I put this together for the home improvement show I do in March. There's some siding, trex, wood and shingles.Is there anything I can do to make it turn nasty faster than letting Mother Nature take its time? Idea here is to have a before and after display for the show.
I'm also thinking I waited to long to do this. It's cold here in Michigan now.....will the stuff even grow enough in these colder temps?
spray it down with water, put a clear paint tarp over it, and put it in a warm dark place and keep an eye on it, wetting it every once in awhile... Thats how you grow mold on bread.. so maybe that will work on this too!?
AC Lockyer said
Oct 23, 2013
Sugar water
Jeff Thompson said
Oct 23, 2013
Is it to cold to grow algae?
Hank Timmermann said
Oct 23, 2013
Just keep it in a warm area as Lee pointed out. Another idea is to spread leaves over the top after wetting and sprinkle water from time to time.
Hank
Chris Gunther said
Oct 24, 2013
I built a similar display years ago. I covered the shingles in wet mulch, and smeared wet grass clippings on the siding. I let it sit for a week or two, and then brushed off all the debris, leaving a dirty roof and siding. I used a pump up and garden hose to clean half the shingles and siding for a pretty dramatic before/after.
Jeff Thompson said
Oct 24, 2013
Ok, thanks guys. What I ended up doing is using the sugar water and covering it with a damp beach towel. I'll look into getting some grass clippings stuck on next week when I do the cutting. Put it in the warmest/darkest spot I have right now and that's the garage. We'll see what happens.
Mark Fermoyle said
Nov 22, 2013
Jeff, how did this work out for you?
BTW, very nice prop for your booth!
Jeff Thompson said
Nov 22, 2013
Mark Fermoyle wrote:
Jeff, how did this work out for you?
BTW, very nice prop for your booth!
Hey Mark. Thanks. Still a work in progress. Keep putting sugar water on the shingles and took Chris's suggestion and have grass clippings and leaves soaking on it as well. Shingles look like they are darkening and the grass and leaves are breaking down, but not seeing any algae growth. It's in the garage, but I'm thinking it's to cold to grow anything right now.
Mark Fermoyle said
Nov 22, 2013
Well, hope you get some growth on it before the spring show.
Perhaps you could find someone's nasty home that has a BAD infestation of roof algae and vinyl slime and see if they'll allow you to leave it there until spring??
I put this together for the home improvement show I do in March. There's some siding, trex, wood and shingles.Is there anything I can do to make it turn nasty faster than letting Mother Nature take its time? Idea here is to have a before and after display for the show.
I'm also thinking I waited to long to do this. It's cold here in Michigan now.....will the stuff even grow enough in these colder temps?
Just keep it in a warm area as Lee pointed out. Another idea is to spread leaves over the top after wetting and sprinkle water from time to time.
Hank
BTW, very nice prop for your booth!
Hey Mark. Thanks. Still a work in progress. Keep putting sugar water on the shingles and took Chris's suggestion and have grass clippings and leaves soaking on it as well. Shingles look like they are darkening and the grass and leaves are breaking down, but not seeing any algae growth. It's in the garage, but I'm thinking it's to cold to grow anything right now.
Well, hope you get some growth on it before the spring show.
Perhaps you could find someone's nasty home that has a BAD infestation of roof algae and vinyl slime and see if they'll allow you to leave it there until spring??
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Moss-Graffiti
I have done this with my kids before - this is sparking my imagination for a home show - make some on-demand moss grow on the shingles!