Sharon,

Not alot of activity here right now. Welcome and everyone seems to be helpful here. I have asked some dumb questions and gotten great answers.
I had thought about that book or one similar so am glad to know that I probably don't need it. There is a wealth of info and pic here. I have a whole bunch saved. Wish I had time to do it all.

I don't think I have ever dreamed about tufa. By now you probably have them unwrapped and have great rocks. If they crumble use it for gravel.

Kathy

Kathy...thanks for the response...I was beginning to feel like the last person left on earth. Sharon
ps...I'm afraid to unwrap...thought I'd wait awhile longer...seems that everyone has a different preference...from 2days to a month. ;)

I think I kept the first few wrapped a couple days and now I don't even wrap. But I do spray with water daily. I am by means an expert. This is my second year and the first year pots are doing fine and I left them outside all winter. Kathy

Kathy, I've unwrapped them and they're looking great...I'm so proud. Thanks Sharon

I'm just getting into it..Building a fountain..

Kind of going off the original post but I would like to make a fountain too. I'm still trying to get plants in the ground. My rhubarb that I was growing for the leaves got to wet and died so had to hunt up some more. Keep us posted on the fountain. Kathy

I tried a few border rocks a few night ago...and the result are somewhat different. Like someone had posted here before, their husband said they looked like Dino poop. I'm not sure I did them right. Going to look for more info. I did the half of shovel scoop in a grocery bag. Once they cure, they might look better but for now, I'm not sure. I do have concrete stain I plan to color them up a bit.

I will just keep working on them until the end result is good....(or until I run out of the big bag of perlite)

How did you do your stones?

My stones are 1 part portland cement, 1 part peat moss and 1 part perlite. I use two plastic grocery bags because some of them have holes, but also because the surface of the stone will have more lines and won't be so smooth. I place them where they will stay in the boarder and unwrap after two days. I would keep them wrapped longer if the weather was hot and dry. But so far, we've had frequent rains. The color changes gradually. Be patient...that's the hardest part. Sharon

I TOO AM A NEWBIE. I AM BEGINNING WITH A MAJOR PROJECT. HUBBY AND I STARTED MONDAY PUTTING A TUFA BORDER AROUND MY FLOWER BEDS. HE IS THE MIXER AND I THE FORMER. IT IS SIMILAR TO A CURB WITH A MOWING EDGE. (HOPEFULLY TO CUT DOWN ON WEED EATING.) WE COVERED THE CURB WITH PLASTIC THE 1ST DAY AND THEN UNCOVERED IT ON THE 2ND. WE HAVE A SPRINKLER SYSTEM SO IT GETS MOISTURE EVERYDAY. WEDNESDAY WE STARTED ANOTHER SECTION AND DID THE SAME THING. EVERYTHING LOOKS FINE SO FAR. THE FLOWER BED WE'RE WORKING ON NOW IS 39' LONG AND APPROX. 10' WIDE. IT WILL TAKE 3 DAYS TO FINISH THE WHOLE THING. I ALSO MADE A STEPPING STONE THE 1ST DAY. I JUST PUT THE TUFA WHERE I WANTED IT AND HAND FORMED IT ROUND AND ABOUT 1 1/2 THINK. IT HAS NOT BEEN COVERED AT ALL. SEEMS TO BE DOING FINE. IT'S A LOT OF WORK BUT I AM TIRED OF THE LANDSCAPE BLOCKS. TOO NORMAL. WILL KEEP YOU POSTED.

Hi all..I will be trying some tufa rocks for the first time this weekend. I'm hoping they won't be the subject of a horrific future nightmare, full of cracks and dismemberment ..haha

Anywho..I will be using the plastic grocery bag method to make many medium/paver size rocks to line my garden.(80ft of edging)

A quick question- Can anyone give me an estimation of how many "rocks" I can expect to get out of an 80lb bag of Portland cement?(mixed as tufa of course)

I understand it all depends on how big I make them.. I am just wondering how many 80lb back breaking bags I will eventually have to lug home..lol

Thank you =) Bonnie

Bonnie, Portland cement comes in 47 and 94 pound bags, what are you really using, concrete? The 47 pound bags are harder to find. Most places carry the 94 pound bags so expect to really have a broken back. There are so many recipes that we can't calculate for you. How much water you use can also change the equation too.
Try doing a search on this forum. It's possible that someone made garden rocks from a whole bag and listed their recipe and the results. Billie

The last batch of rocks I made I used quikcrete, yes I know they aren't turfa. But it seemed easy and faster. Plain general cheapest. Sorry Billie Ann I know this will drive you insane with my discription of what I used and how I did it!! It was $2.98 for an 80# bag. I got 38 out of 5 bags. Of course I need 2 more bags to finish the border. It was just straight no additatives. I used a regular shovel full. I put in bag twisted the top and put the top part on the bottom. When I unwrapped them it looked like (sorry) butt cracks on end of several of them where the bag was pleated on the bottom. The ones I did last year this way are still fine. They have aged and no longer look like concrete or whatever the finished product should be called. Just my 2 cents worth. Kathy

BUT Kathy, what product is in the 80 lb bag? Not quikcrete cause we all know that is the manufacturers name and not the name of the product. That drives me crazy and rocks shaped like butt cracks! Billie

If my rocks were bigger I would have a traffic jam. The nosy neighbor saw me out there unwrapping them, got in his truck circled around the neighborhood and drove by. I guess he really didn't want to walk the 50 yards to see first hand! He knows I'm a little off! And that I have no idea what is in the 80lb bag, I just drag it home! Kathy

Kathy, SIGH! It's written on the bag under the manufacturers name.
Maybe you could build a catapult and send him a couple. Billie

I know I will never get it right! I don't know what I'm doing but I'm having fun trying to figure it out! Wonder what it is? I will keep trying!!! Kathy

Overflowhank,

How is your project going? I have been tossing around the idea of doing a variation of your idea. Does anyone know if it is possible to make a combination curb and border hypertufa rock? Or would it be better if there was a seperate curb rock and border rock?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

here

What a great 3 months of Hypertufa! I love this new hobby and no more night mares. I go to sleep thinking of my next mold..will it be inside or outside. All my rocks look great. I can make only one at a time..approx one half dish tub of mix. I put a couple of bags into a plastic flower pot and pound the mix in. Then I place the bag of mix, along the edge of the bed and unwrap in a couple of days. If I had it to do over, I'd give each rock a good brushing with my new wire brush. Also, I read about someone adding acrylic paint to hypertufa mixture...actually it's added to the water. He was adding about 20% paint to his water. I had lots of tubes and bottles from my last project, so I thought a little color in my rocks would be nice. And it is. I didn't use as much as he did, just a bottle or tube of acrylic paint per gal of water. The colors are very natural looking...even the reds and blues.
The last couple of weeks I've moved up to hypertufa bowls, saucers, and toad houses. I love the Simply Hypertufa CD for molds. Shows examples of inside, outside molds and the finished project...these pictures are worth a thousand words. And I've learned to wire brush after 24-48 hours, wrap and cure for a few days and then into a water bath.
All in all, this is great therapy. My biggest problem now is living in this small town and the closest bag of Portland Cement is an hour away.
Thanks to all for all your help and encouragement. Sorry that I'm not talented enough to post pictures..too old.
Granny Sharon

Hi Granny Sharon, I tried the bottle of paint for color and the paint has now faded in 4 mo. Would be interested if others have had that problem. Maybe should start a new thread. I think I am to old to post pic too, but I did print off directions with simple directions. That is as far as I have gotten. Maybe we should do this together, I'm old too. Kathy

http://photos.gardenweb.com/garden/galleries/2009/08/south_flower_bed.html