Gardeners always seem to be looking for another pot. And they aren’t cheap either! How come I can never find just the right one? Something unique. Something just for me? Master Gardeners are always game, so we thought we would try making our own!
The technique is called hypertufa and basically, it involves making your own pots out of a mixture of cement, perlite and peat. The goal is to make something that is fairly light weight and unique. Before we start, you should know that the main complaint about hypertufa pots is that they dry out quickly—kind of a problem in our area. So you might want to take some precautions by doing such things as lining your pot with something that absorbs water before you fill it with dirt or planting things in it like succulents that are not water hungry.
There are a lot of good sets on instructions available on line for hypertufa but in general you will need:
2 gallons of peat
2 gallons of perlite
1 1/3 gallons of Portland cement (not premixed)
1 cup of fibers
water
You will need something to use as a mold. Two boxes, one large and one small for example and you fill the space between. Or you can just free hand it.
Anyway, we had fun!
The technique is called hypertufa and basically, it involves making your own pots out of a mixture of cement, perlite and peat. The goal is to make something that is fairly light weight and unique. Before we start, you should know that the main complaint about hypertufa pots is that they dry out quickly—kind of a problem in our area. So you might want to take some precautions by doing such things as lining your pot with something that absorbs water before you fill it with dirt or planting things in it like succulents that are not water hungry.
There are a lot of good sets on instructions available on line for hypertufa but in general you will need:
2 gallons of peat
2 gallons of perlite
1 1/3 gallons of Portland cement (not premixed)
1 cup of fibers
water
You will need something to use as a mold. Two boxes, one large and one small for example and you fill the space between. Or you can just free hand it.
Anyway, we had fun!
Next, create a form for your pot.
Mix up some cement, perlite and peat with water.
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First of all, one must read the instructions!! Many items were used for forms. Just use your imagination.
One group wanted to try hay instead of peat.
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Then you get to play in the mud!
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Add some drainage holes.
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Wait for the cement to set and it's finally ready to plant.
Barbara's planter is the one in the middle.
Looks great with succulents.
Looks great with succulents.