home grown biospheres [exciting first project!]

I thought a good start to this blog would be a terrarium tutorial. Terrariums are usually in closed containers. The goal is to create a mini-ecosystem in which plants can live off a natural water cycle (from precipitation). They are interesting (and super cute) and you can make them in all shapes and sizes.

This is my first attempt at terrariums and I created both open and closed environments.

In order to make a terrarium there are a few things you are going to need.
1. small stones or pebbles (i used aquarium pebbles) for drainage at the bottom
2. activated carbon (this can be found at aquarium stores or pet stores) - this cleans the air
3. sphagnum moss or something to put between the stones/carbon and soil (to prevent soil from sinking)
4. potting soil
5. plants (succulents, mosses, house plants etc.) or seeds
6. decorations!
7. oh yeah, and glass/ transparent containers to create the little biospheres

step 1: SUPPLIES!!

step 2: rinse container, stones and charcoal to get rid of any dust or contaminants 

step 3: first layer - put down a layer of stones... the size will be dependent on the size of your container (but do be generous because this layer is used for drainage) 

step 4: thin layer of activated charcoal. (apparently it is not necessary to have this if you are keeping the container open but I figured that it couldn't hurt..)

step 5: later of moss or in my case... small and medium wood chips. 

step 6: add layer of soil (this should be your biggest layer) and then add plants! (i added another layer of stones for decorations) 

step 7: spritz with water! :)

I also made a similar terrarium in a closed container and in this one i used seeds instead of plants.

(all my terrariums i made today!)

These would make great gifts and I also am looking forward to finding cute containers to make new ones in! 

Additional Information
guide for selecting terrarium plants http://containergardening.about.com/od/floweringcontainergarden/tp/Terrarium_Plants.htm