Tufa Obsession
Since last week I have spent an obsessively long time
attempting to perfect my Hypertufa plant pot mix. I started off by making the sample pots from
just peat, cement and pearlite. All seemed well but when the dried out I found
they were lightweight but also too fragile for any real use. They would be good
for planting into the ground complete with a young plant but that’s not what I
am looking for, I want a pot that can stand up to the rigors of everyday use.
So it was time to roll my sleeves up and play with different
types of mixes. I used less peat, more cement and also added some sand. One
review I read about making tufa commented that the best way to get a strong
plant pot was to not use peat! To me
that defeated the object of producing tufa pots but I did do one or two without
it. The results were strong but did look
like miniature concrete council road bollards, again, not what I was looking
for.
One to One
The tunnel is now full of pots of various sizes and consistencies.
I am having a bit more success with a 1x1x1x1 mix of sand, peat, pearlite and
cement but my biggest problem was getting the set pots out of the molds. I
started off by filling a larger pot and then pushing a smaller pot into this to
make the recess. All seemed well until the mix set – the pots are stuck in! The only ones I could get out were the
plastic pots as they have a bit of flexibility but not the aesthetic values of
the terracotta pots I am also using.
I therefore had to think of a way to keep
the shape of the terracotta pots but have the flexibility of the plastic ones.
My solution is this. I got some very large pots and filled
them with expandable foam then placed a terracotta pot inside this and let it
dry. The resulting hard mold is light
and flexible. For good measure I have also made some molds out of sections of
cut drainpipe with slits in them fastended by cable ties. These can be pulled
open when the mix has set.
It’s still early days with the new methods but I am
optimistic I will
have a product that will look good on the dining table as
well as in the garden. Again, I’ll keep you posted.
2 comments:
I wonder would using cling film, paper, fabric or hessian help with releasing from mould. Texture could be interesting..
Hi. They do help! I found the tufa was stuck in the pots otherwise and I had to break the original mould to get them out..not ideal! The textures all differ too..
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