Tiki Torch solution

How many of you have ever tried to put a tiki torch in the ground? Around our area there are so many rocks in the ground, that every time I think I have it going in,  I hit a rock and can not go any further into the ground. I have 6 torches to try to place, not happening.

So frustrating!

Supplies I used

As my husband and I were discussing pouring cement into tires for our volleyball set poles (which he got several years ago from my parents and have yet to use) and a tether ball set (kids got from grandparents last year) it occurred to me that I could fill some large coffee cans with cement and have portable tiki torches. So I shared my thought with him and he suggested I use ceramic planting pots. I liked the idea, however ceramic pots are a little on the pricey side, so I asked if he thought plastic ones would work. Off to the home supply store to look for pots. Brought them home to see how they would look. I then mentioned the idea to my mom, who then told my dad, he added his thoughts as well; put pvc pipe in the cement so you can remove the torches for easy moving and storage.

I measured the diameter of the largest torch pole to see how big the inside of the pipe would need to be and I measured the pots to see how tall the pipe would need to be inside the pot. Back to the home supply store I went in search of cement and pvc pipe.

I needed to cut the ends off the tiki torches, cause they are at an angle for pushing into the ground (which we all now know is virtually impossible unless you live at the beach), then cut the PVC pipe to match the height of the pots. Then I decided to super glue the pipe into the bottom of the pots so they would stay centered while I poured the cement into them. I used my wheel barrel and hula hoe to mixed the cement with the amount of water according to directions, it did not seem that moist, but what do I know? I had to use my potting spade to scoop up the cement and put it into the pots (the super glue did not hold up to expectation). Got 3 pots filled, 3 more to go, ran out of cement; who knew 40 pounds of cement was not going to be enough. Another trip to home supply store for more cement. The look of cement is not pretty when you can not smooth it out really good, well not really pretty when you can, so off to a crafting store to get some moss to cover the cement. Finally after 3 days I am finished!

 So what do you think?







Being positive in Rock Tavern,
Laurie