After reading some of the newer posts, i saw some other folks are apparently having similar problems. So i'll add some additional info before you ask. Didn't add any fortifier- wasn't sure if i needed to, and opted not to. Pretty sure my mix was the right consistency- maybe a teeny bit wet, but nowhere near as wet as stepping stones mix. Wet enough to hold together in your hand to make mud patties, but not crumble or run. I screened my peat, mixed super well by hand with gloves on before i added water, and used the mist setting on the hose and mixed in as i swirled and agitated with my hand, to get everything wet but not too wet. Allowed to slake and readjusted as needed. First batch i did with a hand hoe and decided i like doing it with my hands much better- you can feel the mix and get every bit in. Make sense? I smashed and patted it into the screen & molds well. The molds are in the shade most of the day but do get some late afternoon sun for a couple hours. It has been fairly cloudy here except for the past 2 days. I didn't actually hose stuff down or wet it because it's been covered with plastic, and so humid that you can see there's condensation inside the plastic. Temps i have no control over (unfortunately!). I haven't unmolded because of how fragile they are, but i believe the instructs i read on the following link let theirs set for a month or so. It's not like a mold that is going to stick- they should lift right up when they are hard enough. If a bit of plastic sticks underneath because a seam got caught, i don't care- i'll just trim away what i can because it'll be idden. The top side is up and clean and loosely covered so i shouldn't have issues with it.

Here's the link to the site i was referencing.

Here is a link that might be useful: funky troughs

I've been making hypertufa for the last five years and don't do nearly as much as what most folks do here. I don't add fiberglass fibers, admixes, sand, etc. I just use the standard recipe of one part portland cement, one part peat moss and one part perlite. Works great. I winter in the desert, so have extreme dry temps and I summer in Oregon, with increased humidity. The only problem I have in the desert, is that I can have some cracking on my bigger projects. Have misted, bagged and everything...doesn't make a difference with those projects I just make and set out within a few days.

I also don't add drainage holes. Hypertufa has a wonderful way of wicking away moisture gradually. The plants seems to love it, especially herbs and sedums.

You can even add feet to an already cured project. I just make some mud balls, adjusting size to the size of the project, and add them to the bottom...kind of pressing in lightly. A few hours later, I gently wirebrush, making sure they don't come off during the wirebrushing.

For trough forms, just use a hard rectangular or square plastic object. Cover with several plastic bags for easy release. After filling with mud, take a smaller square or round mold (also cover with plastic bags) and squeegee it down in the center. Once you squeegee it down enough, you can leave in or take out later. Even up the sides with your putty knife and you'll be amazed at how nice the finished project is.

I added a photo of me putting feet on an already cured project.

I have found that hypertufa is an amazingly simple craft. Use equal parts of the above ingredients and be sure to cover your molds with plastic bags. You don't have to wait forever for your projects to cure. I've made many a planter, birdbath, fountain, etc. and have used them within a few days. If it's meant to hold water, I let it cure for a week or more, then add Thompson's water sealer. Sometimes it just takes one application, sometimes more.

We're all very individual in the way we do our hypertufa projects and for me, simple is best. Good luck and happy mudding!

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Adding the fibers will not affect whether or not the mix sets up and hardens properly. The pieces may be fragile and break if you remove them from the mold, but if they are you need to know it. Try removing one very carefully and see what happens.
It amazes me how many times folks start out with a large project on a short time constraint before developing some experience with the process. I think you should have experimented until you determined what mix you want to use, how wet it should be and what to expect of the setting up process. I have broken quite a few pieces removing them from the mold. The reasons were either not waiting long enough before unmolding, lack of care in handling, too thin at the corners,trying to finish the off too soon or some other preventable reason. I usually use a mix of 1:1:.75--cement/ peat moss/ perlite, but have used sand, vermiculite, potting soil, ground bark at other times.
I suggest trying to unmold and see what happens. It sounds like the mix was perhaps too dry and the mix was not smashed together enough when molding.
In the future--Experiment, experiment, experiment and you will get a handle on the simple task very quickly. Keep pieces damp until unmolded and after for a few days. Later hose them off occassionally when you are brushing and finishing. You will learn when and how much to brush,file, etc.

Thanks for the advice, guys. I appreciate your fast responses.

Fred, what i was explaining is that they really aren't in forms to unmold per se- they are sitting on top of a ridge of gravel, and so should just lift up when they're strong enough. That's why i'm reluctant to even try to move them until i'm sure they have set up well. I didn't want squares- i wanted very organic, amorphic shapes that sort of fit together like puzzle pieces- kind of hard to explain.

The real issue is the surface staying slightly soft. Have either of you had any experience with a piece staying soft on the surface? Do they eventually harden up or should i just go on and make some more? I guess my logic is if the piece is fragile, it will harden more as it cures and become stronger- but is that wrong?

If anything i'm afraid the mix may have been too wet. When i patted it down into the molds to smooth it after i really smashed it around it 'liquified' pretty much. I love how cement/tufa goes from doughey to liquidy like that. Fun stuff to play with.

I'm well aware that i should have started sooner- too late for beating me up over that (i've done it enough, thanks). I'm not adverse to experimenting, but didn't think it was going to be so touchy, honestly. Seemed simple enough from everything i read. Live & learn.

valolsen- thanks for the news that perhaps it doesn't need to cure quite so long. That does give me a little breathing room if i have to redo them. You've never had issues with the free lime leaching out and harming your plants? That was my main concern- dead or dying plants do not impress judges- LOL. Of course, it holding together long enough to get installed is important too. I guess i could make them right there in the garden but i think it gets more midday sun than my yard does. The birdbath doesn't have to be ok for birds at first- it's display only for the fair, though i would like to be able to use it at home. But i can let it cure longer afterwards, no problem. I like the idea of the little feet too. Thanks for that tip.

I understand. I consider the pile of gravel to be the mold.
It is hard to describe here just what is too soft, too wet, too dry, etc. here. You will learn from experience. If the pieces are not hard enough to turn over after four days or so, they may never cure properly. So what I suggested is turning one when you think it is hard enough, knowing you might sacrifice the piece, Rather than wait days and days only to find they are not curing as expected. You did use Portland Cement rather than Quik Crete mix, didn;t you?

Ok- i thought maybe i wasn't being clear. Yes, i used portland, rather than quickcrete. Plus screened peat and hort grade vermiculite (i didn't want white balls, and liked the fawn color & sparkle of vermiculite).

I'll ck to see how things are looking tomorrow and maybe try to turn over the smallest one (if the weather cooperates), but it's one of the more recent ones. It'll still be about a week old, so we should have a good test. If any break, that's the one i mind the least anyhow, because i don't need to worry about the lime leaching out as much on that one since it's not going to get planted, so i'm not under as tight a deadline.

Learning the too wet, dry etc from experience makes total sense. Just like trying to learn to bake from a book as opposed to learning from someone. I guess i was being naive and really, really busy with 2 teens when i didn't carve out some time to mess with it before. Hopefully it'll all work out.

I spoke with a friend tonight who did some this winter and she mentioned hers never hardened up the whole way either. It's still carvable even now. Is that typical? I had assumed it eventually got hard as regular concrete, albeit light and holier. Maybe my expectations aren't what they should be. I was going on something i read on here, not sure if it was in the FAQ or in the threads, but it said not to unmold til you couldn't dent it with your fingernail.

Don't worry too much about the lime bother the plants. I throw mine in a tub of water to leach out the lime. The bigger problem is having someone handle your fresh planter and they get burnt from the lime. Unless the plants are super sensitive the soil that you use will insulate them. The only reason I don't send a planter for judging in a newly planted trough is because it looks like a newly planted trough. The plants don't have a chance to blend to the container.
Regarding your friend's planter still being soft, it shouldn't be. These things harden up fast. That's why if you carve or wire brush we unmold in 24 hours. I'm wondering if your sifting your peat moss too much. I over sifted one time for a bonsai planter. Got a wonderful brown tone and very light weight but broke apart very easily. These planters should be as hard as a piece of concrete or mortar. Hope your planters turn out.
Regarding your gravel pile mold, you can also use damp sand with plastic over it to freeform planters or small ponds. Billie

I agree with Billie. I've built some very large bowls that I may let cure, at the most, for two days before flipping over. If it ain't cured in that amount of time, it won't cure in any amount of time. As hypertufa cures, it becomes lighter in color and rock-like to the touch. Yes, you can still scratch at it, but it's not at all crumbly. I've done hypertufa in some pretty damp weather, and it has always cured in a few days. You may not be adding quite enough water. I always say, it should look like cookie batter. You can form a ball without water seeping out (too soupy), or without crumbling apart (too dry). I've found the best thing is to just use plenty of plastic bags around your mold, so it will release easier when popping out of the mold, whether it's an inside or outside mold.

The important thing is to take what you find here and fine tune it to what best works for you. Just keep "mudding" along and you'll turn out some awesome projects, and hopefully you'll share plenty of photos.

Thanks for all your responses! Sorry i didn't get back sooner- my kids were both in play that had 4 performances this weekend so i was a wee bit busy.

Anyhow, we finally lifted the troughs/trays tonight and they held! Woohoo! They are still a little soft, but it appears to be only surface deep under the damp plastic. Where the plastic came off- those spots hardened all the way to stoniness. Since the first one held, we went ahead and lifted all 6 to ck. The popped up easy as pie. The undersides are smooth because of the plastic, but since you can't see under them i don't care. The edges are a bit fragile, but i think that's ok we'll be very careful til it cures all the way. The one very sharp protruding corner broke off- but hopefully i can mix up some mortar and 'glue' it back on. I should have fortified that with the mesh, i guess.
They are perhaps a little more shallow than i would have liked- can i add on to the edge (build it thicker so it's higher) still? Do i need to add in some admix or elmer's glue to that mixture so it's stickier? Or will that make it too heavy/likely to crumble?

Thanks for letting me know that i can plant fairly fast, Billie. That is exactly why i want to- so that it has a chance to grow in a bit- though with enough material you can make even newly planted stuff look nice. I will use gloves with the planters so i don't get burnt from the lime.

I don't think i oversifted- my bag of peat had gotten roots up in it, so i had to sift some to get them out, but it was 1/2" mesh and i only ran it through once. Good to know over sifting can be bad- just like overmixing muffins. :) My stuff was about like cookie batter- that's the right comparison, i think. Good to know about the sand. I used gravel since i didn't care if it was a bit lumpy and i had plenty of it around.

I will definitely keep on keeping on playing and am looking forward to learning more. I have some many ideas! At a yard sale I bought some square flared wire forms- the kind that are normally lined with pressed coir for the hanging baskets. Well, i think they'd look wonderful with tufa inside and the wire showing on the outside. Never really been into the pressed coir thing- too much watering for me. I wouldn't use them hanging. I promise, I'll try to post some pix when i get a chance of what i've done so far.