How to make an alpine trough

How to make an alpine trough

Follow our step-by-step guide to making your own alpine trough, perfect for displaying your alpine plants.

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Old stone sinks make perfect containers for alpines, but they’re hard to come by. You can easily make your own concrete lookalike; all you need are two strong cardboard boxes. One should fit inside the other, leaving a gap of around 5cm. Simply make a mould from the cardboard boxes and fill it with a concrete mix. Adding coir to the concrete mix will give your container a rougher texture, and the trough can be easily distressed with a trowel to give it a more aged appearance.

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You Will Need

  • Bricks
  • Coir fibre
  • Cement
  • Plastic sheeting
  • Sand
  • Trowel
  • Card boxes (two)
  • Wire mesh
  • Wooden dowel

Total time:

Step 1

Mix together two parts sieved coir fibre, one part cement and one part sharp sand. Pour water into a well in the centre and mix it together to form a stiff paste.

Mixing coir with cement
Mixing coir with cement

Step 2

Using a trowel, place a 2.5cm layer of concrete into the bottom of the larger cardboard box. Ensure the concrete is spread into the corners.

Placing cement in the cardboard box
Placing cement in the cardboard box

Step 3

Cut a piece of small-gauge wire mesh to fit the bottom of the box. Place it on top of the mixture to reinforce the trough, and add a further 2.5cm layer of cement over the top of the mesh.

Placing wire mesh over the cement
Placing wire mesh over the cement

Step 4

Push 5cm-long pieces of wooden dowel into the base of the trough for drainage. Then, place the smaller box inside the larger one, leaving a gap of around 5cm. Add bricks to weigh it down.

Weighing down the second box with a brick
Weighing down the second box with a brick

Step 5

Insert sections of mesh along each side, cutting them shorter than the depth of the box so they’ll be hidden.

Adding wire mesh to make the sides
Adding wire mesh to make the sides

Step 6

Add cement to the sides of the mould to make a wall. Use a stick to push it into the corners. This will prevent air pockets from weakening the walls.

Adding cement to make the sides
Adding cement to make the sides

Step 7

When all the concrete mixture is in place, support the outer sides of the box with more bricks. Then cover the entire thing with a plastic sheet.

Weighing down the box with bricks
Weighing down the box with bricks

Step 8

After two days, when the concrete is set, remove the sheet of plastic and supporting bricks and peel the cardboard away from the sides.

Peeling the cardboard from the box
Peeling the cardboard from the box

Step 9

The sides of the trough can be aged by roughly scraping them with a trowel. After a week, use a hammer and large nail to push the wooden dowels out of the trough, leaving holes for drainage.

Finished alpine trough
Finished alpine trough
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