Hyper-what?? you might be asking yourself. Hypertufa is a mixture of equal parts, sand, portland cement, peat-moss and vermiculite (if you have it) You then mix it all together to create planters, rocks, sculptures for the garden.
We decided on making a rock for the front garden bed. Rocks are expensive. At least they are here. So we decided that making our own big rock as a good idea.
So because Mum can’t just start simple (neither can I must be a genetic trait!) She built two areas for plants into the rock. One at the peat pot at the top and one in the bottom pot at the bottom.
Then you mix your portland cement, peat moss and sand in equal amounts. You want a consistency like cottage cheese.
Then you put on a pair of gloves and start layering it on. Ideally we should have had the chicken wire covered with burlap so that the mixture had something substantial to stick to. Any of the more vertical areas were difficult to keep the cement from falling off.
Ideally I would have taken pictures of it BEFORE we put the plastic on but I had goop all over my hands and didn’t want to get it on my camera.
So now we have a giant plastic “thing” in our yard. The funniest thing is the looks it gets as people walk by. So now it has to sit under the plastic for almost a month to cure properly. If you uncover it too quickly the cement doesn’t have a chance to set properly and will just crumble. I did check it yesterday and scratched at it with my nail and it seems to be setting up fairly well!.
I’ll post some pictures of the finished rock as soon as we unveil it to the neighbourhood!
