Making Trough/Sink Gardens, part 1

Making Trough or Sink Gardens, part 1
Those Darned Home Improvement Show Series

A couple of weeks ago I saw someone on DIY make a cement trough for the garden. As soon as I saw it I knew, I wanted that! This is what they are supposed to look like.

I went online and got the directions and talked my husband into taking me to the home improvement store for portland cement, peat moss and vermiculite. It took two stores before we found vermiculite. Unfortunately, when I got home I realized that the recipe didn't call for vermiculite, it called for perlite (I could have sworn they said vermiculite). "Oh, its the same difference," I told my husband trying to save face. I went ahead with the recipe as if I had the correct ingredients. I mixed 3 parts vermiculite, 3 parts peat moss, and 2 parts cement. I slowly added water and mixed until it was still thick enough that I could form a softball-sized clump and toss it slightly up in my hand and it didn't fall apart, per the instructions. Getting to that point is another story.

1. When measuring the peat moss, do you pack it in the container tightly or leave it loose? That wasn't on the directions.
2. No one told me that when you scoop cement into a can that even though the can looks full, the bottom is half full of trapped air so I probably didn't have the correct amount in there. That stuff is like silt, it is so fine.
3. The show hosts mentioned that you may want a friend to help you in the mixing of the cement. I didn't heed their warning. My arms were ready to fall off. They were trembling and like rubber. I was sweating profusely mixing it and the powder from the cement stuck to my sweat. When I came into the house and walked past the mirror I scared myself.
To Be Continued....