2020- APRIL 11 ISSUE: MAKE YOUR HYPERTUFA

Tired of going to Book Club? Yoga? Consider reeling in a few good pals to play around with messy Portland cement and peat moss in order to create your own stone-like planters from hypertufa. Or, if you are self-isolating, dive in by yourself. Tufa is limestone rock, so hypertufa is fake rock that is lighter weight and porous, thus perfect for plants, especially drought-tolerant succulents. The creative director of Burlington,Vermont-based Gardener’s Supply, Susan Romanoff, developed this recipe: Materials: 1 part Portland cement 1.5 parts peat moss 1.5 parts perlite Water Tub for mixing ingredients Rubber gloves Dust mask 2 cardboard boxes, one about 2″ smaller than the other Mix one part Portland cement with 1.5 parts each of peat moss and perlite in a large tub. Add just enough water so that when you form a ball in your hands and squeeze it, it holds its shape and little or no water drips out. Pack the hypertufa mixture into the bottom of a box in a two-inch thick layer, creating the floor of your container. The size and shape of this larger box will define the exterior footprint of your container. Insert a smaller container inside the larger box, on top of the base layer of the concrete mixture. The difference in the sizes of the boxes determines the thickness of the walls. Ideally, the walls should be at least two inches thick. Fill and pack the gaps between the boxes with the hypertufa mixture. Wrap your mold in plastic and keep in a shady location overnight. Remove the plastic and allow to cure for another few days before planting. Plant. For full details, see gardeners.com.