Rockery Stone
David Haire
Some years ago, on BBC2's Gardening World, the late Geoff Hamilton gave a
recipe for homemade rockery stones which he called, I think, "Tufa". I made
a note of the recipe and the method of casting the "stones" at the time and
filed it all safely away for future reference.
Of course, now that I need the recipe, I find that my filing system has
failed and my notes disappeared. I can recall the method for moulding the
"stones" and even the constituents - sand, cement and coir - but,
unfortunately cannot remember the proportions for the mix.
Does anyone have an idea of what the proportions may be?
Thanks.
David Haire
cormaic
'Twas 30 Mar 1998 21:12:58 GMT, when the most noble "David Haire"
<David...@btinternet.com> declared:
Try 3 parts sharp sand + 1 part OP cement + 1 part
compost/coir etc. I would suggest adding some thinned PVA to the mix
to improve bonding, and if you are coating a glazed or plastic
surface, prime with PVA first, to improve bonding.
In an experiment last year in our high tech research lab at
the bottom of the garden, I made a small mix to this recipe using old
tea leaves in place of compost and covered a plastic 3" pot with the
mixture. It has survived the winter (but what hasn't), and I intend to
increase production later this year, and create a larger 'stone'sink'
type of thing with the new formula.
HTH
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KGreen3393
>>Some years ago, on BBC2's Gardening World, the late Geoff Hamilton gave a
>>recipe for homemade rockery stones which he called, I think, "Tufa". I made
>>a note of the recipe and the method of casting the "stones" at the time and
>>filed it all safely away for future reference.
>>
>>Of course, now that I need the recipe, I find that my filing system has
>>failed and my notes disappeared. I can recall the method for moulding the
>>"stones" and even the constituents - sand, cement and coir - but,
>>unfortunately cannot remember the proportions for the mix.
>>
>>Does anyone have an idea of what the proportions may be?
>>
I am making the stuff myself at this very moment - well not at
this very moment, cos i'm sitting at the keyboard - but when
I'm in the garden I shall be mixing 4 parts peat with 3 parts
cement and 2 parts sharp sand. This gives a sort of dull
greyish colour. Add colourant if you want to pretty it up
- oh, and leave it a week or so to set hard before you try
to move it. Good luck
Kev
Alan J Holmes
In article <01bd5c20$799293c0$LocalHost@default>,
David Haire <David...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>Some years ago, on BBC2's Gardening World, the late Geoff Hamilton gave a
>recipe for homemade rockery stones which he called, I think, "Tufa". I made
>a note of the recipe and the method of casting the "stones" at the time and
>filed it all safely away for future reference.
>Of course, now that I need the recipe, I find that my filing system has
>failed and my notes disappeared. I can recall the method for moulding the
>"stones" and even the constituents - sand, cement and coir - but,
>unfortunately cannot remember the proportions for the mix.
>Does anyone have an idea of what the proportions may be?
My recipe, is equal parts of sand, cement and peat (or peat
substitute).
You have to leave it some time before attempting to move or it
disintegrates.
--
Alan G4CRW, Ex FAA, RNARS and others!
Here I sit, giving the world the benefit of my words of wit and wisdom!
What an exciting life I lead!(:-)
Jan Macqueen
In article <01bd5c20$799293c0$LocalHost@default>, David Haire
>Some years ago, on BBC2's Gardening World, the late Geoff Hamilton gave
a
>recipe for homemade rockery stones which he called, I think, "Tufa". I
made
>a note of the recipe and the method of casting the "stones" at the time
and
>filed it all safely away for future reference.
The March copy of Gardeners World magazine gives the recipe for what
they call hypertufa as follows:
equal parts of sand, cement and sifted peat, mixed to a stiff
consistency with water. To cast the rocks, dig a hole in the ground
about 12in long by 9in deep and wide, or whatever size suits your
purposes. Line the hole with polythene and fill it with the hypertufa
mix. Leave it to set. Do not make the holes smooth or uniform, as no
two natural rocks are exactly alike, and don't forget that about one
third of the rock should be sunk into the sil. To darken the surface
and to encourage lichen to grow, brush over with dilute liquid
fertiliser. End of their quote.
Regards
Jan Macqueen
>Of course, now that I need the recipe, I find that my filing system has
>failed and my notes disappeared. I can recall the method for moulding the
>"stones" and even the constituents - sand, cement and coir - but,
>unfortunately cannot remember the proportions for the mix.
>
>Does anyone have an idea of what the proportions may be?
>
>Thanks.
>
>David Haire
>
>
J Warham
David Haire <David...@btinternet.com> wrote:
> Some years ago, on BBC2's Gardening World, the late Geoff Hamilton gave a
> recipe for homemade rockery stones which he called, I think, "Tufa". I made
> a note of the recipe and the method of casting the "stones" at the time and
> filed it all safely away for future reference.
>
> Of course, now that I need the recipe, I find that my filing system has
> failed and my notes disappeared. I can recall the method for moulding the
> "stones" and even the constituents - sand, cement and coir - but,
> unfortunately cannot remember the proportions for the mix.
>
> Does anyone have an idea of what the proportions may be?
It was called Hyper Tufa (cos its fast presumably)
The recipe is now in many magazine/ books etc! Suggest you check the
gardening section, Or if you can get hold of a copy of the RHS
Encyclopedia of Gardening...
JW
--
North London, England, UK
jwa...@nspam.geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/4865/
To Email, Remove the word 'nspam' from my address
J Warham
snipp
> >
> > Of course, now that I need the recipe, I find that my filing system has
> > failed and my notes disappeared. I can recall the method for moulding the
> > "stones" and even the constituents - sand, cement and coir - but,
> > unfortunately cannot remember the proportions for the mix.
> >
> > Does anyone have an idea of what the proportions may be?
>
> It was called Hyper Tufa (cos its fast presumably)
>
I also forgot to say that it can be used to coat old sinks to make 'mock
stone troughs' just coat with mastick, and apply hypertufa when tacky.
Paint with gravy/yoghurt to encourage moss/algae and give an aged
appearance!
_)
JW
--
'Just a rebel with out a clue!'
Gareth Lane
I understand that you can mix PVA glue with the cement to help adhesivity
to the surface you are attaching it too. What sort of PVA would people
recommend to use ?
gareth LAne, High Wycombe
cormaic
'Twas Wed, 15 Apr 1998 10:22:26 +0100, when the most noble Gareth Lane
<garet...@anixter.com> declared:
>I understand that you can mix PVA glue with the cement to help adhesivity
>to the surface you are attaching it too. What sort of PVA would people
>recommend to use ?
>gareth LAne, High Wycombe
>
Ask at your local Builders Merchants for Feb-Bond or similar.
--
cormaic - now on the web at http://www.tmac.clara.net
Culcheth - paving pages at http://www.tmac.clara.net/paving2.htm
Sam Brookes
In article <35347C52...@anixter.com>, Gareth Lane
<garet...@anixter.com> writes
>I understand that you can mix PVA glue with the cement to help adhesivity
>to the surface you are attaching it too. What sort of PVA would people
>recommend to use ?
I have used hypertufa to cover the old white glazed sinks. You dont mix
the PVA glue with the cement, you paint it on the white glazed surface
beforehand and let it dry for a few days. That gives a good key for the
hypertufa to adhere to. What sort of PVA ? I used Copydex and the
result was highly successful.
Its all a question of getting the right degree of wetness in the
hypertufa. Too wet and it falls off, too dry and it crumbles. You will
need to experiment a bit. As I remember it, its not too hard to get it
right.
--
Sam Brookes
Alan J Holmes
In article <TAkUbBAl...@sambo.demon.co.uk>,
Sam Brookes <s...@sambo.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>In article <35347C52...@anixter.com>, Gareth Lane
><garet...@anixter.com> writes
>>I understand that you can mix PVA glue with the cement to help adhesivity
>>to the surface you are attaching it too. What sort of PVA would people
>>recommend to use ?
>I have used hypertufa to cover the old white glazed sinks. You dont mix
>the PVA glue with the cement, you paint it on the white glazed surface
>beforehand and let it dry for a few days. That gives a good key for the
>hypertufa to adhere to. What sort of PVA ? I used Copydex and the
>result was highly successful.
I found that the PVA didn't do anything on it's own, so I
'blinded' the sink with sand while the PVA was still wet, this
provided a very good key for the hypertufa.
PVA glue is manufactured by a number of different companies, any
will be satisfactory, just look for the cheapest.
>Its all a question of getting the right degree of wetness in the
>hypertufa. Too wet and it falls off, too dry and it crumbles. You will
>need to experiment a bit. As I remember it, its not too hard to get it
>right.
I agree, I found it very easy to deal with.
Remember to put the sink in the position you want it eventualy, before
you start, as the hypertufa dosen't travel well!