Yo Buff;
yes you should have at least one drain hole. maybe two if its a large trough. Get a masonry bit (1/2" or so) and put the trough on a solid surface and drill very slowly where you want the hole (s). Don't use a lot of pressure or you might fracture the piece. Let the drill do the work. Any hardware store carries these bits. As for the edges, I use a fairly hard piece of rock (granite etc.) as a tool and smooth the rough edges by rubbing them along the length of the trough. Depending on how long the turfa has cured will depend how much rubbing you'll have to do. the newer the turfa is the less rubbing you'll have to do.
Luck
Packrat

Hello Packrat! Thanks so much for your response... Would you recommend drilling the hole from the inside-out or from the outside-in? I will be having hubby help me with this, and I want to give specific instructions so we don't fracture the trough! Thanks again... Oh, and where do I get a piece of granite for smoothing the edges??
Thanks!!
Buff

Buff, do you know if it is solid hypertufa or is it hypertufa over styrofoam (some troughs are made that way). If it is hypertufa over styrofoam, you'll need to be extra careful drilling I would think. The whole idea of hypertufa is that it drains quickly and in theory shouldn't require extra drainage holes, I always add them to mine anyway.

I've always wanted to do a miniature hosta trough as well, hope it turns out well for you. Post pictures if you can.

Hi garden_chicken! I don't know for sure, but I think it is solid hypertufa. I don't really know what makes me think this, but for a tufa piece, it seems somewhat weighty. I'm thinking if it were over styrofoam it would be lighter?? When I asked the guy at the garden center where I bought it if the trough needed a drain hole or two, he said what you said... that they are supposed to be fast draining and shouldn't need a drain hole. I think I am going to try and drill at least 1 small hole, cause if I get the trough planted and find out it doesn't drain well, it will be a pain to try and drill the hole afterward! Once I get the trough planted, I will post a picture here. I just have to get the mini hostas and I'll be set!

Buff

Traditionally, hypertufa troughs are planted with alpine plants and the soil used is generally 'sharply drained'. With hostas requiring a normal soil, extra drainage is a good idea. If your trough is weighty it likely is solid.

Can I ask the size of it and how much you paid for it? There are cretators here who sell their wares and are always wondering how to price their pieces.

Thanks! Look forward to the picture.

I was disappointed last week when I walked into Menards and found that they had hypertufa troughs and planters filled with hens and chickens for $10.00. They were really light so I'm not sure if they were genuine or not.
Rhonda

Hello garden_chicken! The trough I bought is approximately 2 feet long, and maybe 8-10" wide (at the top)?? It is the kind that is narrower at the bottom, and gets wider as you get towards the top. Does that make sense?? I'm not at home, otherwise I would just take a picture and post it. I'll try to remember to do that... I purchased it from a small, locally owned nursery. The owner of the nursery told me the tufa troughs and planters they had for sale were made by a local woman. I paid $25 for it, which I thought was a good price for as large as it is. The only thing is, as I already pointed out in my posts above, it has no drain holes, and the edges around the top are still rather rough (I'm still wondering where to get a piece of granite or something to use to smooth out the edges??) So I've got to try and work on it a little bit before planting my mini hostas in it. Hope this helps!!

Thanks,
Buff

Oh, and I forgot to say that the trough is about 8 inches tall.

Buff

Buff; I always drilled from the inside out on a trough or a bowl. the idea is to have something solid (chunk of 2x4 or larger directly under the spot you are going to drill. As I said before, let the drill do the work with as little pressure as possible. As for the granite, that was just something I had lying around. Any rock harder than the turfa will work. Something else I've found very useful when smoothing edges and rough spots is some scraps of 80 grit sandpaper I got from a glass company. It is the used paper they have for smoothing the edges of glass after a cut. It comes in rather wide pieces and the glass co. just gave me their used rolls after they are no longer suitable fo glass work. It is very heavy and black in color. Don,t know the type of grit but I get a lot of use out of each piece. It seems to last forever. Hope this helps.
Packrat

I agree with you that $25 seems like a good price, rather on the cheap side I'd say. Interesting to know what people are charging.

As for smoothing the edges, I find that an old piece of concrete works well. I use one of the 'ears' that you break off stacking blocks to make curves (Alan blocks or such). It's the right size for my hand and has one really rough side and 3 smooth sides.

Packrat, how do you find these things??? I'm going to have to drop in to the local glass shop now and ask about this sandpaper! Sounds like it would have a multitude of uses.

Hi Garden Chicken: The heavy sandpaper I have is used on a large machine the glass company uses like a very big belt sander. If you know what the sandpaper on a wood working belt sander looks like, just imagine one about 100 times as big. The glass company I got mine from was just changing the belt and was going to throw the old one out. I obtained it initially for woodworking purposes. Another thing I do with it is to cut it into strips the width of paint stir sticks and hot glue it to both sides. Gives a great tool for dressing the edges of the turfa. Use popsicle (sp?) sticks for smaller detail work. It is so tuff that I didn,t think I would ever wear out the first piece. BUFF: try a monument company to get yourself a piece of granite. They shoud have a lot of small scraps around considering all the toombstones they bust up !
Later
Packrat

Hey garden_chicken & packrat! Thanks so much for the tips! I really know nothing about tufa, so I need all the help I can get. I will definitely check out a monument company... might be kinda creepy, but might be cool too! Below is the trough I have been talking about... I put a can of pop next to it for size reference. I hadn't noticed that indented line around the outside of the trough until I took these pictures... I can't wait to put the finishing touches on the trough and get it planted! Now all I need is some more mini hostas.... hmmm...

Buff
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This is just a thought, but have you put water in it to see if it drains and how fast?

Hello tokenblonde... no, I hadn't thought of putting water in it to see how fast it drains (or if it drains). That's a great idea!! I'll try it...

Buff

Hello everyone... just wanted to give an update on my trough. Today I tried tokenblonde's idea of filling the trough with water to see how fast it drains. So I filled it up, and I noticed it was actually draining pretty fast. Then I noticed something else... I noticed what looked like a hole in the bottom of the trough! So I stuck my finger in it and cleaned out the debris, and sure enough, it was a hole that hadn't been punched through quite all the way! I guess the maker of the trough did put the hole there, she just didn't go back when it was dry and finish it off. Problem solved! So now I have a hole in the bottom of the trough, I just need to smooth out the edges a little and I will be good to go!

Buff