I believe there is a company near
Hagerstown that manufactures containers etc. from this material. Sounds simple enough. You might call Alan Summers at Carroll Gardens. Steve in Baltimore County PS I believe all the MAG bunch died. Did you hear anything about it on TV?

[LOL]
Winter is always dead slow here.
The seed swap will be a first time we've done anything in the winter as long as I've been here, but that's not all that long. You coming?

I'll give Mr. Summers a call. Thanks for the idea. :)
Christine

Yes I have already signed up to get my son to make a nice wintertime casserole to bring down. Steve

There are recipes on the internet for making hypertufa. It looks pretty straightforward. You could start with something small like a flowerpot and work your way up.

Yes, I'm aware there are recipes. There's also a forum here and on Dave's.
I'm looking for some hands-on stuff because "like peanutbutter" or "like cake batter" is relative, depending upon your ratios. I'd like to play with it in person, with someone who has done it before.

Thanks, though,
Christine

I've done it before but we used the wrong kind of concrete (I believe it has to be "portland" cement?) so it didn't harden up as it should. It's very fun though. The adult equivalent of mudpies. You need alot of room outdoors to let the items dry, a wheelbarrow or large trough to mix the ingredients, and objects to use as a mold. I don't know how you would do boulders unless you could use something like a beachball to mold it around. If you really want to do it I would be up for it since I could sell them at my neighborhood plant sale.

Kathleen

We did the cement "bird bath" from a giant rhubarb leaf project and that was a blast.
Tried to find the bales of peat for some hypertufa but could not locate it. Anyplace near Annapolis that might have some?? DH and I made some of these planters about 20 years ago,before it even had a name and I want to do it again.

Kathleen,
I'd love to do it together. I think when this psuedo-spring is over and we're actually back in summer, it might be the best. I can leave them outside and spray them appropriately to harden.

Beth? Wanna come out too and lead the pack? I have some wire, a wheelbarrow, and the desire.

I also want to try concrete casting, because I love some of the gorgeous pieces I've seen made from things like your rhubarb leave. Too very cool!

C.

I happen to agree with you. Concrete is fun too, probably even a little easier just because you buy it ready to use.
You can essentialy cast an object with strips of fiberglass that you can use as your mold. You have to do a little creative engineering sometimes but planters can be pretty easy. You can even make a statue of someone if they lie still so you can cast their body with plaster.