Hypertufa pots — lightweight, homemade, customizable alternatives to cement or terracotta planters — have long been on my extensive list of "projects to tackle once I have space to make a big mess, and a garden hose to clean up said mess". Someday! Until then, perhaps you'd like to take a run at it, and tell us how it goes...
I learned about hypertufa pots in the March 2010 Martha Stewart Living, and I'm so excited by the possibilities. As Marcie McGoldrick wrote, "I was intrigued to learn that the planters were composed of just three accessible, inexpensive substances: perlite, Portland cement, and peat moss." Now, toting bags of cement and peat moss home on the bus might not be any easier than lugging pots home, but perhaps when I finally have that mythical garden hose I'll also be able to get a ride. Besides the three components, all you need to make pots are vessels of pleasing sizes and shapes: milk cartons, bowls, wooden boxes, and more. The pots in the first photo were made using milk cartons, the faux bois pots were (painstakingly) made using a custom-built mold and four faux bois panels. I think my favorites are the round planters you can see on the right in the first photo, which got their shape from metal bowls.
I especially like what Marcie has to say about the hypertufa process, an unusual statement in the often perfection-focused world of MSL: "After making many containers and a couple of tabletops, I found the process quite rewarding. It is not an exact science, which is part of the fun: Every pot has the potential to surprise." Have any of you tried hypertufa? Any tips? Is it really as easy as it seems, or did you ruin your shoes/pants/patio/bowls?
Images: Square & Faux Boix Pots by Tara Donne for Martha Stewart Living, Garden Notebook by Tess Wilson
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I was obsessed with this article when it came out! I have actualy made a few batches with some success, I posted one of my bowl pots on my blog,
http://thewall-nuts.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/05/Photo42.jpg
If I can pass any gems of wisdom along from my hypertufa experiences,
1. Make sure you thouroughly mix the cement, perlite and peat moss. If not, the pots will crumble.
2. Pour the cement in the mixing bucket first, the other materials are so light it is hard to mix properly if the cement is weighing them down.
3. If you plan on making a lot of pots invest in a mixing attachment for your handheld drill, it made all the difference in the world.
I love making these pots and have made several batches for gifts and for myself. It can be pretty easy and almost any container can work. I went to a hypertufa party/class and from then on went crazy making pots. 2 tips: use spray olive oil for containers to help release the mold. And second, make the "batter" the consistency of peanut butter. Cardboard boxes, jelly molds, corning ware, anything works. I even used an over sized muffin pan to make little individual containers. You can check out my post here:
http://studio-surface.blogspot.com/2010/12/homemade-natural-christmas.html
http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/how-to/how-to-make-modern-cement-planters-using-packaging-132678
I filed this project into the back of my mind after reading that same M.S. article. Now I'm wondering if there's an acceptable substitute for the peat moss. I feel so guilty every time I use products that have peat moss in them - save the bogs! There has to be some other organic, cheap, lightweight material that can be used.
Thanks for the reminder! I just know my toddler would love the mess we could make doing this.
Um, I should have checked the Re-Nest post that sciencegeek pointed out. You don't have to use the peat moss!
Just wondering if anyone knows how these pots withstand cold temperatures in the winter?
I work at a garden where we use fairly large hypertufa troughs for our alpine garden. We leave them outside in the winter in NYC and they do decay over a period of years. Many years.
We also add a small amount of fibreglass (a very small amount) to the mix to increase structural stability.
Isn't there some environmentally-unfriendly aspect to using peat?
Yes. Peat harvesting is destructive to the source environment. Most of the peat sold in the US comes from Canada. The bog land is first drained, then cleared of any living plants. It's allowed to dry out, then the peat layers are scalped, vacuumed, until all "sell-able" peat is harvested. This destroys the natural balance for the animals that live there, and kills the plant life.
It's argued by the producer/harvesters that bogs are renewable. However the plants and animals have been killed or driven out, so renewing a bog takes a very long time, hundreds of years.
Coir (coconut fibre) is a good peat moss alternative. I use it mixed with soil in my planters and to aerate my worm composter. Maybe it would work for hypertufa as well? It is a nice colour, anyway.
Sciencegeek, Michellesalzsmith, & Rocky B- thanks for the expert tips, especially the peat moss-alternative information. And Michellesalzsmith, those pots are amazing. I looooove the ones in the second photo!
I have made these and love them. Consider lining your mold with large leaves from hostas or other such veiny leaves. They make a great subtle design on the outside of your pot. Once the post has set, you just peel off the decayed leaves and voila!
Next time I will use a peat alternative. Will be fun to experiment.