Homemade Alpine Trough

[Ganesha]

I decided to make an Alpine trough. I've never grown Alpines before but always liked them for their beautiful, delicate flowers & totally over-the-top displays from such small, otherwise unassuming plants. Plus my dear old Mum was Austrian so I'd like an Edelweiss to remind me of her. Ahhh! :)

*sniff*

Anyway I decided to make my own trough out of hypertufa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertufa). (Here's just one of the many sites to show you how: http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/make-hypertufa-trough.aspx)

Hypertufa is ideal cos it looks like stone & it's extremely tough (withstands frosts, droughts, etc) but it's much lighter & can be easily shaped afterwards with a wire brush or a rasp cos it's quite soft. I used 1 part cement, 1 part sharp sand, 2 parts sieved multi-purpose compost.

The mold consisted of two long peices of cardboard cut & taped into shape (two rectangles) & then propped up with planks & bricks on the outside, hardboard & bricks on the inside. Then when I removed the mold I discovered a couple of holes in the walls so I patched them up & added the rounded top too. You can see the join but I don't care. Heh! Looks like a badly made pie crust! But I like the fact that it looks all higgledy-piggledy & homemade. Makes it better, I think.

http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/data/1735/medium/100703_03.jpg (http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/49808/title/100703-03/cat/1735)

http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/data/1735/medium/100703_02.jpg (http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/49808/title/100703-03/cat/1735)

http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/data/1735/medium/100703_01.jpg (http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/49808/title/100703-03/cat/1735)

Anyway, I've started rubbing down the edges to make it look a bit more 'organic' & I need to knock out the wooden pegs for drainage holes but I have a problem. Hypertufa may be light but think on: this fucker contains 1 bag of cement, 1 bag of sand & 1 LARGE bag of compost. I can barely lift one end an inch! Luckily help is at hand - the two strapping lads next door will help out (I've asked their Mum! :cool:). They're on Summer hols so I've been told I can use them as required. (Oo-er!) It'll have to be in between matches but luckily there aren't many next week. Ha! :pimped:

The hypertufa has to 'cure' for about 2-3 months so I won't be planting it until the Autumn. Just as well, it still smells a bit of ammonia, I have to say. Is this normal? I don't have a huge amount of building experience but I don't remember getting whiffs of ammonia when mixing up cement? I didn't use pure Portland cement but it was the basic stuff with no additives. Perhaps it was the compost. Anyone know about this? I'm out of my depth here.

My own 'weathering' process is to paint it with piss every few days or so. That'll encourage lichens & mosses so it could end up looking really good. Well that's the idea. I'll wait a bit until it's settled & I've got it carved into shape properly.

The piss? I have a bucket behind the garage that I use for my 'comfort breaks' when I'm gardening. (Fucks Sake! Why take your boots off & wash your hands to come indoors for a piss?) It usually gets poured into the composting bin when it's full & there's always a regular supply - you all know how much I drink...

<edit: Oh Christ! Budman will have a field day here...>

So that's the on-going plan. By next Spring there should be pictures of a lovely Alpine display for your viewing pleasure.

I hope so.

{:~ xxx

[Eggbox]

Very nice mate - Been thinking about doing one of these myself! Nice littly project :) Will follow this contently for all your tips :bong:

[Ganesha]

First immediate tip. If you're making a rectangular mold make all the sides robust! You can see mine has a bulging bottom (Oo-er!). My first lesson - molds must be rigid! Otherwise they sag. (*insert bottom simile joke here*)

Hey, I've never done anything like this before, it's a learning curve for all of us! :)

[baldi 1]

Good job mate .that would look luvly in my garden :) a little tip, paint it with five parts water to one part natural yogurt , moss and lichen luv it

[Ganesha]

Now that's a tip. Yoghurt, eh? I'll give it a go alongside the piss. Do a trial like. That'd be good. :) Cheers.

[Eggbox]

Even better, mix some moss and lichen in with that there mix.. Won't look too pretty at first, but it'll start them off a bit quicker :laugh:

Might be better to leave it to cure first though, lol

[Ganesha]

In addition, the cost!

I've just looked this up: http://www.hawthornalpinetroughs.com/P_Troughs_1.htm The first one, 'Traditional Farm' is about the same dimensions as mine. £55.00

Mine cost:
1 bag cement from B&Q: £4.15
2 bags sharp sand from B&Q: £3.04
Compost - already bought & costed for general projects
+ 1 small bag Portland cement from Homebase after I ran out (to do the pie crust & mends): £4.19
TOTAL COST: £11.40

= RESULT!! :) :) :)

[Ganesha]

Latest update. I've brushed/filed the outside to be a bit more smooth & 'organic' & knocked out the drainage holes as you can see:

http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/data/1735/medium/100705_01.jpg (http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/49976/title/100705-01/cat/1735)

http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/data/1735/medium/100705_02.jpg (http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/49976/title/100705-01/cat/1735)

You can see the chicken wire support sticking out here. I'll have to cover that with something, I can't be arsed to make anymore hypertufa. Moss will do or an overhanging Aubrietta, perhaps?

http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/data/1735/medium/100705_04.jpg (http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/49976/title/100705-01/cat/1735)

http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/data/1735/medium/100705_03.jpg (http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/49976/title/100705-01/cat/1735)

Next up is to move it to its final position next to the fence & start with the 'weathering' process. Looks quite nice, I think. I'm pleased with it. :)

Still a way to go but, hey. onwards & upwards! :)

[bud_alzir]

hi ganesha.that looks fooking class bud well done i would imagine it would cost a few quid out of a nursery or garden centre :cool:

[Ganesha]

hi ganesha.that looks fooking class bud well done i would imagine it would cost a few quid out of a nursery or garden centre :cool:

See above M8, here (http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?26177-Homemade-Alpine-Trough&p=1068474302#post1068474302)

[bergkamp]

only juust seen this thread , might have a go at them myself , like the look of them bit more rustic than the pots i usually grow in

[Ganesha]

There's loads of info out there Berg, just google 'hypertufa' M8. It's dead easy to make & you can mould it, shape it, etc.