A Great Beginners Hypertufa Video Overview

In an effort to provide all the hypertufa “how-tos” I can for you on my website, I certainly understand the value of being able to see someone in action, making a hypertufa garden art item from start to finish. If you are like me, I often learn a new skill a whole lot quicker if I can see what I’m supposed to do, rather than read the written instructions.

I wish I was, but I am not yet at the point where I can offer hypertufa videos of myself taking you through all the steps. I’m working towards that goal, so please be patient with me. :-)

However, with the internet being as wonderful as it is these days, and with online videos all the rage, I now can provide you with what I feel is a great 3-minute basic tutorial for making a hypertufa trough.

The video is provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension's "Backyard Farmer" program, which has been helping gardeners for more than 50 years.

In this video, you’ll get a good quick look at how to make a hypertufa recipe; how to mix and blend the ingredients; and how to make a rustic trough using a box, plastic sheeting and another plastic container to form the interior area. This is a good "first" project.

Get Your Popcorn & Let the Camera Roll ...
Please Watch The Video Now

OK, do you see how relatively easy it is to work with hypertufa ingredients?

The method shown to make the trough is rather "rustic" (many crafters take great pains to make more perfectly formed troughs), however hypertufa is supposed to replicate real Tufa rock, and the peat moss is supposed to deteriorate over time, leaving pits and crevices just like real Tufa.

So a haphazard approach when constructing a trough isn't necessarily a bad thing. This type of construction method might very well give you a trough that ends up looking like you carved it out of a large hunk of Tufa. That could prove to be a pretty neat looking trough in your garden!

The only thing I feel the video should have included was adding drainage holes. I HIGHLY suggest that you make at least three drainage holes in the bottom of any hypertufa trough or ‘tufa planter.

You can use short pieces of ¾-inch to 1-inch dowels, or even short pieces of thick branches to stick into the bottoms of your hypertufa troughs. Or, you could just make ¾-inch or wider holes in the trough bottom. Just make sure your wet hypertufa recipe doesn’t “ooze” back into the holes you’ve made.

**This is why most crafters will stick a piece of dowel down into the ‘tufa to make good and sure the holes will remain open during the curing process.

After you properly cure your trough (click here to learn more: hypertufa curing guidelines) and are ready to plant in it, place a small piece of mesh or screening material over the holes before you add the soil. This will keep the soil from washing out the holes every time you water the trough, and also stop slugs and other bugs from entering up through the holes.

I Wish You Success With All Your Hypertufa Projects!

• Safety Guidelines: Important Facts Tou Need to Know!
• Beginners Recipe: You Might Want to Try This One First
• 4 Basic Hypertufa Recipes For Every Type of Project
• Video: Hypertufa Recipe Mixing How-Tos
• Forms for Hypertufa Projects: Which Ones Work Best?
• Trough Project
• Hypertufa Colorants & Concrete Stain Guides
• Growing Moss: How to Age Hypertufa Planters & Troughs