Postcrete No-No....

I had this great idea to make some more pots this week. I wasn’t going to bother with the hypertufa pots, they just disintegrate when you pick them up. This time I was going to make them to last. I went to the local DIY place and found something called Postcrete, which is a ready mixed bag of material that you would normally put into a hole around a wooden post. It says on the bag that it sets within minutes. Just the job I thought.

Panic

I got a bucket and mixed the contents of the bag with water. All seemed to go well as I put the mix into the first pot mould. Then disaster struck, the mix was hardening faster than I could pour it so I panicked, added more water and then mixed it with my hands, so vigorously that the gloves I was wearing tore. I was only filling the remaining moulds for a few minutes but this was enough for the mix to take off several layers of skin and fingerprints from my hands. I should imagine the reason for this to go solid so quickly is that it has a really high lime content, so high in fact that it shouldn’t be touched, just poured directly into a hole. I’ve spent the last few days wearing rubber gloves full of cream to try and grow the skin back. I should have read the label. My lad was unsympathetic as I ran into the house screaming in pain. 

 “This is what happens when you mess around with chemicals” he dryly told me. It’s back to hypertufa for me in future, or shop bought cardboard pots.