The Sealed Terrarium/Biosphere Thread
Mar 6, 2021 20:21:26 GMT -5
campingcorgis, maskedsonnet, and 1 more like this
Post by ERR0R1755 on Mar 6, 2021 20:21:26 GMT -5
I'm experimenting with building sealed terrariums, which form their own ecosystem and require no additional watering or input (fertilizer, seeds, etc), with the exception of sunlight, once stabilized.
Here is terrarium #1, started on March 2nd, 2021 in a 1.5L bottle. The layering consists of approximately 2.5in aquarium pebbles, an aluminum window screen cut to size, 0.5in horticultural charcoal, and 2.5in of my (fungus gnat attracting) Miracle-Gro potting soil. There is 3.5in of air space for plants to grow, with an additional 1.5in of space in a cone-like shape (available space shrinks as it approaches the outside of the bottle).
To add micro-organisms and tiny insects, I've added some native soil and some water from a muddy puddle. I'm unsure how successful this will be due to the snow and ice, which may have killed everything in the upper layers that I collected from, so I may add more later.
To the inside of the bottle, I added a clump of moss, half of a robin egg's eggshell, and a few Red Wonder Wild Strawberry seeds.
So far, not much has happened. Condensation has collected on the inside of the bottle, and there is a small amount of water at the bottom. This is a sign of overwatering, so I am periodically opening the bottle to remove excess condensation until it clears up.
Some seeds that were on or trapped in the moss have begun to germinate - those are almost guaranteed to be weeds, but it will be interesting to see what appears.
Here is terrarium #1, started on March 2nd, 2021 in a 1.5L bottle. The layering consists of approximately 2.5in aquarium pebbles, an aluminum window screen cut to size, 0.5in horticultural charcoal, and 2.5in of my (fungus gnat attracting) Miracle-Gro potting soil. There is 3.5in of air space for plants to grow, with an additional 1.5in of space in a cone-like shape (available space shrinks as it approaches the outside of the bottle).
To add micro-organisms and tiny insects, I've added some native soil and some water from a muddy puddle. I'm unsure how successful this will be due to the snow and ice, which may have killed everything in the upper layers that I collected from, so I may add more later.
To the inside of the bottle, I added a clump of moss, half of a robin egg's eggshell, and a few Red Wonder Wild Strawberry seeds.
So far, not much has happened. Condensation has collected on the inside of the bottle, and there is a small amount of water at the bottom. This is a sign of overwatering, so I am periodically opening the bottle to remove excess condensation until it clears up.
Some seeds that were on or trapped in the moss have begun to germinate - those are almost guaranteed to be weeds, but it will be interesting to see what appears.
