1,814 days ago
I demonstrated how to make a terrarium for free
and built this.
That’s nice and all,
but I had to make sacrifices to fit within the free criteria.
That begs the question,
was this a viable long-term solution
or a failure?
Making an accurate assessment would be easiest
if we go all the way back to day one.
By utilizing materials that are commonly available
I was able to create this without spending a cent.
Spring just began,
so I went outside to collect
driftwood, gravel, stones, soil, bark, botanicals,
and various types of moss,
including Star Moss, Thread Moss, Sphagnum Moss,
and a branch covered in Hypnum Moss.
I found Liverwort as well.
For obvious reasons,
the most accessible container I could think of at the time
was a food jar.
I just had to clean it out
and scrape off the sticker.
I laid out my findings from before
and got to work.
I poured gravel into a bowl of water to remove floating debris
and rinsed off the remaining bits.
Since these were used for the false bottom,
I wanted to ensure they were clear of excess debris.
Instead of using a typical barrier, like a window screen,
I selected a material everyone has,
a plastic bag.
I cut out a circle from it
and poked it full of holes to get a similar effect.
The soil was full of twigs and roots,
so I chopped it up to get a finer grade.
I also crumbled the bark
and mixed it within,
to mimic my typical substrate blend.
The driftwood made for a good background element as is.
However, the rocks were covered in dirt,
so I rinsed them to allow their natural appearance to shine through.
I used these to build up the landscape around the wood.
I also dipped the moss in water to remove debris.
The Sphagnum Moss was great as a background plant,
while the Star Moss and Thread Moss were ideal for the midground.
Lastly, I put Liverwort
and the stick covered in Hypnum Moss in the foreground.
Accent stones, small patches of moss, twigs, sticks, and two acorn caps
took it to the next level.
Finally, I added some water
and wiped off the inside of the container.
Instead of sealing it with the lid,
I tackled it from the angle of not having one.
I placed the excess plastic from earlier on top of the opening
along with glass to create an indent.
Then, I sealed it with a Rubber Band.
I also covered it with burlap,
which was an optional aesthetic move.
At the end of it all,
the result was a simple, yet beautiful terrarium
that I built for free.
A lot of people were arguing with me at the time
that these were things I bought at some point,
so it’s not truly free.
Come on.
Literally all of this stuff is commonly treated as waste,
so you could just as easily ask to take it from someone’s trash
or unfortunately find it as litter.
I find containers and plastic bags in the woods all the time
and I've even turned them into terrariums myself.
If anything, it’s an interesting way to repurpose litter.
Anyway, off of that tangent.
Typically when I make terrariums,
I take very specific steps for the greatest probability of success.
Anyone familiar with my process and methods
probably noticed that I skipped a few steps.
That brings us back to what I said in the beginning of the video:
but I had to make sacrifices to within the free criteria.
What exactly did I do differently?
First of all,
I used a piece of plastic for the barrier above the false bottom,
which is not quite as permeable as materials I’d typically use;
window screen or geotextile for example.
I also didn’t include a charcoal layer above this.
Without saying too much,
it helps purify the system.
From what I've seen through experience,
including it really does help,
but how will a terrarium go on without it?
Another big change was with the substrate.
Typically, I mix up something like coco fiber, sand, orchid bark, and sphagnum moss.
This works long-term because it remains fluffy and aerated
even when subjected to the wet/humid environment of a terrarium.
I was able to replicate this to some extent by collecting
soil full of sticks and twigs
and by amending it with bark chunks,
but again, will it hold up?
Additionally I always add Springtails to address mold
and to encourage a natural nutrient/decomposition cycle.
Luckily, the soil from outside was already teeming with life,
including springtails,
so in some ways, there are advantages to using this
over the mix I described earlier.
However, I sealed the system with a plastic bag and a rubber band.
Sure, I included the indent to encourage condensation to drip from the middle of the lid,
but this is pointless
if it can’t even retain water for an extended period of time.
Lastly, what about the moss itself?
I always use it,
but something I don’t typically talk about
is that not all temperate species will last in a terrarium long-term.
I tried to pick ones that I’ve had success with in the past,
but you never truly know until you try it out.
That finally brings us to the three month mark.
You can tell immediately how much has changed
and how well everything was doing.
The sphagnum moss grew straight to the top of the jar
and a piece can even be seen in the front.
The other mosses and liverwort
wove into quite the carpet here as well.
I personally thought it looked beautiful.
Moving down into the false bottom
you can see that it’s full of moss.
I always think it’s cool when this happens.
At this point it appeared that the plastic barrier,
in the false bottom,
was functioning as intended,
based on how well the terrarium appeared to be doing.
Another highlight are the acorn caps.
They were infiltrated by moss,
which was cool to see because even this early on
the terrarium was taking on a life of its own.
The springtails also seemed to be alive and well,
doing what they do.
Considering the progress of it all,
I concluded that the other components,
like the lid and substrate,
were holding up well.
Even so, it was a little early to say for sure
if this was truly a viable long-term solution, despite believing that to be the case at the time.
Six months after that
and things were still looking good.
Not too far off from the previous checkup,
but definitely more grown in.
It was at this point that I decided it was finally time to open it up for maintenance.
At first glance, I could tell that things appeared a little dry on the inside.
That was no doubt the result of the rubber band.
It was dry-rotten and snapped when I removed the plastic.
Luckily I caught it early on
because this was the first sign of cracks in the foundation.
No checkup is complete without a proper sniff.
It smelled just like the forest,
so I was still confident that everything was doing well.
And the first thing that greeted me from the inside
was the sphagnum moss.
It was continuing on its pursuit to the top of the container
and looked awesome.
I also noticed that the driftwood was covered in neat little fungi.
Despite enjoying the sphagnum moss,
it needed a trim.
However, I only removed a minimal amount
to retain the background effect it was producing.
I pulled out that rouge piece in the front as well,
along with dead sections in the back
that I replaced with trimmings from the top.
The foreground also needed a haircut.
I went through and trimmed it down
to reveal more of the hardscape.
However, this created a total mess
that I had to meticulously remove with tweezers
to maintain the aesthetic.
I trimmed up the liverwort as well
to create a denser appearance.
Additionally I fine tuned some of the elements
to make the hardscape more visible.
The glass itself was surprisingly clean,
but I used a microfiber cloth to make it even better.
I added more water to compensate for anything lost during maintenance
or from the lid failure.
When I resealed it with the plastic,
I used two rubber bands for redundancy.
In theory if one fails, I have a backup.
After I sealed it up I noticed a few things of interest.
Although small at this stage,
there’s no mistaking what I saw,
a small rattlesnake fern.
began growing amongst the sphagnum moss.
Chances are there were spores of it mixed in with the sphagnum moss
and it took a few months to start growing.
I also saw a little worm cruising through the substrate on the side.
And from a high level,
I honestly just really liked how this setup looked.
And despite the mishap with the lid,
everything looked really good.
The plants were alive and well,
things grew in,
and it looked even better after a little maintenance.
I didn't do anything with it again until nearly two years later.
From the beginning till now,
is probably the biggest difference we've seen so far.
It's extremely overgrown.
That’s why I decided to open it again
and do a brief maintenance session.
Unfortunately, the rubber bands were dry-rotten as before
and although I didn’t see anything adverse,
moisture was likely escaping.
However, it still smelled like the forest,
so I knew it was healthy.
From the top you can truly see just how lush everything was.
This is a great example of why I encourage maintenance
because it promotes longevity.
By trimming the plants,
in this case the moss,
you can ensure enough light is entering the system.
Otherwise, everything in the middle will eventually get choked out.
As before, I kept the wall in the background,
but I removed a ridiculous amount of moss.
Algae and gunk also formed on the glass,
which also block the light.
I sprayed the glass to rehydrate the system,
which also made cleaning it easier.
That alone made a huge difference in visibility.
Anyway I went on to seal it up like before.
Looking back, I wish I would’ve documented more at this milestone
because that happened a while ago.
Two years, six months, and nine days to be specific.
That was the last time I’ve shown it on the channel
or done maintenance.
I haven’t opened it since.
Taking a look at it today to see how it's fared,
should adequately answer the question from the beginning of the video.
So just exactly what does it look like today?
Here we are, nearly five years into the terrarium’s life.
It looks much different from then and when we last saw it.
From an initial inspection,
it’s hard to see within the container itself.
That’s in part due to the sphagnum moss,
but more so the result of algae and gunk forming on it.
However, what we can see is this.
The sphagnum moss has continued to grow
and is a healthy green,
but most of it has transitioned into a finer growth form.
That’s most likely due to lack of light
and the degradation of nutrients.
Although I can’t see the other mosses or liverwort from the outside,
I can see that the fern has breached the false bottom.
It’s very small and likely won’t grow to its full size,
but that's fine since the jar is so small.
A lot of the substrate has broken down
and moved into the false bottom as well.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the terrarium will fail.
That's most likely due to the substrate mix
and not the barrier.
Either way, there’s not much I can do about it
other than take the terrarium apart completely,
but I don’t want to do that.
To address some of the other items
and refine the aesthetic,
I might as well open it up.
As expected, the rubber bands were dry-rotten
and immediately snapped.
It doesn’t appear that anything is dried up, though.
Happily, it still smells like the forest,
which means that despite the issue with the false bottom,
it’s doing well.
There are some interesting things here,
but most notable is the liverwort.
It must have creeped all the way to the top.
Now before I go and trim any of this,
I want to wipe the glass first.
Cleaning the off is so satisfying
and it gives perspective to how much light was being blocked by this nastiness.
It also gives us a better window into this mini world.
Although difficult to see,
there is still a patch of thread moss on the left.
You can also see a few springtails cruising around in the substrate.
The star moss however
doesn’t appear to have made it.
It's really cool to see how the acorn caps
and wood have decomposed over the years.
Other than a few wacky pieces,
there’s not a whole lot to address.
I trimmed a few sections, chopped it up, and put it back.
Although with more light entering the jar,
this should help things look fuller in time.
The fern will appreciate more light as well.
I added a few drops of water back into the system
and covered it up.
I'll lock it on with rubber bands I got from produce
that are a little more industrial.
It probably goes without saying that I love terrariums,
but there’s something about this one that I’ve always been fond of.
Although I’ve intervened a few times,
I treat it differently.
I allow it to go a little more wild,
which is arguably more natural.
And after just a little maintenance,
it really does look like a slice of nature if you ask me.
Despite the issues with the substrate and the star moss or the lack thereof,
I’ve had very few problems with this terrarium otherwise.
I’m certain it would be more robust if had I used more of my standard techniques,
but all things considered, it looks good.
I’d also say yes,
this is a viable long-term solution.
How long exactly, well that’s to be seen.
Five years is probably long enough to make a conclusion, though.
The happy to have finally been able to circle back on that
and to answer the question from the beginning.
I have one for you, though.
Are you still waiting to make one all these years later?