Hypertufa Party at Critter's June 23

Heya! We've had some recent chatter about doing hypertufa & concrete workshops as an excuse to get together... I figured I'd pick a date & get the ball rolling!

I'm thinking we could get together around 2 pm, Saturday June 23 (not the 24th, sorry for the error!). Thas should give us plenty of time to fool around with the hypertufa, have some dinner (I'll either make something ahead of time or we'll get a bunch of pizza), and whatnot. If this date isn't good for you, not to worry... hopefully our first concrete workshop won't be our last! LOL

Please post to let me know if you can come, so I can figure out materials... I'm pretty sure I've got enough peatmoss & perlite, but I want to be sure we have enough concrete mix on hand. I've got gloves & dust masks and a couple of small mixing troughs, so we're pretty well set.

I think it's probably best to start with a little planter of some sort (using a dollar store container or a box as a mold)... maybe we'll try a few toad houses also, using Joyanna's sand castle molds... we'll chat about what we want to do.

So I can keep track, here's who has mentioned being able to come:
Terri
Happy (maybe Darryl, maybe Lee)
Sally (maybe Mark)
Catbird
Holly & Ric + friend
Vicki
Donner
SSG
neighbors: Carol, Heather, possibly 6 more + 3 kids for dinner, Judy +2 kids, remember to check with Rhonda


OK... figuring up workshop costs... 2 bags of cement, which should be about $10 each, 3 parts peat & perlite, about another $10... a dozen mixing basins from the dollar store, 6 bags of sand, concrete additive or fibers probably another $10...

I think we're looking at about $7 apiece for the 12 of us; make it $10 if we mix up a second batch of dry mix to take home... there might be another dollar or two of "incidentals" in there, but I'm not too concerned, just want to get the main part of the materials covered.

notes for myself on what I need to get together:
gloves, yes, masks, yes, nitrile gloves (might need another box of these)
mixing/work buckets from the dollar store, maybe a few extra bowls or planters, yes
box tops, produce boxes from Costco, yes
extra box of black plastic garbage bags, yes
box of gallon zip-locs for extra dry mix, yes
thin foam "board" pieces for molds... think I have a small stash of these...
bamboo skewers for molds, checking depth, yes
peat moss, yes
perlite, yes
portland cement -- 4 bags, yes
concrete fortifier and/or nylon fibers STILL NEED TO GET THIS (although it's optional on smaller items)
at least 4 more bags of sand, yes
chicken wire, yes
wire snips (have one pair -- maybe somebody can bring another)


This message was edited Jun 21, 2012 9:44 PM

Sorry Jill, Ric and I have a family party that day. I am sure you will have a great time. Maybe we can make the next one.

Jill, count me in for now - the only thing that may conflict is a retirement party for a friend that we are hosting - they haven't set the actual date yet, but it will either be late June or early July - and will probably be on a Sat vs Sun, so I should be good for that date. Hey, I just re-read your post and you said Sat, Jun 24 - did you mean Sat, Jun 23 or Sun, Jun 24?

watching thread...

I'd love to come.

Shoot, I was thinking Saturday June 23... That's what I get for posting a thread late at night! (I had it ready to launch yesterday -- probably with the correct date and everything LOL -- and then my computer rebooted itself.)

If Sunday ends up working better for people, we could switch it, but let's talk about Saturday for now.

I'll ask Terry if she could please change the date on the subject line for me.

I can do either date.

I can do Sunday :)

I could do the Saturday date.

We have the family reunion on the 24th, otherwise we my be able to participate if it ends up on the 23rd. Ric

This message was edited Jun 12, 2012 4:11 PM

Ric and I can come of Sat. June 23rd.

This is fun! I'm glad folks are interested. Jim may be out & about that evening, so it could also be a "girls' night in" for anybody able to stay on... Our last girls' night in, we had talked about doing something "crafty" but ended up just visiting & chatting LOL. This time, we'll start with the project!

Jill, don't we need to make something portable, because it will come home with us? So, not too big and heavy, and maybe does it stay on a board or in a plastic bin...
I'm remembering some pots that used leaves to wrap and got cool leaf vein prints on the surface.

I might need to go to VA on that day, but will try to come back early enough to make it to the Hypertufa party. Do I need to bring anything with me? Supplies? Food?

Sally makes a good point -- how do we transport projects that haven't hardened?

I was thinking we might need boards to work on then we can move the whole board into our cars.

Oh I have a folding table and a small folding utility table I could bring to work on.

Hmm. We will need to be really carefully planning this, or we'll have a major mudslide in our cars! I may try to make something that will fit in a plastic tub!

I've got a couple of plastic folding tables (like the white one I had at the swap), but if you have an old card table or folding table to bring along, that would be welcome... somehow, there's never too much work surface.

I attended a hypertufa workshop a while back (sponsored by our local extension service & master gardener group)... we used dollar store containers for molds (a box lined with plastic bags would also work, I think), put it in a plastic bag (for curing as well as for transport), and it was no problem to bring home that way.

I'll check to be sure we have a good supply of sturdy cardboard, too... maybe pick up some of those produce boxes from Costco that I was using at the plant swap, in case anybody tries a freeform project of some kind LOL.

If you create something truly tricky to transport, you also have the option of leaving it with me while it hardens. I promise I'll give it back to you, even if it turns out really really cool LOL.

I think the leaf-print thing is probably more of a quick-crete project; hypertufa seems like it would have too coarse a texture to hold a leaf print.

Hopefully I'll be up to dragging bags of cement around by then... I slipped ("slipped" is too mild a term for the acrobatics I performed on my way down) on a wet slate paver and gave my kneecap a really good whack yesterday. Thankfully, I didn't twist or sprain anything that I can tell, but I've got a heck of a bruise there. Better today than yesterday, but pretty much out of commission by this evening. I've got ice on it now... aaahhhhh. :-)

Yes, that was indeed a bald-faced play for sympathy! LOL

Awww. Lots of sympathy coming your way.

Seriously -- do you think it would be better to do this party at a later date?

This message was edited Jun 13, 2012 9:10 PM

Naw, if it turns into something serious I'll let you know, but I'm sure I'll be functional by that date... besides, the point of hypertufa is that it's lightweight, right? LOL... lightweight relative to using sand and gravel in the mix, anyway. Worst case, the guys at Lowe's can get it into the car, and you all can help me get it from the car to our work area! We'll do it outside if the weather is nice (and not too hot or too totallly skeetery by then); otherwise we can work in the garage (park the car in the driveway & open the door into the house so we get A/C!)..

Don't over-think the logistics. I'll work it out & keep it simple & portable. I may ask folks to chip in a few bucks for materials ($5 or $10... thinking we might want to make up some extra mix to send home with everybody). We'll keep food simple, also. I'll make something easy for dinner... if you're inspired to bring some sort of munchie or dessert, that's fine, but I tend to have an overstocked pantry anyway (and a little girl who keeps changing her mind about her favorite foods), so we won't have to look too hard for nibbles.

This message was edited Jun 18, 2012 2:10 PM

OF COURSE we'll all cover materials ! And move them.
Hm sounds like I am very much interested in coming, doesn't it
; ^)
I'm still thinking I would do something fairly small, that I can make and bring home in a plastic sink-size washtub.
Does the stuff go on the outside or inside of the mold?

At the workshop I attended, we made the planter by building up the 'tuffa on the inside of a plastic bowl mold. But the stuff was thick enough that I don't see how it would be a problem putting it on the outside instead -- and then you'd have more planting space, whatever the volume of the mold. I'm reading up, but I think it needs to be 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick, and that really reduces planting space inside a chip bowl or dishpan.

I think dollar store containers will be the way to go... I'll have a few options here, but if anybody wants to bring something different to use as a mold, go for it.

I'm asking questions on various forums... the options open up a lot for things that require being supported in a bed of damp sand (from leaves to balls)... but that would actually make transport easier, if we put damp sand in a sturdy box or plastic tub for our project. We'll try that for concrete leaves, another day. :-)

Building on the outside of the mold would allow more surface texture. Dd your inside built one come out very smooth on the outside?


After reading rcn's instructions for a concrete ball, last winter, winter before? ? I swore I would make one this summer....

I have been wanting to make a ball for years, just never seem to get around to it. The one planter I made was formed over a beer box. I filled the box with pieces of styrofoam to give it some support then covered it with a plastic bag. Then molded to the outside, since it was pretty big I added chicken wire to make it stronger and pushed the mixture through the wire. After it cured for a bit I took a wire brush to the edges to rough it up a bit.

Holly, where did you get your blue globe fountain? I love it!

Jill, I'm looking forward to it! I have access to fig leaves. Should I bring them? They'd make such fun imprints. Or are we not doing that this time?

And I have a ton of peat moss and Perlite leftover, too, just in case we end up needing more.

Happy I got it in N.C. at a shop that sells pots and other things. I wasn't very expensive but they haven't had any more like it since. I think you could make a hypertufa ball that would be similar using a child's play ball or a Pilates ball. We could make mushrooms with the extra left overs.

Our fig tree is pretty big this year, so I think we can get leaves if we need them. I'm pretty sure I haven't managed to kill off or pull up all the burdock, either -- those are some pretty big leaves. No reason not to try several different things, really... planter, hypertufa leaf (we can do leaves again another time with quickwall, too), stepping stone...

I was thinking that hypertufa might be too coarse to hold leaf imprints, but that might depend on the recipe we use. For simplicity, I was thinking we should start with one of the "classic" peat moss & perlite recipes, but we'll see if we get experimental. I'm also going to figure out some kind of fiber or acrylic strengthener we can add -- something easier than those stupid fibers they gave us in that workshop that took forever to chop up and "fluff" apart LOL.

Maybe we should make up a mega-batch of mix with the portland cement, perlite and peat moss... split the cost and split up the dry mix... whatever you don't use on that day, you can take home to try something else with. Would that work for everybody? I can get a bunch of $5 bags of builders sand, too (the coarse brown stuff), and if you do anything that needs a bag (or half a bag) of sand, you can chip into the kitty accordingly.

I've got a big roll of chicken wire I can contribute to our workshops, too. The bunnies seem to be eating the clover rather than my garden the past couple of years, making us all happier and letting me do without fencing the veggie bed. I'll have to find Jim's tin snips... :-)

Hi Jill, not sure if I can make it at this point, but here is a post i made on hypertufa troughs on DG. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/529048/?hl=Buttoneer

I just got the coolest idea from Goldfinch over on the semp forum at ATP... hyertufa "pinch pots" to use up any leftover wet mix, formed in a sandwich baggie! She posted a photo of the rock garden border along the side of her house that just made everybody drool... clumps of semps & sedums plus the little hypertufa pots scattered here and there, just gorgeous!

JILL- I will come for sure, ( and Catbird will ride with me if she'll have me!) Wasn't sure if you thought I was a def, but now I see you had me on the list up there. Tee hee!
Now can't wait to se what Buttoneer posted on that thread..

Thanks, Buttoneer! I was just looking for that thread... remembered there were a lot of good ideas on it!

At this point I'm thinking we might save the leaves for another workshop, maybe try them with qwikwall instead... If we do a hypertufa container/trough and/or a stepping stone and/or a toad house... and make some little mushrooms and pinch pots from the remaining material... I think we'll have our collective hands full!

Oh, I included "maybe" attendees on the list also, Sally... but you were coming up with enough ideas about transporting our projects etc. that I was pretty sure you'd be coming. :-)

I still hear Joyanna... Jim was going to take her up some time ago, but I think it's a good guess he's lost track of the time... be back...

I will bring a table too. Wouldn't hurt to have more table space. Now to pick out my mold...

I don't think that the leaves will show up very good with the rough texture of the hypertufa. Much better to do a different project with them.
Donner and Sally, I have a few things Gita left at our house. She said that one of you might be able to get them to her if I bring them to the party.
Jill, Vickie (Crickethillct) and my friend Jane are interested in coming, will let you know if they will be coming with us. I have been looking around for some nice shapes for our pots. Today at the HGHA Picnic we came home with 4 plastic pots that have a really nice shape.

Cool!

I think any sort of plastic bowl or pot would work well. We'll just give them a good spray of Pam so they release after the 'tufa has set up. It's probably not a bad idea to start with something smaller here, just in terms of being able to transport it easily... but I'm really looking forward to seeing some larger scale projects from everybody later this summer!

I've been wanting a shallow broad pot to plant herbs -- I remember some years ago you had a bunch, Critter, and they were such a nice shape. I'd like to do something like that, but i don't know where I'd find a mold. Do you have any suggestions? Can I go freeform (I assume not)?

boxes, plastic containers and lids. Any combination of items can be taped together and cover with plastic bags. Wadded up newspapers can be used to make a smaller item a bit bigger and fill in spaces between. Take a look at inexpensive stryoform coolers that can be cut into pieces to make the shape you want or check out the craft stores for sheets of it.

Do you mean those broad terra cotta colored plastic bowls? I think I've got a couple that aren't currently in use (and a couple more we could de-plant)... I also have some smaller oval planters from the dollar store and some rectangular window-box type ones also (I think those are like 4-5 inches across, 18-20 inches long, would need to pull tape to be sure, but you get the jist).

I've got some big, sturdy produce boxes from Costco (not deep, 4 to 6 inches tall) that I think would make good "platforms" for building hypertufa planters. If we put them inside a scrunched-flat black plastic garbage bag when we start, then it should be easy to pull the bag up and over to seal in the humidity when we're done (or if we take a break). I'll look for a few more of those and also for a few smaller sturdy box-tops or shallow boxes that I think could hold a layer of damp sand for making a toad-house or a few little mushrooms.

I really liked the mushroom / toad house on the thread Buttoneer found for us. If you have some sort of plastic bowl you'd like to use for a mushroom top, bring it... I think I've got a good selection of plastic pots, cups, sour cream buckets, etc. that you could use for stems. Also, if there's a box (which you can line with plastic for a trough) or

Actually, I think it should work well to put a "stem form" container upside down in a box top, push it down into a layer of sand (so the "stem" is taller than the "dome"), mound damp sand up & over it, and then form the hypertufa top. The stem would then be molded by a layer of hypertufa *inside* another container of the same type used to make the indentation under the mushroom cap... and the two pieces should fit together pretty well. Leave a "door" opening at the rim of the stem pot, and it's a toad house. :-)

Do you think it seems reasonable to do 2 projects? I think we can manage it, but if you only get 1 done you can always do the other at home. I really like the idea of making extra dry mix... unless people would rather just split up an extra bag or two of portland cement and use it on whatever project at home (different 'tufa recipe, stepping stone, etc.) Let me know!