Terrarium / Indoor Ecosystem

How to make a Terrarium / Indoor Ecosystem

Posted by Valerie E.

About

We are getting done with our study of the story of creation. I thought a good 'end of unit' study, before we move on, would be making our own tiny ecosystems. They are SO easy and so fun!

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You Will Need (8 things)

  • A Jar(s) , of any size. The largest was an unused gallon pickle jar from the pantry. The smallest was a Tikka Masala sauce jar from dinner last night.
  • Small Gravel (from our yard)
  • Terrarium Charcoal
  • Tiny Plant(s) (ask the nursery worker when you look for the charcoal which ones will work)
  • Bark or peat moss
  • Moss (collected from the yard is just fine.)
  • Decent garden/potting Soil
  • Glass Gem(s) , larger rocks, or tiny plastic critters (just from around the house in our case)

Steps (7 steps, 30 minutes)

  1. 1

    Layer on the bottom, the ingredients as follows:

    Gravel, then charcoal, then bark, and then soil. Make sure it does not go above 1/4 of your jar.

  2. 2

    Add in plants into the center.

  3. 3

    Around the plants, place pieces of the moss. Use chopstick to move your moss around until you get it in the right place.

  4. 4

    Use finger tips or a dowel with a large cork on the end of it, to pat the soil and moss down around the outside of the jar. Arrange to look pretty.

  5. 5

    Place rocks, tiny critters, or pretty pieces of tumbled glass around the terrarium as accents.

  6. 6

    Every three days, squirt the ecosystem with a squirt bottle. The moss is your canary in the coal mine. When it starts to look dry, you know you need more water.

  7. 7

    Enjoy and happy crafting!