A Pallet Full of Smalls..........

I just took the last few "smalls" we had built during the last two weeks of November out of the cold frame, sanded them, and put them on the finished pile outside to weather until it is time for the Spring sales season. One pallet stacked three and four deep is now ready for market. We sold out of the little ones early last year so I vowed to build enough surplus this year to keep a good inventory available. All these containers are priced from two to four dollars each and sell like hotcakes. Just five more pallets of smalls to build before mid March '16.

On The Road............

After spending a month on the road it is time to stay home for a few days, clean up a mess or two, and relax just a little. Our papercrete inventory is down to the nubbins due to good demand for our product but my notepad is full of new ideas to try. Our time spent vending, speaking, or teaching is also the time we have to listen to customers and students who come up with some great suggestions. Show vendors always gather to compare notes, discuss trends, and share their experiences and we relish the opportunity to meet new folks and occasionally meet someone who inspires us to try a new technique or presentation. 

This is the latest idea and though they are not in papercrete containers they will be for the 2016 sales season. We are at the end of our horticultural season and our plant supply for 2015 is almost exhausted. We have been buying lots of flea market containers to repurpose without a firm idea as to how they were to be used. With a pile of accessories and a box full of containers the gardens just seem to flow together. We will come up with something unique in papercrete to hold this type garden over the Winter I'm sure.  Fun, Fun, Fun!

Japanese Festival.............

Peggy and I will be at the festival. Just look for the booth with all the Japanese maples, Dwarf and Miniature Conifers, Bonsai, and our signature papercrete containers.

Replenishing..............

August is typically set aside to stay at the farm and replenish inventory. Spring/Summer sales were heavier than expected so this month we have worked overtime to fill the mat with new inventory.  Mother Nature has been generous with rainy days as of late so drying time has been extended. Today I sanded off the rough edges on a wagon load and got them ready for the finished pile. There is another wagon load drying and several pieces still in the molds...........

An earlier selection of rain rinsed papercrete shells ready for market. I do not expect them to stay in inventory long.

Simple Succulent Garden......

Our show schedule has kept us on the road all Spring and into Summer. While we like to be out there amongst gardeners offering our goodies it is nice to have an extended period of time at the farm to catch up on garden making. Pictured above is a small garden with a manufactured rock pile filled with hens and chicks. 

 

We simply gather small stones when out and about and glue them together with clear E6000 adhesive. Most hobby shops and the big box stores carry this product. Once dry the adhesive is weatherproof and suitable for this application. Just sit your manufactured rock pile on top of a container filled with potting mix and fill the cracks and nooks with succulents. The possibilities are endless. The addition of small accessories is just a bonus!! Try it!!

Simple Succulent Garden in Papercrete Shell....

I always have fun with easily constructed gardens. Succulents are the perfect match for these papercrete shell bowls and the addition of the little dragons is only icing on the cake!

About as Big as it Gets...........

This is about as large as the finished pile gets. After Easter weekend our Spring sales events start and there will not be as much time to replenish from weekend to weekend. We are ready for warmer temps and the flurry of gardeners flocking to our booth!

Customers at our early season shows carried off plenty of containers and we did have sales during our classes. It was easy enough to keep track of what we sold and without many other tasks here at the farm we had time to replace the items that were sold. As warmer weather arrives we will have lots of plant material to maintain and use to create our signature miniature landscapes. Those warmer temps also spurs gardeners into a frenzy of shopping for new goodies for their gardens and projects they have dreamed up over the Winter! We are excited too!

The Reality of Winter.......

The reality of Winter hangs on here in Southwest Missouri. On top of our normal cold temps Mother Nature dumped a load of snow in our neighborhood while she was on her way to Boston. This season of cold slows our production a little but we keep plugging away. Today I sanded what was dry in the cold frame and stacked it on a pallet. I could have carried it to the pile outside but I dislike walking in the snow or having my feet slide out from under me on the ice. Notice the snow pile just outside the cold frame.......

Why We Build Pots.......

Our first papercrete pots were built because we wanted a specific sized and color of pot to display dwarf and miniature plants. Oh how things morph over time as we experiment with a variety of plantings plus accessories. I begin to wonder am I building pots to match the plantings or do I find the accessories and build a pot to match my finds. It is the old which came first the chicken or the egg question rehashed. Either way the journey is exciting!

The fairy houses pictured are the result of a chance meeting at a craft show. When a ceramic artist meets a plant geek who likes building small gardens the magic happens. Spring is just around the corner and it is going to be fun to put all the elements together.

Papercrete Mold and Results...........

Always game to try something new so I re-purposed some one by six fence pickets into a geometric shape then recreated it in a smaller size. The molds are then filled and stacked accordingly to create a double decker star shaped planter.

I am anxious to see this planter filled to overflowing with succulents. Until warm weather returns I will refill this set of molds multiple times. I think this one will be a winner with gardeners.