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ysabetwordsmithToday I started working on making a terrarium in the antique jar I bought at a recent flea market. I got it cleaned up, installed the drainage layer of rocks, and topped that with a barrier. I'll need to finish this another day. See Part 1: Washing, Drainage, and Barrier, Part 2: Mixing Substrate, Part 3: Adding Mosses, Part 4: Dead Wood and Leaf Litter.
This is a set of long terrarium tools made from stainless steel, with a ruler at the bottom to show width. You can see that the tweezers have a little plastic loop on the open end to keep it closed. Hang onto that, because it makes storage a lot easier. These are amazing and absolutely worth the investment if you do a lot with terraria or aquaria, but do shop around, because they can be ruinously expensive.
Here a ruler at the side shows length. Really long tools are a tremendous asset in working with terraria or other hard-to-reach places. These range from 9.7" (the bent-tip scissors) to 12.6" (the spatula). There were sets with more pieces, like straight or wave scissors, but this one had the best price for the tools I expected to use the most.
This is an assortment of tools that I got for terrarium work and also transplanting houseplants. These are a lot shorter, but will work in some cases. Again, shop around to get the best deal for the tools you want the most.
Here a ruler shows the length.
I found this big old jar at a recent flea market. It's exactly the kind of thing you want to watch for if you're thrifting for a terrarium or similar container. I paid $1 for it. It's about 10 1/2" tall x 6" wide with a neck 2 1/4" on the inside rim.
Compare with the big craft jar I got at Joanne's which is about 13" tall x 7" wide, which was originally about $30 and I got for $21 and has a fancy lid; or this one online which is about $50 wholesale or $75 retail and doesn't even have a lid. Seriously, if you buy anything marketed as a terrarium, the price is usually jacked way up. Just look for a jar.
In this view you can see how tall the jar is. It's grungy and needs a wash.
I had this ashtray from a previous thrift run. I like to fill them with marbles and put them outside. But this one fits nicely over the open mouth of the jar, with the bottom of the ashtray pointing up like this. It's about 3 1/2" wide at the inside rim and 1 1/4" tall. I may or may not replace it with something else later.
This is the ashtray right side up. The cup of it will fit over the neck of the jar.
The improvised lid fits well over the neck of the jar, looking similar to a matched lid. It's a bit loose but that's okay for my purposes. The only real risk with this kind of lid is that condensation might drip down the sides and escape the jar. If that happens, add a barrier around the edge and/or a drip point in the center.
I divide terrariums into three basic categories:
* Open, without a lid, which require regular maintenance.
* Closed, with a loosely fitting lid, which you can open if you wish but need little or no care.
* Sealed, with tight lid that may be latched or glued on, which are not meant to be opened.
I prefer the closed kind with a loose lid that allows a little air flow but keeps most moisture inside even over the long term.
I managed to peel the paper label off the ashtray but it left a lot of glue on the glass. I needed to use Duck Adhesive Remover to get rid of the glue. This stuff works great, and is a valuable supply if you buy glass things, especially salvage glass. The scraper on the cap is especially useful.
The ashtray cleaned right up after some work.
The jar also cleaned up pretty well, with no major marks left. Note that if you find a great container with a blemish on just one side, you can make that the back and cover it up with decor. I usually like to rotate my terraria so the plants go straight, but directional ones are quite popular, so that's just a matter of personal taste.
I washed some gravel to put in the bottom of the jar. Washing is not strictly required, but makes for a tidier look. The gravel provides a drainage layer so that water can collect in the bottom of the container without touching the plant roots, since most plants can't grow with waterlogged roots.
It's not a great idea to drop rocks into a tall glass jar. I made a cardboard funnel, which worked pretty well with the jar tilted mostly to its side. However, this is where I really wished that I had the 1" vinyl tubing I looked for but couldn't find the other day.
I used the spatula to spread out the gravel in the bottom of the jar. This was super useful and more effective than improvised tools I have used. The wide end was just a little too big to fit through the neck of the jar, but the narrow end worked great.
I found this coconut fiber mat to use as a barrier between the rocks of the drainage layer and the terrarium substrate above. Often a screen is used, but I couldn't find that locally. The fiber has the advantage of being natural, as opposed to a synthetic screen. It will break down eventually, but I expect that to take quite a while.
Here is a closeup of the label.
I unrolled the mat enough to set the jar on top of it.
I used scissors to cut around the base of the jar, creating a circle of coconut fiber to serve as the barrier. The diameter of the barrier should be slightly larger than the container, so that it can curl upward a little around the edge to prevent substrate from getting past the edge. Cutting the coconut fiber is a bit messy as it sheds bits of fiber, but most of it sticks together tolerably well, and the bits are easy to sweep up afterwards.
I rolled up the round barrier to slide it through the neck of the jar. Then I used the bent-tip tweezers to position it on the bottom. I was amazed how much faster and easier it was to do things like this with proper tools rather than improvised ones.
Here is the terrarium thus far, with its drainage layer and barrier layer installed. I made this my stopping place for the day, because the sun was getting low which makes photography more challenging. I'll return to this project another day.
This is a set of long terrarium tools made from stainless steel, with a ruler at the bottom to show width. You can see that the tweezers have a little plastic loop on the open end to keep it closed. Hang onto that, because it makes storage a lot easier. These are amazing and absolutely worth the investment if you do a lot with terraria or aquaria, but do shop around, because they can be ruinously expensive.
Here a ruler at the side shows length. Really long tools are a tremendous asset in working with terraria or other hard-to-reach places. These range from 9.7" (the bent-tip scissors) to 12.6" (the spatula). There were sets with more pieces, like straight or wave scissors, but this one had the best price for the tools I expected to use the most.
This is an assortment of tools that I got for terrarium work and also transplanting houseplants. These are a lot shorter, but will work in some cases. Again, shop around to get the best deal for the tools you want the most.
Here a ruler shows the length.
I found this big old jar at a recent flea market. It's exactly the kind of thing you want to watch for if you're thrifting for a terrarium or similar container. I paid $1 for it. It's about 10 1/2" tall x 6" wide with a neck 2 1/4" on the inside rim.
Compare with the big craft jar I got at Joanne's which is about 13" tall x 7" wide, which was originally about $30 and I got for $21 and has a fancy lid; or this one online which is about $50 wholesale or $75 retail and doesn't even have a lid. Seriously, if you buy anything marketed as a terrarium, the price is usually jacked way up. Just look for a jar.
In this view you can see how tall the jar is. It's grungy and needs a wash.
I had this ashtray from a previous thrift run. I like to fill them with marbles and put them outside. But this one fits nicely over the open mouth of the jar, with the bottom of the ashtray pointing up like this. It's about 3 1/2" wide at the inside rim and 1 1/4" tall. I may or may not replace it with something else later.
This is the ashtray right side up. The cup of it will fit over the neck of the jar.
The improvised lid fits well over the neck of the jar, looking similar to a matched lid. It's a bit loose but that's okay for my purposes. The only real risk with this kind of lid is that condensation might drip down the sides and escape the jar. If that happens, add a barrier around the edge and/or a drip point in the center.
I divide terrariums into three basic categories:
* Open, without a lid, which require regular maintenance.
* Closed, with a loosely fitting lid, which you can open if you wish but need little or no care.
* Sealed, with tight lid that may be latched or glued on, which are not meant to be opened.
I prefer the closed kind with a loose lid that allows a little air flow but keeps most moisture inside even over the long term.
I managed to peel the paper label off the ashtray but it left a lot of glue on the glass. I needed to use Duck Adhesive Remover to get rid of the glue. This stuff works great, and is a valuable supply if you buy glass things, especially salvage glass. The scraper on the cap is especially useful.
The ashtray cleaned right up after some work.
The jar also cleaned up pretty well, with no major marks left. Note that if you find a great container with a blemish on just one side, you can make that the back and cover it up with decor. I usually like to rotate my terraria so the plants go straight, but directional ones are quite popular, so that's just a matter of personal taste.
I washed some gravel to put in the bottom of the jar. Washing is not strictly required, but makes for a tidier look. The gravel provides a drainage layer so that water can collect in the bottom of the container without touching the plant roots, since most plants can't grow with waterlogged roots.
It's not a great idea to drop rocks into a tall glass jar. I made a cardboard funnel, which worked pretty well with the jar tilted mostly to its side. However, this is where I really wished that I had the 1" vinyl tubing I looked for but couldn't find the other day.
I used the spatula to spread out the gravel in the bottom of the jar. This was super useful and more effective than improvised tools I have used. The wide end was just a little too big to fit through the neck of the jar, but the narrow end worked great.
I found this coconut fiber mat to use as a barrier between the rocks of the drainage layer and the terrarium substrate above. Often a screen is used, but I couldn't find that locally. The fiber has the advantage of being natural, as opposed to a synthetic screen. It will break down eventually, but I expect that to take quite a while.
Here is a closeup of the label.
I unrolled the mat enough to set the jar on top of it.
I used scissors to cut around the base of the jar, creating a circle of coconut fiber to serve as the barrier. The diameter of the barrier should be slightly larger than the container, so that it can curl upward a little around the edge to prevent substrate from getting past the edge. Cutting the coconut fiber is a bit messy as it sheds bits of fiber, but most of it sticks together tolerably well, and the bits are easy to sweep up afterwards.
I rolled up the round barrier to slide it through the neck of the jar. Then I used the bent-tip tweezers to position it on the bottom. I was amazed how much faster and easier it was to do things like this with proper tools rather than improvised ones.
Here is the terrarium thus far, with its drainage layer and barrier layer installed. I made this my stopping place for the day, because the sun was getting low which makes photography more challenging. I'll return to this project another day.
(no subject)
Date: 2025-03-28 12:54 pm (UTC)I did used to have terrarium myself I made in an old 4ft fish tank, it lasted years without much maintenance. Are you planning on introducing detritus eaters like woodlice or springtails?
Thoughts
Date: 2025-03-29 02:25 am (UTC)I am good with chopsticks and have used them in terraria. The challenge is not dropping one.
>> I did used to have terrarium myself I made in an old 4ft fish tank, it lasted years without much maintenance.<<
Awesome. Yeah, the bigger the build, the more of an ecosystem it can hold, which makes it easier to balance.
>> Are you planning on introducing detritus eaters like woodlice or springtails? <<
Woodlice certainly -- I call them pillbugs and the technical term is isopods. They are great detritivores and I have plenty around here. I hope to get springtails. I've never used them on purpose, but they are common detritivores and so tiny they're hard to see, so they may come along for the ride.
I typically use live materials from my yard for making terraria. Today I collected some worm castings and decomposed leaf litter as part of creating the substrate mix. Tomorrow I'll look for wet and dry deadwood, a fresh piece of wood, maybe a piece of bark. That gives microfauna a good selection of habitat and food sources.
Once I have the terrarium set up, then I'll look for pillbugs and any other tiny creatures that seem promising.