I had posted some tweets over a year ago on how one can make their own terrarium, after learning to do it at a workshop conducted at Bhaudaji Lad museum. Recently, a few people (online and offline) asked me how to do the same, so I thought of documenting the steps here for those interested, as it is easier to read than scrolling through tweets! So get ready, and please read the whole post before you begin, to avoid any mistakes :)
- Start with a clean glass bowl or container.You may have to put it out in the sun for a while, so all the germs, bacteria etc. get destroyed.
2. After wiping it dry, begin!! Add small stones/pebbles in it. Be careful not to throw these stones inside but to place them inside with your hands, don’t flatten the stones out. A small mound is ideal.
The bowl in this image can be purchased online or even from a store where you buy fish bowls/tanks from. Any glass container would work for a terrarium, you can get creative by using glass bottles or bulbs too!!
3. Next, add 3–4 small pieces of charcoal (this gets rid of any bad smell / odour in the terrarium). Sorry I do not have the image for this one, you just have to place the pieces of charcoal above the mound of stones.
4. This step is optional. Here, you have to lay a green shade net to separate the drainage layer (of stones & charcoal) from the soil layer which we are going to build. We skipped this step but it is recommended if one is trying this out for the first time without supervision from an experienced individual. Someone I know uses tissue paper instead of a green shade net because of ease of availability.
5. Next, one has to start adding soil. Be very careful not to add a lot of soil, start with 2–3 fistfuls.
One can always add more soil later if needed, so just stick to 2–3 fistfuls.
Here too, a mound is ideal. Don’t flatten the soil.
6. Good job!! The ground work is done, you can make small indentations with your fingers and start planting :)
7. List of plants recommended for use inside a terrarium:
You can buy these plants at a nursery or online. We planted epipremnum (money plant), syngonium (arrowhead plant), fittonia and one more I don’t remember the name of.
It’s important that you start planting from the sides, as it may get difficult to move your hand around inside to plant the other plants.
8. Next comes the watering. Start with watering the corners strictly using a water spray and then water the center. You can lift the bowl up to check whether the bottom layer is moist. If yes, then please stop watering.
9. Admire your terrarium for a while, before we can close it.
Some people like to add decor elements like a tiny little swing or toy-people, and make it look much like a garden. If you have any such fun ideas, you can implement them at this step!
10. The last step is to seal it. This is done because are building a closed terrarium, one that we don’t have to water everyday. We’re creating a mini ecosystem :) It is self-sufficient and will function just the way our earth does, evaporation, condensation etc. :)
We used kitchen cling-film to seal the terrarium.
Not sure if it is visible in the pictures but you can see the edges of the film on the sides of the bowl if you look closely. Also, the reflection of light on top of the bowl is evidence of the film being present :)
11. Next morning, you just have to check the bowl. If it appears very foggy (such that you can’t see the plants clearly), remove the seal for a while. It means that there is too much condensation i.e. moisture and plants may rot if you don’t open the seal. Seal it back after a few hours.
12. Terrariums should be kept near windows where you get direct morning/evening light or indirect through-the-day light. Once a week, tilt it slightly to make sure all parts of the bowl get light equally! Done!! :)
I placed my terrarium near my window for a few days, before gifting it to my neighbour / friend’s mom.
She loved the gift and still has it, except that she has opened it now and waters it daily because the money plant in it grew rapidly and she didn’t want to trim it but instead let it hang onto her window!
13. You may open the seal once every few months to trim the plants in case they have grown too much and add the seal back after watering a bit. Use a new film to seal it if required.
Note: A lot of people love planting succulents and cacti in a terrarium because of their pretty appearance. In case you plan to do so, kindly do it in an open terrarium and not a closed one, because succulents do not survive in humidity and thrive in direct light.
Good luck to you and your terrarium! :)
