Making hypertufa planters that withstood -22 °F/The best recipe for cold climate!

Hi everyone and welcome to my channel, today I'll show you how I did hypertufa garden planters.
Here is the recipe I used:
2 parts Portland cement
1 part peat moss
1 part vermiculite
a handful of fibers for concrete

fibers for reinforcement (as I found out they actually suggest them for using in hypertufa mixture):

Instagram: irina_mydiylife

[JoyceMurdock-Feilke]

Great information Thank you. A safety suggestion would be to wear a mask when pouring the dry concrete into the tub because concrete dust is toxic to breathe.

[loujones]

The recipe I use is a 1 part white Portland cement, 1 part peat moss, and 1 part perlite. The perlite helps keep the finished pieces lighter and easier to move around. Mine have lasted for years and I have found that plants love, love, love being planted in hypertufa pots. I used a 5 gallon bucket of each ingredient and poured them into a wheelbarrow which my husband turned with a shovel while I wet it down with a hose. You can make several large pieces with this amount, but it takes a strong person to keep turning the mixture. I like the idea of making smaller batches like you did which would be something I could do on my own. Also, I used cooking spray as release.

[craigathonian]

Wonderful informative video. You can also dye the concrete different shades of colors by mixing in concrete pigment powder. Just wanted to point out to readers how important "curing" concrete is. To do it correctly concrete needs to stay evenly moist for several weeks. { where Irene wrapped her containers in plastic and placed in the shade.} Why this is crucial is the fact that during this time period crystals are formed within the matrix of the medium. It is these crystals that gives concrete its true strength and ability to age well. If this step is not given the proper attention, the structure will crumble in a couple months to a year. {Fun fact...One can actually feel the sculpture heat up during this process.}

[harriotteworthington]

Another finish: put live moss, buttermilk, & water in a blender and pulverize. Put liquid in a spray bottle and spraycoat the vessels outer side. The buttermilk feeds the moss roots that dig into the little pockets/cracks of moss/vermiculite. Small fern spores do well, too.

[magpiesmith]

My mom made something like the boxed one but a solid block and carved several of them into various animal statues for her garden. They were beautiful and whimsical ❤

[sillililli]

For the pot that looked like a pumpkin, instead of the bucket, use another bag filled with sand, more pliable and easier to remove. Great video, thanks for sharing.

[truthseeker]

I am so glad Irene learned English, that she could share all these great vids with us :-)

[omar_rwemi]

The best fake rock tutorial I found on Youtube! It looks awesome.
Thanks a lot for sharing this with us.

[xyz]

Nice video! Be sure to wear a face mask / breathing mask next time though! The dust from cement and concrete is very bad for the lungs; like you know how it’s very bad for the skin, it’s even worse for the lungs. Good luck with your future projects, and please be safe ❤️

[siriward]

I’ve been researching how to do hypertufa and this is my favorite tutorial. Your pots are exactly what I hope mine will look like. Thank you for the excellent information, professional footage and all around fantastic lesson!

[deboraharmstrong]

To accelerate the moss growth .... find a handful of "Pretty Moss I Found In My Garden" and tear it up into small bits.
Mix it thoroughly with a handful of garden dirt.
Mix that with buttermilk, enough to make it sorta soupy and gooey...like pancake batter.
Now paint it onto the outside of the planters, and let Nature do her worst!

[Miranda-cwhq]

Great video! You've worked many hours to make this video and it shows! Clear instructions and nice camera work. Well done!!

[annagudmundsen]

I made many of very similar prox 7-8 years ago. I found a power washer made the perfect rustic surface in 1-2 minutes. Most of them are still going strong to this day. White cement give a more light sandstone look if you are into experimenting.
Yours came out great !
Just keep in mind the power washer if you want to make many in no time.

[carlametcalfe]

I tried forever to figure out what the brown mixture was. They look amazing. Thanks for the English version

[bettyannecourtright]

Where do you get your ideas from. These planters are cool. And thank you for the mistake video too. It’s nice to see that everyone makes mistakes and fixes them.

[kellykiley]

Use a compressor with an air hose and an attachment called a blow gun by putting the small nozzle into the edge of the mold the forced air will push the mold right out. Water works just as well. Nice job on your tufa pots.

[TsetsiStoyanova]

This is The best video on the subject on YouTube

[lechatbotte.]

I love hypertufa. Yes the fibers cut down on cracking. They look amazing

[kring]

I've watched a couple of your videos and I'm very impressed with your creativity and attention to detail! You gave me some great inspiration for my garden planters. Thank you!

[jlm]

They look amazing!! Great job and glad to know they did good through the winter months ! Thanks for sharing ❤ from Canada 🇨🇦