• Home
  • Chickens
    • Chicken Breeds
    • Hatching
    • Poultry Shows & Homesteading Faires
  • Nigerian Dwarf Goats
    • Our Goat Herd
      • Does
      • Bucks
      • Reference Goats
    • Goat Blog
    • 2021 Nigerian Dwarf Goats for Sale
      • Nigerian Dwarf Goat Sales Policy
  • Modern Homesteading
    • Aquaponics
    • Farm Animals
      • Ducks
      • Pigs
      • Quail
      • Turkeys
    • Flower Gardens
      • Our Gardens
      • Not Our Gardens
      • Bloom Day
      • Pacific NW Plants
    • Home Grown Food
      • How Our Garden Grows
    • Homestead Updates
      • 2014 Monthly Updates
      • 2016 Weekly Updates
  • This Life
    • Home Education
      • Field Trips
      • Geography
      • Literature & Books
      • Science
      • US History
      • World Studies
    • hobbies
      • Geocaching & Letterboxing
      • Handmade
        • Canvas
        • Cement
        • Kid Crafts
        • Paper
        • Sewing
        • Wood
      • Home Decor
      • Photo Fun
        • Ridgetop Digital Shop on Etsy
        • Photos
        • Weather & Sky Shots
      • Running
    • Wildlife
      • Birds
You are here: Home / hobbies / Handmade / Cement / DIY Hypertufa Mushrooms

July 5, 2015 by: RidgetopFarm&Garden

DIY Hypertufa Mushrooms

Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

I remember years and years ago watching Martha Stewart make hypertufa on TV. I loved the idea & knew one day I’d have to try it myself.

And, I have. A number of times. My preferred masterpieces are mushrooms, but the possibilities are endless as to what you could create.

The process of making hypertufa yard art is a bit time consuming, but fairly simple and so worth it. I’ve had some of my pieces for 5 years now and they have held up to all the elements – kids, critters, freezing temps & snow.

 

MY HYPERTUFA RECIPE

I use almost equal parts of all four ingredients. I tend to use a little more Portland cement & sand than vermiculite & peat moss, though. This makes my hypertufa a bit heavier than others, but should last a little longer.

Portland Cement – Make sure you get Portland Cement, and not typical cement mix. You should be able to find it at Home Depot and Lowe’s.
Sand
Vermiculite – You can use perlite instead. I prefer vermiculite simply because it has a bit of sparkle and white perlite balls are ugly.
Peat Moss
 

 

MAKING THE MIX

Pour all dry ingredients into a bucket or wheel barrow. Mix with a trowel, adding enough water to get a cookie dough consistency. Make sure to wear gloves, as Portland Cement will irritate your skin.

 

CREATING HYPERTUFA YARD ART

This photo is from my very first hypertufa batch back in 2010. I used all sorts of different containers for the mushroom pieces. Usually I used some kind of bowl shape for the head of the mushroom and a cup for the stem. I was really nervous about the hypertufa sticking to the bowl molds, so I lined them with garbage bags we had lying around. Cooking spray would have also worked. However, looking back, I’d use the bags again because I like the texture it gave the mushrooms.

The nails sticking out of the hypertufa in the cups were meant to stick in the ground to hold the mushrooms in place. Really, they’re just a joke. Itty bitty nails do not help support the mushrooms. Rebar works much better.

After making all the pieces, I covered them with plastic and let them sit for a day or two.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

A different batch looked like this. Same idea as the first, but I added chunks of rebar to the stems. This worked better than the nails, but longer pieces of rebar work even better.

I also rounded the bottoms of the mushroom heads.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

ATTACHING THE MUSHROOM PIECES

After letting the pieces sit for a day or two to cure a little, I take them out of their molds.

I attach the head part to a stem piece by mixing more hypertufa and using it as glue. I tend to make this mix more cement style than hypertufa, meaning less peat moss and vermiculite.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

CURING

After putting the mushroom pieces together, I mist them and cover them in plastic. And then comes the hard part. Waiting. Hypertufa needs to cure for about a month. Occasionally, I give the mushrooms a mist. But, that’s it. They are pretty much left alone in our garage until the month is up.

 

MUSHROOM VARIETIES

My mushrooms are all similar, however I do try to add a hint of variety.

 

I have tried adding liquid cement coloring to the mix for colored mushrooms. I don’t love it. I don’t hate. It worked perfectly fine. I’m just not a fan of the particular color.

Notice the longer rebar. This is the ideal length to keep the mushrooms in place.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

Yet another variety. These were made the same way as my other mushrooms. But, on the day I made hypertufa to glue the pieces together I also added hypertufa mix around the head and stem for a slightly different look.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

To give the mushrooms an aged appearance, I read you can make a moss/yogurt smoothie and apply it to your hypertufa to help promote moss growth. I was feeling lazy, so I didn’t bother blending it. I just mixed some moss in with the yogurt. I probably should have taken the time to do it correctly.

In my web research I found that adding beer can also promote moss growth. I had a beer in the fridge, so I dumped it on a mushroom. If I didn’t have Farmer John convinced that I was a kook before, I sure did when he walked by seeing me dump a beer on cement – on purpose.

July 2015 Update: Neither of these moss enhancing tricks worked for me. Boo!
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

Using outdoor paint, a few mushrooms received a makeover. I love their bright colors. However, Farmer John refers to them as my psychedelic mushrooms.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

MORE WITH HYPERTUFA

The fun thing about hypertufa is making whatever you can come up with. Primarily I make mushrooms, but occasionally I make some sort of container.

 

Some birds and bugs like slices of fruits. So, I added a hypertufa plate on top of a flatter topped mushroom.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

I have also made planters. This particular one was made from the bottom part of a plastic clam shell container. The succulents have been in there for years and continue to thrive.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

I love the wonky cement faces I see in gardens. They have such character. So, I tried making my own. They’re not the best work I’ve ever done, but honestly I’m not sure how I would have done it differently. They were a bit of a challenge for me.

To make the faces I smooshed hypertufa mix around the black potting container, then added and subtracted hypertufa as needed for eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

I had planned to take out the plastic pots after the hypertufa cured. But, they don’t seem to want to come out. So, I guess they’ll stay.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms

 

A mushroom, wonky face container and pallet sign living together in our Bird Village.
Ridgetop Farm & Garden | Hypertufa Mushrooms | Mommy's Magical Mountain
Have you given hypertufa a try? What is your favorite item to create?

 

Related Posts

  • Bench Seat MosaicBench Seat Mosaic
  • Upcycling Pallet WoodUpcycling Pallet Wood
  • How to Make Cement LeavesHow to Make Cement Leaves
  • DIY Cement BenchDIY Cement Bench

Let’s Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube

Search Ridgetop Farm & Garden

LATEST INSTAGRAM PHOTOS

ridgetop_farm_and_garden

Jennifer
Spring has sprung. 🌸 🌼🌷 . #ridgetopfarman Spring has sprung. 🌸 🌼🌷
.
#ridgetopfarmandgarden #springflowers #pacificnorthwest #beautifulafternoon
This red is amazing. ❤ . #ridgetopfarmandgarden This red is amazing. ❤
.
#ridgetopfarmandgarden #nofilter
The deer are enjoying crab apples today. ❤ . #ri The deer are enjoying crab apples today. ❤
.
#ridgetopfarmandgarden #ridgetopwild #blacktaildeer #fallinoregon #pnw #nature
Things are just ducky. 🦆 . #ridgetopfarmandgard Things are just ducky. 🦆
.
#ridgetopfarmandgarden
4 goat girl friends just chillin'. Clifford, Georg 4 goat girl friends just chillin'. Clifford, Georgia, Bunny, and the queen Willow.
.
#ridgetopfarmandgarden #ridgetopgoats #nigeriandwarfgoats #farmlife #goatsofinstagram #summer
This handsome fella is one of our spring kids that This handsome fella is one of our spring kids that we are planning to keep. Earlier this week I enjoyed a visit with 3 of our kids that moved to a new home. They looked great and seem to be settling in perfectly.
.
#ridgetopfarmandgarden #ridgetopgoats #nigeriandwarfgoats #farmlife
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Tags

31 Days 2016 update animal science Aquaponics Back Yard birds of 2013 Bird Village Black Copper Marans Bloom Day Blue Copper Marans Chickens Chicks Crafts DIY Ducks Easter Egger Eggs Europe Farm Flowers Food Garden Front Pond Front Yard genetically speaking Goats Greenhouse Handmade Hatch herbs Holidays Home School Incubator Kids Marans Nigerian Dwarf Goat Oregon Paint Race Recap Run Shade Garden Tilapia Travel Vegetables Wild Birds Wildlife

Ridgetop Digital Shop

Check out Ridgetop Digital Shop for party decor & photo booth props ⬇️

http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Ridgetop-Digital-Shop-Nacho-Graduation-Party-Decor.mp4

Candling Eggs

Candling Eggs

Disclaimer

The data given at Ridgetop Farm and Garden is for general information and entertainment purposes only. Although it is based on our own knowledge and experiences, this information is our opinion only and should not be used as legal or medical advice.

Printable Goat Records

Printable Goat Records

Copyright

Unless otherwise noted, Ridgetop Farm and Garden is the legal copyright holder of all materials on this website. It may not be used, reprinted, modified or published without our written consent. However, if you enjoy something we post and would like to share it on your own social media site, please do so, but you must link to our original post.

Herb Barrels

Herb Barrels

Disclosure

Ridgetop Farm & Garden is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Many of our blog posts contain advertisements or affiliate links, which means we will make a small commission if you buy any products that have been linked to on this blog.
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

© 2022 · Fun Genesis WordPress Theme by, Pretty Darn Cute Design