Another New Hobby!

I was going to wait to tell you all about my newest "thing", but I'm so excited about the results I couldn't stand it.

I made my first hypertufa "trough" the other day. Hypertufa is a mixture of cement, some sort of aggregate, and a lightweight filler material such as sphagnum moss, vermiculite, perlite, etc. There are all kinds of different "recipes" and basically you just work with it until you find what works for you. A lot depends on the area you live in and the current weather conditions.

The results simulate an ancient stone trough. The weight of a hypertufa product is just a fraction of an actual concrete object. I don't yet know about the porosity as I made mine with being a planter in mind. I have read that the inside can be treated to become watertight if that is desired.

Here you can see the drainage hole I made. It's actually the top two inches of a "Comet Cleanser" tube. After this was done I realized it may not have been a good idea after all. I think the cardboard part of the tube will eventually disintegrate and the metal part may slip out, since it's not anchored in the hypertufa. Next time I'll use a metal mesh material and have it anchored in the wet material.

The bad thing is they take so long to "cure". One book advises to wait at least 10 days before using and recommends curing for an entire month. In these pictures mine is just three days old and is getting lighter in color and weight with every day.

Eventually I'll show you step by step how I made my trough (did I mention how easy it is!!). It also doesn't cost a lot, though I'd be willing to bet you'd pay a lot for this at some specialty garden boutique.

The cool thing is I can make any shape I want and even mosaic the heck out of them! Hypertufa can also be used to make sculptures. The possibilities are endless!