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Phone: 845-425-5400 Fax: 845-425-5411
Janet Schultz and Celeste Stapleton
2 parts cement by volume
2 parts perlite
3 parts long fiber sphagnum moss
Fiber mesh (a handful)
Duct tape
Dowels for drainage [coated with thin film of oil]
Dust mask A MUST
Rubber gloves A MUST
2 cardboard boxes, one at least 2 inches smaller than the larger box.
To prepare the boxes, tape all around the sides of each so they will not bulge when the concrete mix is added.
Prepare your Hypertufa mix as follows:
Wear a dust mask until all the ingredients are wet.
The sphagnum MUST be sifted. Rubbing over a plastic plant carrier or flat will work fine. The ones that have a diamond shape work as well as a plastic crate.
Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. It is vital that all ingredients be THROUGHLY blended.
Add water sparingly. The consistency ought to resemble large curd cottage cheese.
Place about 1-1 1/2 inch of the mixture into the larger box, tamping until a light skim of water appears on the surface.
Coat the dowels with oil for easy removal and insert them into the concrete to create drainage holes.
Center the smallest box inverted over the dowels and press lightly into the cement to anchor.
PACK the Hypertufa on all sides, filling the box to desired depth. Cover with plastic so it can dry SLOWLY.
Make sure you rinse all the equipment afterward because cement cannot be removed easily from tools and the wheel barrow when hardened.
Leave the Hypertufa alone and covered for at least 36 hours. Curing slowly makes a stronger trough.
After it is hardened, cut an X in the center of the interior box using a box cutter and remove the interior box. Cut the corners of the larger box making sure to cut the tape and peel off the sides only. The bottom stays in place until the trough can be safely moved.
The outside of the trough can now be carefully worked on to give it character. Rub gently with a wire brush or carefully carve your design.
Allow the box to sit outside all winter so it is exposed to the elements. This exposure not only cures the cement, it washes the caustic chemicals from the concrete so as not to harm the plants that are put in.
Phone 845-735-2904
BILL KOLVEK PERENNIALS / P.O.Box 8525 Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677 / FAX# 845-735-1157