Hi Charleen, have you done any hyperturfa lately?

No, some of mine fall apart. I got to come up with a different recipe I guess.

That's a bummer. What recipe did you use?

I can't remember, that was last year. I'm so air headed lately. I think I got the recipe on the wall out there. What recipe do you use Chris????

I use one part Portland cement, 1½ parts sifted peat moss and 1½ parts perlite. I don't measure the water. Another recipe which will make it a bit stronger is 1 part each Portland cement, play sand, sifted peat moss and perlite. The sand makes it heavier, but stronger.

Thank you, I wrote it down.

Your pots were so cute last year. Hope you give it another try.

I will give it another try. i like those up there that looks like the baggies sack. May try that....

Come on Lynn - if I can do it, you sure can! I used the sandblasting slag instead of sand, and it seemed to work great - and it doesn't change the colour. I thought it would make the finished product darker, but they look the same.

They look great Jacki.
I am trying to get brave.

It sounds scarier than it is.

Aw, Lynn, just go to your little place and throw it together, you can do it....

I'm going to make more this weekend - let's have a race!

You win.
Oh, sorry, that wasn't suppose to be my reaction was it?
Tomorrow I am going to try and get the rest of the new semps into the newly prepped raised bed, before the rain starts some time tomorrow. If the rain comes early tomorrow maybe that is what I should do, play in the garage making hypertufa pots.

Well, I didn't get any done either. I have great plans, but no stamina!

Maybe tomorrow I'll do some. It was so warm today that I didn't really feel like doing much in the greenhouse, it gets too hot for comfort in there. I'll make some real plans, get my three orders out of the way to clear a bench, and then maybe I'll be motivated to do the hypertufa when it rains. It's supposed to be cloudy and showery, so maybe a project indoors will be just the ticket.

I still have to take my previous batch out of the water bath. Oddly (or not) I thought they were going to be really crumbly, but in the last few days they hardened up quite well, so I guess it doesn't really matter if the peat moss is in larger pieces.

More experimenting, that's what we need!

The official curing time for cement is 28 days for the best strength. It continues to get harder for years, but the first 28 days is the critical part.

The nice thing about larger pieces of peat moss is that with rain and other "weather" the peat moss eventually wears/falls out of the tufa. That makes them look older and more weathered - a nice look!

I hadn't though of that - it would make it more porous, over time. Then moss could take root and cover it. Oh, how delicious! I'm going to make some today, I just have to.

I wanted to make some this weekend too, but it's just too cold and rainy. Maybe next weekend.

I'm just to cold and rainy to do it today. Well maybe just the cold part. If I poke myself in the eye I could be rainy also.
The sun came out later this afternoon. It's beautiful but breezy out. Sighhhhh, no energy today.

Well, I made three pinch pots and two larger ones. I'm aiming for a trough, but it turned out a bit small. I will just keep trying...