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GROWING FERN AND MOSS IN A TERRARIUM Do you remember when we built terraria? This time, we'll work together and build one large terrarium for the classroom. We will grow ferns and mosses, which we have already studied. After you learn how, perhaps you can build one for your home. A terrarium is a nice gift for Mother's Day. We'll use an empty aquarium (or a large bowl specially made to be a terrarium.) First, after making sure the inside of the terrarium is clean, we'll put an inch of gravel (like the kind used in fish tanks) on the bottom. That will keep the soil from being soggy. On top of the gravel, we'll put sand that is one-half inch deep; two or three inches of potting soil will go on top of the sand. The potting soil will not be flat, because we will make a small hill on one side, like a terrace, or, if we make a hill that is flat on top, and slopes all around, it would be a mesa. We could even make a small hill on one side, then a valley, then, on the other side, we could make a taller hill. The hills can't be too tall, because some of the plants will grow on top of the hills. Find some pretty rocks, wash them, and we can arrange them on top of the soil in the terrarium. In another project, we grew ferns on the outside of a clay pot. We will plant some of those ferns in our terrarium, by gently breaking off a piece of that pot with the ferns on it, and just lay it on top of the soil in the terrarium. If we like, we can buy some different kinds of baby ferns at the garden store, and plant those in the terrarium, also. [When you buy plants at the store, they come in little pots. It is important to take the pots off the soil inside, holding the plant upside down, and put all of that soil into the new pot or the terrarium, in a hole you have made with a gardening spoon, or your hand.] Now, we'll get some of the moss we had transplanted, or we can buy some moss at the garden store (two or three different kinds would be nice), and plant those in the terrarium. We want to arrange the plants nicely, not too close together, and in such a way that the terrarium looks like a tiny place in the forest. We want to press the soil down firmly around the plants so they are not going to slide down the hill. The terrarium shouldn't be in a bright, sunny place. We'll take it to a window that does not get direct sunlight, or to a table or counter top away from the windows. Also, it should not be near the heater or furnace duct. We want to move it before we put in the water, because the water will make it heavy, and also, it might slosh around while it is being carried. Gently pour in the water, into the low place where there is no soil, or just a little soil on top of the gravel. It might be a good idea to put one or three rocks there so that when we pour in the water, it won't make a ditch. This terrarium will be covered with a sheet of glass, or a lid specially made to fit. The cover will allow light to get into the terrarium, will let us see into it from the top, and will keep the soil from getting too dry. The inside of our terrarium will be warm and wet, which is called "humid." That is how it feels in a rain forest, and that is how rain forests have such big, pretty ferns. Sometimes we will lift the lid and touch the soil to make sure it is not dry. If it is dry, we can put more water in the low place. If we put too much water, mold will grow inside, so we want to be careful about that. If we see mold, or it just seems too wet in there, we can leave the cover off for a few days to let some of the water evaporate. Also, we can sprinkle in a little powdered sulphur, or add a few lumps of charcoal (the kind that is used in fish-tank filters), and that will help keep mold from growing. We should mark the calendar on the day we plant the terrarium, and also mark it when we add water, if we leave off the cover, or anything else we do to maintain it. We can also keep track of the growth of our plants. Sometimes, plants don't like their new places, and they don't grow. If that happens, we just remove them and put in some different ones. That information should also go on the calendar.  Any problems with this page? Send URL to
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