Are you keen to get into gardening
but find the process a little bit overwhelming?
You know, getting a veggie patch started
or growing an entire foliage forest in your apartment?
Well, you know me - I like to start small.
I've shown you how to make a mini greenhouse to grow quick crops,
and a little hothouse to grow cuttings of your favourite plants.
So how about digging into a tiny garden?
A terrarium is a great way to bring some green to your scene.
Sit it on your desk at work or make one for a friend.
It's small-scale gardening at its best.
So, what is a terrarium?
A terrarium is a mini ecosystem in a glass jar.
Traditionally, it's sealed
and it has all these layers in it to assist with drainage.
It creates a perfect moist, humid environment for plants to grow.
Once there's a bit of water in there, moisture from the soil
and transpiration from the leaves of the plants condenses,
runs back into the soil and creates a self-supporting environment.
It's plants that love humidity
that really thrive in these closed terrariums.
I've had this one for several years
and you can see how well they're doing.
So, plants like fittonia, calatheas and peace lilies
really love this environment.
You can also have an open terrarium,
and this opens up your plant range to a whole diverse range
of other plants that will also thrive in the environment.
And people often ask, "Well, what about succulents?"
And you can definitely grow succulents in your terrariums.
You just have to make a few adjustments to help them thrive.
This includes making sure you use a cacti and succulent potting mix.
This is a free-draining mix
so the roots aren't going to be sitting in water.
Also ensure that you have a large opening,
and this allows for really good airflow.
And when it comes to watering, don't use a spray bottle.
Spraying will keep water on the sides of the glass
and this will create a moist, humid environment,
which these succulents definitely do not like.
A big no-no when it comes to succulents in terrariums -
do not be sucked into mixing them
with your humid-loving indoor plants.
It's a recipe for disaster.
I know it looks pretty,
but they both have very different water requirements.
So these succulents, if they get too much water,
they're going to rot and, unfortunately, die.
Whatever you choose for your open or closed terrarium,
pick plants that have similar growing needs.
And now let's make one.
You can use almost anything for your closed-lid terrarium,
like this old food-pickling jar or even this mayonnaise jar
with a blue lid.
It doesn't matter because all the light can get in on the sides.
I'm gonna use this jar which I found at an op shop.
It looks really interesting.
As far as what tools you'll need,
tongs come in really handy.
A spoon is also useful.
And this makeshift tamper,
which is a knitting needle and some bread tags,
and that will help firm down your soil.
A full list of the tools and materials you'll need
is available on the Gardening Australia website.
You'll need about 2cm
of gravel in the base of your jar.
Next up we've got horticultural charcoal.
This is great for sweetening the soil
and helps remove and absorb any nasty smells.
You'll need a good handful or two.
Now, to stop the potting mix from falling straight into the gravel,
I'm gonna use a flyscreen mesh which has already been cut to size.
You can also use paper but it won't last as long.
And now for the mix.
It's made up of half-dampened perlite and really good quality potting mix
so it's not too wet and it's not too dry.
You want the height of the mix in the jar to be about 4cm.
It's time to plant.
I'm going with this calathea.
It's gonna add a lovely green backdrop
and also allow the light to get to the plant at the front.
But it's a little bit too tall,
so I'm gonna snip it back just to make it fit.
Don't worry, I'm not harming the plant. It will grow back.
Because we've got quite a bit of the root ball here,
it's not all gonna fit in the container.
We don't need it all so I'm just gonna remove that
with some scissors.
And now it's ready for planting.
I'm digging a hole with my fingers
just to help settle it into its new spot.
And then just backfill with potting mix around it.
Next I'm choosing something that's not as tall.
This is philodendron 'Fat Boy'.
This one has chubby stems.
If it starts to get too big, I'll trim it back.
This little guy is a fittonia.
He's really cute and he stays quite small,
so it's perfect for putting at the front of the terrarium.
I want to plant little pockets of this throughout the terrarium
so I'm gonna divide it.
Fittonias don't mind being divided
as long as you've got enough of the root ball attached to the plant.
And fittonias also strike really well from cuttings.
This is club moss.
Now, it's not a true moss,
but it's somewhere in between a fern and a true moss.
They have shallow roots,
they love moisture and stay quite small.
They can handle more variations in the environment than true moss.
The roots are so fine, quite delicate.
Make sure you backfill when you put your plants in
and cover the roots, otherwise they can dry out.
I'm tamping down the soil mix.
This is awesome.
And I'm wiping down the inside of the jar
and any potting mix lingering on the leaves.
And I'm adding some pebbles for decoration.
Water in to help the plants settle,
but once the lid's on, you really shouldn't have to water again.
As for maintenance, I won't need to water this one.
The seal's fairly airtight so the water will stay in there.
But if yours isn't, then you may need to water every now and again.
If you see condensation, don't worry, it's a good thing.
It means it's working.
If the plants get a bit big, I'll be watching
and I'll just simply cut them back to keep them small.
Now, you also want to keep it in a brightly lit spot
but out of direct sunlight and I've got just the spot.
A little garden of calm on my desk as I'm working.
There's so many ways to get into gardening,
and starting small brings big benefits.