If you like the look of handmade garden pots, but don’t have access to pottery wheels or kilns, this is the project for you. Hypertufa pots are a great DIY project to try during winter since it takes a few weeks for the pots to fully cure; just in time for Spring planting!

The word hypertufa comes from “hyper” (excessive) and “tufa” (volcanic rock); these pots look like “very rocky” cast stone vessels.  The pots are lightweight and porous, a perfect home for many different types of plants. Succulents especially love hypertufa pots.  Read ahead for a full how-to. Happy winter crafting!

Lauryn

Hypertufa Pots

example of finished pots. image via 33shadesofgreen.blogspot.com

Ingredients:             

The main ingredients are very simple and can be found at your local hardware store or large gardening store:

• peat moss
• perlite
• Portland cement

Molds:             

Hunt in your recycling bin for clean food packaging or look for reusable plastic tubs/ buckets to use for molds. I found a few cardboard food containers that worked perfectly. For each pot, try to find two containers that nest inside each other, leaving ¾” to 1 ½” wall thickness between them. For one pot, I used a ½ gallon square cardboard milk container and a small half and half container. For the other two pots, I used a few standard ice cream cardboard containers in round ½ gallon and quart sizes.

Tools:             

You’ll want to have some basic tools on-hand:

• protective gloves
• dust mask
• a mixing tub or bucket (plastic works well)
• a trowel, cultivator or gardening fork (to stir the mix)
• cooking spray
• wire brush, microplane, rasp or similar hand tool (after the pots cure for a couple of days—to clean up the surfaces and edges)

What you do:

Spray a thick coat of cooking spray onto the inner/ outer surfaces of your molds.

Put on your dust mask and gloves.  In a large tub or bucket, mix your dry ingredients: 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite, 1 part Portland cement.  I used two quarts of each.

Add water slowly and stir until the mixture becomes the consistency of cottage cheese. You may want to use your gloved-hands to mix it up thoroughly.

Put a base layer of mix about ½” to 1” deep in the bottom of your mold.

Place your smaller (nesting) container on top of this base layer, and begin filling in the wall thickness. Be sure to pack it in tightly to reduce air pockets. Tap on the sides of the container to help get rid of bubbles.

Repeat with all of your molds

Cover your pots with plastic bags and set aside for 24 hours.

After curing for 24 hours, carefully remove the inner molds.

Re-cover with plastic bags and set aside for another 24 hours.

After curing for a second 24 hour period, carefully remove or peel away the outer molds.

Re-cover with plastic and let sit for another 24 hours.

After curing for a third 24 hour period, the surfaces of your pots should be hard enough and ready to be finished.

Using a wire brush, microplane or rasp, smooth the top edges of your pots and any other imperfections that may have transferred from your molds.

Using a drill or a similar tool, create holes in the bottom of your pots for drainage.

Re-cover with plastic and let cure for a few weeks. Check on them in 3-6 weeks. At that point, the cement should have cured, and the pots will be a much lighter gray color.

Now your pots are ready for plants!  (Bonus tip: moss or lichen will grow directly on your pot, if desired! Mix some moss, sugar and buttermilk in a blender, paint it onto the pot's surface, and watch it grow. More info on that technique here.)

example of finished pots. image via 33shadesofgreen.blogspot.com

Some thoughts:

There are a few things I’ll do differently next time I try this project.

First, I would change the ratio of ingredients: instead of equal parts, I’d reduce the amount of Portland cement (try 2 parts cement, 3 parts peat moss, 3 parts perlite). This would keep the pots strong and sturdy but lighter in weight.

Second, I would try using just one mold on the outside, with no nested container inside; I would pack the mixture along the bottom and up along the sides, since it’s fairly sticky and stays put if you pack it tightly. This would give me more freedom in the size/ shape of the vessel I choose to use as a mold, since I wouldn’t have to find a smaller one to nest perfectly inside. I would still try to use plastic or cardboard molds, if possible.

Finally, I would want to experiment with color. There are masonry stains that you can mix in, but I've read that it works best with white cement mix rather than the standard gray.