Registration Form for Garden Blitz Spring 2014 - 3/1 9-3 at County Extension Center
Hypertufa Resources:
A Home Recipe for Towel-Tufa. Got some extra towels? Use them to make hypertufa planters. This recipe was passed along at a St. Johns County Master Gardener Luncheon. I tried it - and donated the pots to be sold at the Master Gardeners Plant Sale during at our 2014 Fall Home and Garden Show. See my notes below under the Towel Recipe link.
Video on making hypertufa pots - Lowes has the most readily available supply of portland cement
http://www.lowes.com/creative-ideas/woodworking-and-crafts/make-hypertufa-pots/project
See the PDF version of the slideshow for A Taste O' Tufa (an abbreviated version of the topical outline below).
The topical outline of the 1-hour course, "A Taste O' Tufa." This is a more detailed version of the slideshow (minus photos and artwork). Resources are listed at the end of the outline. They are also listed here for your convenience:
Hypertufa References and Resources:
a) Online
i) eHow: http://www.ehow.com – search for hypertufa. Suggestions for making molds, staining, coloring hypertufa, and many different projects
ii) GardenWeb Forum – http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hypertufa
iii) GardenWeb FAQ has different recipes for hypertufa and an explanation of the differences that the variations make on the finished product. http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/hypertufa/2003030744004525.html
iv) Lincoln county Extension at Oregon State shows how to do a molded hypertufa using a mold underneath the hypertufa, rather than outside/around it. It also discusses how to do a leaf mold, including how to support a large leaf project (this is a popular type of hypertufa project). http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lincoln/sites/default/files/hypertufa_container.pdf
v) FirstCoastFlora.info – a website created and maintained by Dianne Battle (battled@gmail.com) to make available the materials and training presentations developed by St. Johns County Master Gardeners. Not an official University of Florida Master Gardener resource. This site contains the full topical outline and resources used in the presentation, “A Taste O Tufa”
a) A Taste o Tufa - course presentation file
b) A Taste o Tufa - course outline
vi) Recipes for Hypertufa - From basic to advanced, a sample of ones I tried
b) Towel Pots Recipe - This is a BIG, HEAVY, MESSY project, but it cleans up fairly easily especially if you line your work surfaces with newspaper. It comes off the floor pretty easily too. I ended up draping TWO towels over my form (which was an inverted planter from our pile of "discards" at the IFAS Extension Center). I felt the one-towel planter wouldn't be sturdy enough to support the soil for a planted arrangement. I draped the towels slightly askance to create a layered effect. I also used liberal amounts of powered cement color. To get a bright blue I soaked my towels in "cement", draped the first over my mold, then sprinkled liberal "blobs" of blue powder over the remaining towel while still in the mixing tub. I then lifted the second towel directly out of the mix and draped it over the first towel. This second "outer" towel retained bright patches of blue when it cured - we'll see how well it holds over time. To elevate the mold form, I merely made a "tower" of inverted pots with the mold pot balanced on top. That way the towels could hang straight down. I hand-pleated the folds.
c) Towel Pots Video - Towel Pots and Other Videos Don't be afraid to make mistakes. The Hypertufa Lady shares her successes and disasters with you.
vii) SolutionsForYourLife.com – Official University of Florida Extension and Master Gardener Website. Search for hypertufa.
b) Videos
i) Lowes: http://www.lowes.com/creative-ideas/woodworking-and-crafts/make-hypertufa-pots/project - nice and short, doesn’t show any neat shortcuts, but very adequate
ii) Garden Time TV- http://www.gardentime.tv/howto.htm- Look for the section titled Hypertufa Pots. Shows some shortcuts and how to make a big hypertufa pot; they do not use masks (deduct one quality point)
iii) Connie of Buffalo- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFL1GY19d8s – homespun demonstration of making a large hypertufa pot. READ THE COMMENTS to see how she made the feet on the pot
c) Books
i) “Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden”, Sherry Warner Hunter (Jax Public Library JPL - www.jpl.coj.net)
ii) “Creating with Concrete”, Sherry Warner Hunter (Jax Public Library JPL - www.jpl.coj.net)
iii) Concrete Crafts: Making Modern Accessories for the Home and Garden Alan Wycheck
d) Local Training and Sales
i) Almost Ancient Pots creates original hypertufa containters and provides hands on workshops. View the inventory and training schedule at http://www.almostancientpots.com
ii) St Johns County Extension Center provides introductory hypertufa training/workshops as part of their educational mission under the University of Florida’s Land Grant College System. Small pots and garden decorations may be offered for sale at garden events. http://stjohns.ifas.ufl.edu
2) Plants to pot in hypertufa containers
a) Books
i) Succulent Container Gardens: Design Eye-Catching Displays with 350 Easy-Care Plants. Debra Lee Baldwin,( (Jax Public Library JPL - www.jpl.coj.net and St.Johns County Public Library www.sjcpls.org
ii) The complete book of cacti & succulents, Terry Hewitt (Jax Public Library JPL - www.jpl.coj.net)
b) Websites
i) Pearl Fryer’s Topiary Garden. A self-taught gardener, Pearl’s creation has won international recognition: http://www.pearlfryar.com
ii) Native Plant Consulting – sells low-maintenance Florida native plants to fill your containers http://www.nativeplantconsulting.com/
The HYPERTUFA CHEER (you really oughta wanna)!