Hypertufa
Hypertufa Resources:
This section of FirstCoastFlora.info contains more in-depth info about all things hypertufa - including a newspaper article I wrote for The St. Johns Sun in July 2017:
Since the Resources are meant to be "all-things," it keeps growing... And speaking of "growing" I have to recommend HIGHLY the website The Hypertufa Gardener. Kim is passionate about her gardening and about hypertufa. She's the right-brain counterpart to my left-brain orientation. Check it out and sign up for updates. She keeps this site going and growing - including a new (to me) post on styrofoam hypertufa, which I'm calling "styrotufa" -- you heard it here. But don't forget to go here too:
The Hypertufa Gardener: http://www.thehypertufagardener.com/
Take a look at some of my creations and how I made them in the Hypertufa Gallery.
I have a section on Planters/Pots
and one on making Accents that can also be decorative or functional - like bird baths and butterfly puddling stations.
Not everything turns out as planned. Even those "What was she thinking of?" items can be incorporated into planted pots - my favorite trick is to paint the "crumbles" to resemble coral reefs or half bury them like ancient ruins.
Taking a hypertufa class is always the most fun you can have with mud, but you don't need one to get started. I've collected a lot of good online resources, including videos, and helpful books as well as classes you can take advantage of in northeast Florida. I researched the subject (resources I found are below) then just tried it for myself. After a year of practice, I took a class from AlmostAncientPots. It was great and I picked up little tips and increased my confidence; I now know that you can't be afraid to make mistakes. Hypertufa is a creative medium and part of the creative process involves the risk of failure. As long as your failures teach you something, you'll be ahead of the game. If nothing else, they can teach you how to laugh at yourself, which is the greatest gift of all.
I'm doing DIY-Tufa and Wiki-Tufa classes. Contact me if you want to hold a Tufa-Partay.
As a Master Gardener in St. Johns County, Florida I've begun doing demos and mini-classes for free or next to nothing at our events to allow people to understand the process and see if they would like to try it for themselves. I'm specializing in small pieces that don't need to have molds built to make them - the basic DIY stuff. This includes pots and decoratives. Here are the materials I developed for my hands-on mini course (1-hour) I did a few years back at the Extension Center:
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 below 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://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/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” as well as resources on other subjects developed by my fellow master gardeners
a) A Taste o Tufa - course presentation file
b) A Taste o Tufa - course outline
c) Coloring Hypertufa: Mixing Staining and Painting
d) Embellishing Hypertufa with Decorative Objects
vi) Recipes for Hypertufa - From basic to advanced, a sample of ones I tried
b) Styrofoam hypertufa from The Hypertufa Gardener. In fact everything there is excellent if you want to make a planter that you couldn't but in a store even though you'll want to.
c) Towel Pots Recipe - 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 pics of the towel pots on the Hypertufa Pots page.
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.
d) Towel Pots Video - Towel Pots and Other Videos Don't be afraid to make mistakes. The Hypertufa Gardener 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. Lowes has the an available supply of portland Type II cement in 47-lb bags. If you can lug a 94-lb bag of the stuff you can buy in at either Lowes or Home Depot (or many other places). It's a little cheaper, but the stuff is pretty inexpensive to begin with. Let your back and your wallet be your guide.
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
iv) Handmade for the Garden, Susan Guagliumi - A variety of DIY projects, including Hypertufa, to grace your garden
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) Dianne Battle will do a class. Contact me to discuss your interests. I do have a small inventory of items and can make something up to order -- just remember that it will take at least six weeks (that's the cure time required to solidify hypertufa).
2) Plants to pot in hypertufa containers - See my June 2016 St. Johns Sun article Highlighting Master Gardener Cathy Rodgers and her passion for succulents: A Succulently Fun Summer.
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) Stores - You can go to the "big box stores" if you like, but unless you know the sales person remember they might not know how to do anything but sell plants.
i) Williams Plant Nursery - if you tell them you need a plant that does NOT require acidic or very moist soil, they can find something appropriate: http://www.williamsplantnursery.com/
ii) Native Plant Consulting – sells low-maintenance Florida native plants to fill your containers http://www.nativeplantconsulting.com/
iii) Southern Horticulture - sells Florida native plants and other plants that would work in a hypertufa container.
----> And now for something completely different.... Pearl Fryer’s Topiary Garden. Just threw this one in because it's fascinating. You might think "bonsai" if you want to duplicate in a container what Pearl has done in terra firm. A self-taught gardener, Pearl’s creations have won international recognition: http://www.pearlfryar.com
The HYPERTUFA CHEER (you really oughta wanna)!