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)
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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.
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2
Add in plants into the center.
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3
Around the plants, place pieces of the moss. Use chopstick to move your moss around until you get it in the right place.
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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.
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5
Place rocks, tiny critters, or pretty pieces of tumbled glass around the terrarium as accents.
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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.
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7
Enjoy and happy crafting!