Hypertufa, made from cement and peat moss, supplies the stuff for making a durable, long-lasting planting container. These pots have a rustic appearance that may match your landscape whether you plant them with foliage or flowering plants. Attention to detail during the molding and curing process ends in the best looking hypertufa container since it allows you to avoid unwanted roughness on the last outside of the pot. The finished pot has a similar shape to this mold. Use old vinyl planters or cardboard boxes in the desired shape to mold your hypertufa.
Establish your mold upside down to a plastic bag or bag. Cover the mold with a trash bag, smoothing out the wrinkles as best as you can. Any wrinkles still present appear inside the pot so they don’t impact the final appearance of the container.
Put on a set of rubber gloves and mix two parts peat moss, 1 part Portland cement, and 1 part sand or perlite in a huge bucket. Mix in a handful of concrete reinforcing fiber with these dry ingredients.
Mix in 1 part water slowly, combining it with all the dry ingredients together with your hands. Add water until the mixture is completely moistened but still stiff enough to hold its shape when squeezed. The mixture contains enough water when only a thin film of moisture is visible once you squeeze a couple of.
Cover the sides of the mold with a 2-inch-thick layer of this hypertufa mixture. Pack it solidly against the mold so it holds together. Place a two- to 3-inch depth on the cover of the mold, which will be the bottom of the finished container. Flatten it with your hands.
Smooth the sides of this hypertufa to your best-looking container after it dries. Any irregularities will harden and become permanent. Poke a hole in the middle of the bottom with your finger to offer drainage.
Place a plastic bag on the cap of the container and totally cover the hypertufa mixture. Allow it to cure for a single week in temperatures over 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or for two weeks in cooler temperatures. Remove the bag and mist the hypertufa once daily with water. Moisture helps the mixture cure correctly.
Remove the plastic bag and turn the container over quietly. Lift the mold from this container. Rub any sharp edges with a stiff brush to smooth them.
Manage the finished container for the next two weeks. Spray the container a couple of times each day with water for the next five days after the recovery period is finished. Spraying leaches out the alkalinity therefore it won’t hurt the plants you grow in the pot.