I am about ready to construct my 3 ETs thanks to Ray helping me out with the wicking baskets. I am going to try the removable cages. Home Depot sells the 24" 1/4" threaded rods for $1.47. Unlike bdobs, my local store sells the 36" ones for $5.87 each! , so needless to say I went with the shorter ones. I don't think I am even going to cut them.. I just hope they are not too heavy to adversely affect the cage support system and the aeration bench. The extra length above the soil might help a little for the taller tomato plants too. Then again..with enough twisting patience, I could twist the nut high enough on the bottom of the rod where the reservoir is to give some stilt-like support to the bench. That will give 8 points of 4" extra support in addition to the 4" cut drain pipe pieces for the bench. This might not be a bad idea since I am using the cheaper, thinner Sterlite totes ($7.50 each at Walmart). I don't want that cage system to jab a hole through the bottom of the reservoir, so I'm trying to come-up with a cheap way to add protective 'shoes' to the bottom of the rods. Possibly soda caps from 2-litter bottles of Coke can be 'shoes' glued to them. I bought the Glamos cages a few years ago at Walmart and accidentally took almost double. When I got home and was pulling the cages apart I noticed my mistake. I returned the extras to Walmart, but I bet that happens very commonly, especially when Walmart just asks you to run out and pull the UPC off one of them and run back to the check-out and asks you for quantity. Ooops! My cages are bent at the 'feet' from trying too hard to jam them through subsurface slabs of limestone deep in my garden, so when I get pictures up to share, don't be surprised by the artsy-look of the randomly re-formed shape of my cages.

Accelerator - Ingredient added to increase hydration, shorten set and cure times. admix - Admixture. admixture - Generic term for non-bulk material added to 'tufa; also an abbreviation for acrylic bonding admixture, which increases strength while reducing moisture absorption in 'tufa. aggregate - Any dry bulk material added to 'tufa other than portland cement and sand. air entraining agent - ingredient added to 'tufa mix which captures miniature air bubbles during the mixing process, reducing the harmful effects of freeze-thaw cycles. alginate - One-time use mold-making material used primarily for body casting. armiture - "Skeleton" or support struture for a large 'tufa project. Bug holes - Small holes in castings caused by air bubbles. BRB - Be right back. BTW - By the way. Casting - End product of molding process. cement - See portland cement. chicken wire - A light galvanized wire fencing usually made with relatively large-sized hexagonal mesh. Can be layered around an armiture to hold 'tufa and strengthen structure. closed-cell foam - Hard, nonabsorbent foam. compressive strength - Ability of 'tufa to to withstand downward force or to sustain a heavy weight. concrete - A mix of portland cement, sand and water. The standard construction recipe calls for one part portland cement to three parts sand/rocks. concrete admix - See admixture. cure - Pprocess by which 'tufa hardens; dependent on sufficient hydration and temperature. DH - Dear Husband. DWT - Drywall tape. Efflorescence - Salts which leach out of 'tufa during the curing process. Faux bois - Imitation wood (French). form - Mold used for the setting an outside shape. Grot - Abbreviation for grotesque, which is a gargoyle which does not serve the purpose of a rainspout. Our grots serve as planters but have the same unusual attributes of a gargoyle. green - Uncured. GW - Garden Web. HWM - Hardware mesh, cloth. Used to reinforce larger 'tufa projects. hydration - Chemical reaction between water and portland cement. IMHO - In my honest opinion LOL - Laughing out loud. Model - Original piece (usually of artwork) used to make a mold. Mold - A rigid structure used to hold green 'tufa into a fixed position until it sets. See also postive mold, negative mold, mother mold. mortar - Variation of concrete used in masonry; does not contain rough aggregate. mother mold - Outer, often rough mold made of the back of a mold. Used to secure the mold during the casting process when it is made of fragile or flexible material. moulage - Reusable mold-making material used primarily for body casting. Negative mold - Casting of a model which is made to create a positive mold. Used when original model is fragile and requires the use of nondurable molding material. nylon fibers - Added to 'tufa add strength and cohesion. OMG - oh my gawd/garsh. Paper pulp - Shredded paper soaked in water and agitated; used in papercrete. papercrete - Variation of 'tufa consisting of paper pulp, portland cement and sand. perlite - Volcanic glass superheated to form a lightweight aggregate which can be used in 'tufa. Has a high moisture content. plasticizer - Ingredient added to 'tufa mix to increase workability. pop - Plaster of Paris. portland cement - Powdery substance produced by burning a mixture of clay and limestone at a high temperature. A primary ingredient in 'tufa. positive mold - A concave mold which prevents the escape of molding material during the molding process. 'puter - computer (Cajun). Rebar - Steel bars usually used in concrete to provide reinforcement. Can be used to make an armiture in 'tufa projects. 'rete - Concrete. ROTFLOL - Rolling on the floor, laughing out loud. Sand casting - Process of manipulating sand to create a mold, then filling the mold with 'tufa. silicon dioxide - Added to 'tufa mix increases density and water resistence via a chemical reaction. slurry - Paste made with portland cement and water. set - The initial hardening of 'tufa before it has fully cured. sn - Screen name. Spike - Gardenweb web master and ruler of the GW Universe. Tensile strength - Ability of 'tufa to resist stretching without breaking. 'tufa - Abbreviation for hypertufa. tufa - Naturally occurring soft or porus rock formed by water deposits. Tufa rock is artifically reproduced with hypertufa. Undercut - Portion of model which has sharp recesses which could prevent a mold to be separated from the model, or a casting to be separated from the mold. WIP - Work in progress.

Linda, the idea is not crazy. However I am not sure it is a project that a person new to mixing and using Hypertufa or concrete could successfully complete. Start by taking a much smaller object and try covering with chicken wire and then with ( Portland and sand mix ) or Hypertufa. Making sure you allow to properly cure. Also as mentioned above - if you can post of photo of the base it would help all to get a better idea of what is involved. Mike

There is no product for bermudagrass, because it's a grass, not a weed. If you kill the bermuda grass, you kill the St. Augustine. Bermuda grass comes straight from Haedes. The only way to get rid of it is to kill your whole lawn and start over, and then it will come back from somewhere else, or on the blades of your yard service mower. It's literally impossible to rid yourself of it completely.