Terrarium #3.
Haven't yet published #2 yet as it isn't finished, but an urge to pile a couple of rocks into a shallow container and to stick some moss in the soon-to-be project came over me, and here we are. In a future office renovation coming down the line, belongings had to be moved. During the move of all my jars and vessels saved for future projects, the idea to make a dish garden of sorts out of an old glass prep container where the lid has gone missing.
As seen by the first photo, our aim was to create a mountain with mosses. We don't have anything that absolutely needs the depth, but with an open top, there will be a challenge present with maintaining adequate moisture for the moss. This would mean frequent misting is required, but we'll also need to consider the possibility of water pooling at the bottom. So the bottom base will be loaded with clay terrarium balls. Commonly used by others. They hold water of their own and the gaps between should allow for water to evaporate more easily back into the soil layer which the moss can pull from in the future, so I can worry a bit less about them drying out everyday.
Fiberglass mesh laid down just like the Candy Jar. Keeps the soil layer separated from the false bottom.
The soil mix contains coco fiber, sphagnum moss and sphagnum peat soil mix. Unsure if the coco fiber contributes to the growth of the moss, but the sphagnum should aid in retaining moisture.
In a perfect world, I'd have the best rocks for the container, but most of the dark pagoda that came in my previous order were far too big for this. That said, this is pretty good for just two rocks.
Ran a polyestor twine to allow for future water wicking between mosses.
Laid down the moss. It's too bad that the moss I gather have not spread in the soil I laid it in, despite how moist it is.
Added gravel to fill in the unused space by the moss for now. If the moss manages to thrive in this soil mix and open environment for the next several months, I'll add the rest of the moss in the bin.
Topped up the false bottom with RO water and will be monitoring this for how often I will need to mist the moss. Fingers crossed the moss work out.
Not my most favourite arrangement of rocks, but the best of what I have at the moment.
We'll see how this moss holds up in an open space with no direct sunlight an only thriving off frequent misting and artificial lighting. I'm hopeful things work out in the long run.
