luck!

[Gravedigger]

Can you buy these soil sieve's or do people usually make them?

We made ours in a wooden frame for the same job as you're tackling but Wilk.... (the same name as the razor blades but without the sword) had them for £2 last summer

[Buryite]

Thanks for all the advice, i think a day or two of sieving and hand picking will get the majority of it out, but it would make life easier for allotment owners if they made all greenhouse's with perspex panels?

[Goldfinger]

I've seen one of those bigger mechanical seives, it was made with a cylider of whatever grade mesh (quite large squares on this one), on it's side with a slight angle.

It had a diddy petrol engine that made the drum of mesh turn, and so you feed one end, and out comes 'graded' stuff underneath, and the lumps and rubbish falls out the end.

Could it be possible to make something similar with a bit of DIY know how with smaller mesh to separate the glass??

[Ice]

Is there any chance that using such a mechanical sieve might just grind the glass into smaller pieces?  I ask because I have been fighting buried glass ever since I moved into my present home and have converted the garden to a veg plot.  I pick and pick and pick and yet still I find more.

[andy135]

Our allotments won't allow plastic greenhouses or polytunnels, but you can have glass.
Where are health and safety when you need them? 
I know glass is more efficient in letting in light and retaining heat but plastic is much safer.

[Ma and Pa Snip]

Is there any chance that using such a mechanical sieve might just grind the glass into smaller pieces?  I ask because I have been fighting buried glass ever since I moved into my present home and have converted the garden to a veg plot.  I pick and pick and pick and yet still I find more.

I would agree Ice that there is every chance of that happening with the hand operated one pictured earlier on the thread because it works  by a bar moving the soil to be sifted, stones wont break but glass potentially would.

The larger mechanical model I was referring to, and that goldfinger also has just, works on a engine driven rotating drum with a tumbling action.
I am not over familar with them but would hope they were speed adjustable so that a slow speed could be used
There is a chance some glass would break further, but a lot would also be removed.

Its not the perfect solution, It also probably isnt a cheap one.  I have seen them for sale but I assume they could be hired.

I dont think there is a perfect cheap solution other than years of observation and hand removal.