Hummm,the 'natural' color for tufa is grey.:)
But brown and other earth tone pigments are available almost everywhere.
Tufa may or may not be a good choice for retaining walls depending on the location, the winter conditions, and the strength of the tufa.
Tufa is almost always going to be weaker than concrete and more susceptible to ice damage.
Tufa was created to imitate the look of stone without the weight, it's not an ideal substitute for concrete. Phone up your local concrete guy and ask him what would be required to make a concrete retaining wall in your location and plan accordingly.
Personally I would put in a proper concrete retaining wall and then cap them with a covering of tufa if that is the look you desire. If the capping is damaged by frost it can easily be replaced.

Check your biggest local autoparts supplier, they can get you walnuts for your tufa.

You're right, the natural tufa color is grey, I meant that I wanted a VARIETY of different naturally occurring colors as might be found in real stones. Sorry about that!! I was just hoping to have a more natural pallet of colors than just concrete grey.

I wanted to use the tufa to make blocks for an elevated bed in my garden, not to hold back a substantial amount of earth as a retaining wall would have to do. I was hoping to be able to do it with tufa so that it could get the moss and algae on it to look more natural than concrete blocks. I don't really care for those concrete blocks on the market that everyone is using. They just look so sterile, not to mention the price. Anyhow, I live in Illinois (northwest of Chicago, 30 miles from WI) in zone 5, pretty cold and harsh winters full of snow, and seriously hot summers. I'm not sure how tufa will hold up here, but I wanted to give it a try.

Just out of curiosity, why would an autoparts dealer carry walnuts??

Becky

Take a look at sites involving wool dyeing.My wife is using tree bark(madrone or arbutus),scotch broom,mushrooms that sort of thing for her wools(llama and dog).Would they work on concrete?Don't know.I'm using Davis Colurs and Mason Colours for my stuff!

Becky many here have been creating tufa blocks for that purpose, making decorative retaining walls. I plan one too!
Unlike a trough you don't have to worry about frozen soil breaking your blocks.
So tufa away I say!:)

The reason autoparts places have walnuts is they are sold ground up like sand and used in autobody shops as a sand blasting medium.
I've not bought any so I have no idea if it is costly.
I know paint stores sell small pricy bags that you can add to floor paint to make it non slip.
I was told walnuts have been used in boat deck varnish for decades to make them non slip. :)

Tea dye stains are great and it cures and leaches at the same time! GB

Becky,
I could be wrong but I think tufaenough is talking about ground walnut shells not the walnuts themselves. They do indeed use ground walnut shells in non skid paint. Hmmm, I bet they would make good aggregate.

Amy

Becky, the tufa breaks down because the organic material (peat moss) breaks down in it- I think. If you use cement, sand, perlite and/or vermiculate, maybe it is better for retaining wall.

Any comment or idea about this?

I'm not really sure about this, but I THINK the dye part of walnut shells is the green covering that grows outside the wrinkly shell you see at the market.

Sue

I agree kobold.
The great peat look can be achieved by applying a topping coat after the brick is done.
You can go nuts with the peat in this top coat because you don't need the strength and it will look great.
I don't know how long it will last but a recipe of just peat and Portlands looks very cool and stuff starts growing in it almost right away. I have these little green plants growing on a peat brick that is only a couple months old and it's sitting on a shelf nowhere near the ground.

Gardener Boy,

I'm intrigued by the tea dyes... any experience using them? That sounds like what I am looking for, because I would like some variance in the color from one batch to the next, and I would assume that using different teas could achieve that effect. Do I just brew up a batch of tea and substitue some of the water, or is there a different way of doing it? I'm a newbie.

Thanks to everyone for your help! My husband always thought I was crazy due to my love for all things concrete, but now that I've found this site and showed him some of your beautiful projects and art he's coming around. He asked me if I could make a countertop for our kitchen remodel!! How exciting is that??? I'm going to work up to it by practicing on the blocks and stepping stones to get a feel for working with portland, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Thanks again,

beck

Becky, these guys make counter tops look easy.
Just last night in response to another thread here I exchanged emails with a young couple who attended just one of the BuddyRhodes seminars.
They feel they are ready to tackle not just the counter but the sinks in their home as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: So you want to make a concrete counter.

I'm already in the process of building a retaining wall for a raised flower bed myself. Its about ten inches tall and three to four inches wide and roughly fifty feet long. The block look is what I wanted also. Instead of making individual blocks I poured a continuous wall of concrete using a form and cut in the blocks with a razor blade and shaped it up after it set. My wall has already fooled two people into believing its made of stacked blocks .

tuffaenough,

Thanks for the link!! BuddyRhodes website is awesome! My hubby wonders why I'm in love with concrete!! I went to the library and checked out Fu-Tung Cheng's two concrete books today, "Concrete Countertops," and "Concrete at Home." I'm hoping to learn a thing or two, I saw them recommended in another thread and figured I'd check the library before making yet another book purchase... I am waiting for a book on its way from amazon.com "Making Concrete Garden Ornaments" which someone else from the forum recommended. Now if I could just get started!!!

beck

I guess Buddy Rhodes is pretty popular.
The fella who emailed me about the BR wax said his costs to attend the BR classes were paid by his employer, a cabinet making firm that is getting constant requests for concrete counters.
That could be the business to get into.:)

beckybabe, today i use white portland cement and brown sand . they didnt have white. and white marble. its came out tan . i like it dont no it this helps i am new to this . katy

Thanks Katy, maybe I will give that a try. I am spreading myself a bit thin right now, we are also trying to plan and build a treehouse for the kiddies (against all motherly instincts!), so experimenting with portland colors is not where my husband and kids want my attention to be focused, if you know what I mean!!

Thanks for the info!

Beck

Beck, you might want to look at this site. They have a resource for walnut powder below the article.

Here is a link that might be useful: Walnut and Pecan stain

Here's an old post relating to various coloring methods that may be helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Color Guides

With the tea do you just make a batch of tea, soak the piece or mist it with the mixture? Sounds easy for earth tones.
Paws

You want earth tones, just bury your tufa in a wet compost pile for a few weeks.:)
Compost 'tea' will do the job.

To get the red rust look you can use the fertilizer Ironite(?)...I believe it's called Ironite. This stuff is hard on plants though in this form so it may defeat the purpose. What about rust from rusted nails? That'll stain anything.

I've considered rust.
I have several cans filled with rusty nails bolts and washers.
I think a pot covered in this stuff and then soaked every day with a hose for a week could look very interesting. I have rust stains on my concrete deck that have been there for years.
Adding chopped up steel wool to a top coat of tufa could prove interesting as well but I'm more interested in the green you can get from copper.:)

Rust would certainly stain it!! I am hoping for a browner shade though, rather than rust colored. There is bad multi-colored 70's brick on the front of my house and I certainly don't want to accentuate the rust portion of the color scheme!!

Thanks for all of the info!

Beck

An oxide called ferrous sulphate is available through feed stores that is used to stain concrete a rust color (that's the only warning on the label). It's the active ingregient in the fertilizers people here have been using. It's used on farms as a soil nutrient for crops and as a feed supplement for critters. Cheap & it works great. You can add some into your mix or dilute it in a little water and soak or paint a piece with it.

This might sound a bit strange, but have you ever considered simply adding dirt to your mixture? I can't think of a way to get a more realistic "earth tone."
If this forum defines hyertufa as containing moss or other organic materials, then I haven't made hypertufa with dirt, but I HAVE used dirt, cement, and sand to fashion an extremely durable slab of "dirtcrete." It's been outside now for about two years and shows no signs of breakdown. I don't know why dirt couldn't also be used in a hypertufa recipe.

You know, I was thinking that recently, but forgot to ask if anyone had ever tried it. What color is your dirtcrete? Is it black, or more brown? Has anyone else ever used dirt in their hypertufa rather than peat that can share their results as well?

Thanks,

b