There are lots of tutorials for terrariums floating around these days, but this one the terrarium turned on it’s head. Inspired by a pickle jar terrarium concocted by the warymeyers team, there are no fancy glass domes to buy and no scouring your local nursery for plants small enough to fit under them. In fact, there’s no buying at all. Everything you need is most likely located within a walk around the block, no matter where you live.
CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump!
What you’ll need:
- Empty clear glass jar with screw on lid
- A handful of scavenged moss with some extra soil attached
- A plastic bag
1. Keep an eye out for moss freely growing in your neighborhood. Even in New York I found some growing in between the cracks of the sidewalk with 3 minutes of looking. Just scoop a handful up and put it in a plastic bag on your way home.
2. Other small plants found growing outside can be used, too. Just gently loosen their roots and hurry home to plant to plant them, as they have a much shorter life span out of soil than moss.
3. Weed out any dead growth from you moss and carefully examine the soil if you’ve found it in an urban environment. I found cigarette butts and a safety pin inside my mine!
4. Thoroughly clean your jars and soak to remove the label.
5. On top of your jar’s lid, mound up some of your extra soil. Some terrarium guides say to use pebbles etc…. for drainage, but since we’re only really planting moss, which can grow on the sidewalk, mind you, it’s safe to skip it.
6. Place your moss on you lid, doming it a bit in the center. Now would be the time to add any other little plants, which you can just stick through the moss. Lightly water.
7. Gently wiggle your jar down over the moss and screw into place. The water level should be fairly self-sustaining after the first watering (depending on the tightness of the seal). If it looks a little dry, half unscrew the lid and run under the faucet for a minute.
