Tall grass/weeds

I fold them in half over the blade of a small screw driver and push them straight into the foam, no holes

Assuming you want clumps of tall grass try this:

1) Take a bundle of fibers and wrap it with a small piece of masking tape a short distance from one end.

2) Cut the bundle an equal distance past the tape.  You now have a length of fibers with a piece of tape at its center.

3) Cut through the center of the tape.

4) You now have two clumps of grass.

5) Stick the taped ends into holes in your foam.

This technique also works well with a piece of unwound hemp rope:

I discovered this tool a while back and it is GREAT! No poking a hole or if you use Fussion Fibe as your base no need for glue either! I plant the grass and then moisten the fiber and pack it around base. I have also wet the fiber first and then planted the grass. This works a tab bit easy because you are not poking the tool through the Fussion Fiber when it is hard.

Highly recomend this tool:

http://www.micromark.com/field...nting-tool,7830.html

Strogey,

  I second your suggestion, I have been using that tool for years it works very well. Well worth to me.

Jeff

You can use hot glue to hold the bundle of fibers in place.

Andrew

Take a clump - 10-12 strands - and apply some super glue to each end. Cut whatever length from either end that you want - 0.75 is a pretty good height - and you have a glued base and can fan out the weeds. Apply another drop of super glue to the remaining clump and cut it in half - giving you two more glued clumps with a glued bottom. Using this method you can get three or four gatherings from every group and make them in varying heights.

You can also combine the green and wheat colored strands to break up the color in each gathering.

Wow. Great advice all! Especially the glue tips. I ground my own install tool but there are always a few strands that end up scattered about. I'm looking forward to adding more " glue tipped grass". 

Another method:

Place the contents of the pack on a sheet of paper; spread slightly keeping the fibers parallel. Then give it all a few light sprays with hair spray.

When dry, grab some fibers with tweezers and snip off the desired length. Tap the top end with your fingers to fan the ends out. Plant in a puddle of full strength white glue. It is thick enough to hold the clump vertical until it sets.

Snipping and gluing goes really fast with the hairspray holding everything together. Vary lengths and colors for a random appearance. You can also drybrush some of the tips to vary the color after the glue is set. 

Jim

Jim:

Do you punch holes in the bground first or just glue to the surface?

Joe

Joe,

I just glue to the surface. As long as the ground cover is totally dry, the full strength glue holds them in position OK for the 1/2" - 3/4" tall weeds I usually plant. The fact that the hairspray is holding the clump together is important to the success of this method.

After the glue has been setting for a while, I go back and adjust any leaners.

Since my surface is usually solid plaster or plywood, it's easier doing this than trying to punch holes. 

Jim

a friend at our club made quite a few of those tools.  Take a small dowel and drill hole with pin vise, glue needle, and cut end of needle with dremel. They work great and it goes fast.  They stand at any angle you place them and its easy to do small amounts and not just clumps