How does your garden grow? With hypertufa pots

Gardening is one of the most rewarding hobbies a person can have. Nothing tastes quite as good as the tomato you grew from seed. Unfortunately, not everyone has the acreage to commit to a big garden and buying containers can be expensive. Why not make your own?

Stop by the library garden on Aug. 6 at 10 a.m. to learn how to create your own hypertufa plant containers.

Hypertufa is a mixture of concrete, perlite and peat moss that remains light enough to toss in the air, but tough enough to survive the rigors of summer heat and water. You might be thinking: it’s a little late in the season to start a container garden, and you’re right.

But these containers are extremely versatile and great for wintering tender plants like succulents. Once you repot them next spring, you’ll have containers ready for vegetables.

You can form hypertufa into virtually any shape and size, so long as you have a mold. Library staff will show you how to make a small container, which you can scale up with your own materials at home. Yogurt cups, butter tubs, sterilite bins and even old car tires can make effective molds for your new container garden.

Be sure to get here early, as supplies for this program will be limited, and once we run out, we’re out. Don’t forget to check out the Friends of the Library book sale while you’re here!

Brenden Bobby can be reached at the East Bonner County Library, 1407 Cedar St., Sandpoint, by phone at 208-263-6930, or email at brenden@ebonnerlibrary.org.