A bucket planter might be something to try.

Drill a one-inch hole in the bottom of a five-gallon bucket and then coat the inside with a mold release like Pam or vegetable oil. Put a piece of plastic wrap or something over the hole to keep the hypertufa mix from falling through.

Put in a couple of inches of 'tufa and then center a smaller black plastic plant pot on top of that. Carefully add 'tufa around the sides (between the pot and the bucket) until you reach the top and then wiggle/shake it for a few minutes to release air pockets. Cover with plastic and leave in the shade for at least 24 hours (assuming your daytime temps are +60, otherwise, you should wait longer.)

Invert over something soft (sand, dirt or lawn) and shake the pot out. If that doesn't work, try inverting over something hard, like your garage floor and dropping from a short distance. You may need to scrape leakage from the hole in the bottom and then push something through the hole to break the suction (that's why the hole is so important).

Once the pot is out, handle carefully. Mist with water and cover with plastic. In 24 more hours (or so) you can immerse in water to leach some of the lime. At any rate, keep moist and covered for a week and then keep in the shade for a month.

At that point, drill a hole in the bottom of the planter with a masonary bit for drainage and plant it up. This should produce a nice, big planter and an immense feeling of accomplishment!

Deb

Here is a link that might be useful: a bucket planter

Can anyone give me instructions on how to make a small cement bridge over a pond? My husband says I can't do it, so I'm determined.

Hi Ms. Greeenhouse and everyone else. I've been lurking here for some time and LOVING all of it. I've been working with cement and mosaic for some time now (stepping stones, pathways, so forth) and I'm ready to branch out to cement/'tufa spheres, outdoor furniture....also interested in the bridge idea, but in Greenhouses' case, it would be nice to know what kind of span her pond has. Better be small. I have a little fake "brook" in my back yard which cries out for a new cement bridge, maybe 3-4' long. I'd like ideas, too !

Backdoor gardener, I think the easiest project I've done is a sphere but I didn't use a basketball for a mold. I bought a replacement globe light fixture that fits over the light bulb of a ceiling fixture. It is very inexpensive at Lowes or Home Depot. Just spray the inside with a vegetable oil type spray and pack it with your hypertufa mix. I used equal parts portland cement. builders sand and peat moss. After 24 hours, put it in a sack (for your protection) and beat all around it with a hammer to break the glass. It's fun. Voila, a perfect globe. Let it cure for a few weeks and if you want, seal it with Thompson's deck sealer or just leave it as is. You can also use a cheap fish bowl from Hobby Lobby or Michaels but they have flat bottoms and tops. Good luck!

Backdoor Gardener, There are so many things you can use for a simple mold. Plasticware (bowls, tubs, trays from the dollar store) is usually the easiest to work with, just spray with a release or line with a dry cleaner bag. You can also use a cardboard box that you've re-enforced the outside with duct tape and line with a plastic bag. You can use a plastic tub filled with damp (not wet) sand covered with a plastic bag (or not) for a simple mold. Watch any mold that you line with plastic the plastic can become embedded in you wet mix as you tamp it into the mold. You can embed items (marbles, clean sea shells, tiles) in the sides as you make your planter or you can carve the sides when you unmold. Depending on the size of the mold and the weather you should be able to unmold in 24 - 48 hours. It will still be "green" so be gentle when you unmold.
Greenhousegirl, You'd want to do a "concrete" (portland cement, sand and gravel) bridge re-enforced with rebar for your pond. Cement is just one of the ingredients we use in all of our projects. You can build a mold from plywood and either seal the wood or line with plastic. I believe there's a web site online called.........Flying concrete...I forget the name and don't seem to have it bookmarked. Anyway he used a mound of damp sand for a freeform mold for some large pieces. Billie