How to Build a Tropical Terrarium

            Alright, so I said I would make a blog on how to build a terrarium and that's what I'm going to do.  Hopefully someone out there finds it useful.  I spent a lot of time this week trying to figure out how to built one and visited several sites/greenhouses/etc before I felt like I had adequate information.  So, this is what I've learned, and if I'm wrong on anything please correct me! 

            Terrariums are fun.  If you're busy, and easily distracted (like myself) it's a great way to add a little green to your apartment that requires a lesser amount of care than your standard potted plant.  A terrarium when fully functional can last an entire year without needing to be watered!  You'll only have to go in occasional to do some light housekeeping. 

To begin you will need a few things:

- A glass jar with a lid of some sort, or a bell jar (with a shallow bowl beneath to hold your plants).  I love the way the bell jars look!

- Small pebbles.  You can find these at any garden shop or craft store.

- Activated charcoal.  Took me a while to figure where to buy this.  Turns out that if you have a nice greenhouse around they will most likely sell it.  I've also heard you can buy it at pet stores in the aquarium section.

- Potting soil.  I used pretty standard organic potting soil, but there is potting soil out there especially for terrariums.  I, however, did not see this.  It is said to drain better than standard soil, but so far my plants seem very happy.

- Plants!  Another part where I had trouble starting off as I wasn't sure what plants were best suited for a terrarium, and my not extraordinarily sunny apartment. 

            So, about the plants.  You will want to pick small plants that grow slowly and don't require a ton of trimming.  It's also good to pick ones that like nice humid climates as a terrarium is a lot like a mini-greenhouse.  When you are deciding which to go with you will want to choose some that have similar needs as far as sunlight, humidity, and water. 

Here are some plants that will grow well together (I am using these in my own terrariums):

- Fluffy Ruffles:  This is a small fern.  Most ferns will grow pretty large, which makes this one a nice choice for terrarium growing.

-Baby Tears:

- Selaginella kraussiana (club moss):  This makes a great ground cover.  I love it because it's very green and soft looking.

- Wandering Jew and English Ivy:  These will both do well in low light and Wandering Jew is a very pretty shade of purple, however, these are said to be quick growers so if you choose them you might have to stay on top of things a bit more.  

- Purple Passion:

- Hypoestes:

- Fittonia:

- Pilea:

- Arrowhead:

- Dwarf Mondo Grass:

- Creeping Fig: 

                So hopefully that's good to get your started plant-wise.  The terrarium I am making will be tropical.  I'd like to do a blog later on desert terrariums, and carnivorous.  We'll see how this one turns out though!  Anyways, here we go.

1.  Take your bowl, or shallow dish and begin by pouring in the pebbles.  You will want at least a half an inch of pebbles on the floor of your terrarium.  (This allows the water to drain down so your plants don't get too much water.)

2.  Now take your activated charcoal and sprinkle it over the pebbles.  This absorbs odors and keeps the air from becoming stagnant.  (I read on another blog that you can use a layer of sphagnum moss here to keep the soil from washing to the bottom.  Personally, I didn't do this step, but it doesn't sound like it could hurt anything!)

3.  Here we add our dirt.  You won't need a huge layer.  Maybe 2-3 inches. 

4.  Now add your plants.  Gently squeeze the sides of the container to loosen them up and remove them.  Over a trash can you will want to shake out the old potting soil while carefully spreading the roots apart.  This will make it easier to plant and you won't end up with a huge lumpy mound.

5.  Moss (If you wish to add it), can make your terrarium look quite lush and happy.  You can either buy moss from a craft store/ green house pre-packaged and spread it about, or you can go out and hunt down some live moss and place it in your terrarium.  While I don't have pictures of the whole process here is how to do it.  Take a small container of moist dirt with you and prepare to hunt.  Once you find some moss you will want to work your fingers under one edge and gently lift/scoop it out.  Place it in the container for transportation home.  Once home you will lay the moss much like lawn grass.  Just set it where you want it and press it somewhat firmly into the soil.  Keep it happy and moist while it adjusts to its new home and you now have living moss!

6.  Add decorations:  Drift wood, nice stones, a tiny gnome.  Little finishing touches will brighten up your terrarium a lot.

The bit below is important so well phrased so I am pasting here.  The source of this information is from Village Garden Web -posted by DianaMay-, linked here: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/terrarium/msg091303116460.html  (The rest of the post is worth reading as well.  It talks about pests, decay and mold, and artificial light.)

A bit on watering your terrarium:

"When starting your terrarium, water lightly around individual plants. Water will spread throughout mix by itself. Nature equalizes wet and dry. Once the humidity is properly distributed, roots will grow in the air and on the glass. Err on the side of too little rather than too much water. The terrarium should then be covered tightly with a transparent material such as Saran Wrap or glass. Wait at least one week to see if a condensation cycle starts.
If no condensation forms on the coolest side of the terrarium, during the day in very good light, add a few tablespoons of water a day until it does. Check to see that plants are getting enough light. (Inadequate light will prevent life cycles from starting.) If condensation forms on more than 1/3 of the glass, wipe it off with a paper towel and seal the top again. Do not leave it open to dry it. Plants that like high humidity will suffer. If excess condensation continues, repeat daily until only 1/3 condenses. When it is right, seal tightly, under the cover, with moistened Saran Wrap, and leave it in good light. A terrarium may go for a year or more without additional water if the proper balance of water and light have been reached, provided that it is properly sealed. You will need to open it only for housekeeping and trimming."

And on light:

"Light is the food of plants. "Plant food" is the equivalent of our minerals and vitamins. Without a good source of light, plants will gradually perish. A small terrarium cannot take sunlight because heat builds up too quickly in it. In a tall terrarium with a lot of air space this problem does not usually arise, and the sun can shine for up to three hours in the morning or late afternoon, and in winter at other times. (Moss, however, does its best in a very low, broad space like a punch bowl, with no sun.)
Do not move your plants around to follow the sun or to avoid it. Plants are oriented to the light and do not thrive if they have to repeatedly re-orient themselves. Do turn the terrarium gradually, over a period of time, if the plants are all growing to one side, or else tip the terrarium up to give the plants more even light."

            So that's about it!  Hopefully this information was useful to someone out there, have fun planting. :)

Pietrisycamollaviadelrechiotemexity

Word of the Day:  

Pietrisycamollaviadelrechiotemexity:  The state or condition of not having the faintest idea what's going on. 

            I can't seem to shake the feeling that there is something terrible looming on the horizon.  To steal a quote from Neil Gaiman, "He had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out all at once."  So, if something has gone awry in the lives of two close friend's it's fairly safe to assume you are next, right?  Of course, perhaps said terrible and looming thing has already occurred and managing to survive I have allowed myself to come to the conclusion that it was not so terrible after all, and there will be more to come.  Maybe I'm safe now, maybe I'm just being paranoid.

                So, 68,455 minutes until I board a plane to Tucson.  In between now and then, there will be much waiting.  Sixteen days travelling by car, boat, horse, and helicopter from Tombstone to Yellowstone.  I think I am most looking forward to the sky.  The night sky in Arizona, the large opened expansive sky of Wyoming; both have me eager to hit the road.  There's a place we'll be staying outside of a Flagstaff with an observatory.  This is particularly cool because, with the addition of a t-mount adapter, I will be able to hook my camera up and get some amazing shots.  Below is a picture taken through the same telescope (Also pictured) I'll be using.  (On a side note I have decided I need one of these:  http://www.segahomestar.com/  for my apartment.  I wish there was some practical use for it.)

                Current list of destinations include, but are not limited to: Tombstone, San Xavier Del Bac Mission, Apache Junction, Route 66 (which is not so much a destination as a detour), The Grand Canyon, Havasupai Falls, Mesa Verde, Arches National Park, Cisco, Utah, Jackson Hole, and Yellowstone.  There's a few things I have always wanted to witness, and it will be nice to know I can cross some of these things off the list after this summer.  As far as this trip goes here is what I would most like to see along the way:

- Buffalo herd.

- Lightening storm over the rim of the Grand Canyon.

- An active geyser. 

- Window rock.

-  Havasupai Falls, from the bottom.

                So lately I've been building terrariums under bell jars.  I have the image in my mind of my apartment brimming over with all of these little separate ecosystems.  Tiny worlds sporadically placed in round stands or mounted to the walls.  There's something about it I really like.  Currently my apartment has a large number of fossils, and antiques.  Somehow this seems to fit.  I like old things.  I also like things that are living, and while fossils aren't living it's nice to think that they once were.  There's something about holding a thing holding a thing that is roughly 65 million years old; it makes you feel like your life is less fleeting.  I would say, it's grounding.  This is why I particularly like ammonites.  Not only are they beautiful, but they are ancient.  That's one below:

                Anyways, back to the subject of terrariums.  I have two at current, and four more in the works which should be done by the end of the day if I find the time to stop procrastinating.  Funny how I still procrastinate even when the thing that I am putting off is something I am really looking forward too.  My first one is pictured below.  This one is sweet, girlish, floral.  While I really like it I have to say I prefer the more wild look of the second one I made.  The rest of them will follow suit. 

                I've also started becoming interested in making my own Bonsai tree.  I worked on a practice one yesterday, but out of pure embarrassment I will refrain from posting any pictures of the end product.  Starting over tomorrow with a new tree.  Perhaps I will take some before and after shots so I can track it's progress over time.  Also, lest I forget, there are orchids!  I've decided my house desperately needs some of these, so I suppose it's time I learned how to care for them.  I've always loved horticulture, but beyond the random house plant I never really brought it inside; so this is new for me.  In my next post maybe I'll throw up a little how to for creating a terrarium with all of the things I've learned since starting this project.