Make Your Own Bottle Terrarium

Sometime last year I made my very own bottle terrarium, and here's a step by step process of how you can make one too! For the uninitiated gardener, a terrarium is a mini garden inside a glass container. Its a great option to get the greens and yet be not responsible for their upkeep. Another major advantage of having terrarium is that it requires very little space.

My Bottle Terrarium

Here's the list of things you require to make a terrarium:-

1. A glass container/bottle/jar
2. Charcoal
3. Soil
4. Plant
5. Pebbles or Shells for decoration (optional)

I have made my bottle terrarium with an empty Kissan Jam Jar. You can also use the same or use Wine Bottles, Old Monk bottle, Pickle bottles or other glass jars. The difference between a bottle terrarium and a regular terrarium is obviously the bottle and the fact that the lid or cork of the bottle is kept closed. In a regular terrarium you can choose to not close or cover the terrarium. Incase you wish to make a regular terrarium, you can opt for aquarium tanks, fish bowls, vases and jars.


Here are the steps for making a terrarium:-

1. Clean the chosen jar/bottle thoroughly with soap and let it dry completely
2. Line the jar with crushed charcoal
3. Add a layer of soil on the layer of charcoal. Make sure the soil is sterilized, you can go to a nursery and ask for potting mix
4. Now add another layer of charcoal on top of the soil layer
5. Finally add a layer of soil on top
6. Place your plant with roots
7. Add shells or pebbles for decoration
8. Water the terrarium and close the lid

And your terrarium is ready :) 

Terrarium requires less maintenance, you need to water it only once in a while and if its a bottle terrarium like mine, once in 4 months. Place your terrarium in an area which gets medium light. For planting, you should choose plants that can survive in less light and water such as fern, croton, prayer plant and lucky bamboo. Several herbs also thrive well in a terrarium. I had planted a fern and tulsi plant in my terranium. Surprisingly, the fern didn't survive and the tulsi plant did.

Over time, terrarium tends to get dirty and cloudy from inside. Algae tends to grow inside like it happened to mine, in the pic below:- 

All you need is a toothbrush and you can gently clean it with the bristles.You can use a soft cloth to clean it also. Make sure you remove the algae by scratching at the surface of the soil, dig it little bit, toss it around. Plants also grow over time so trim them from time to time.

You can create a bunch of these terrariums and arrange them around your house and or office desk. Since they are closed, there is no fear of dirt or the worry of watering them.

Good Luck with creating your own terrarium!