Seasonal observations of the UCCE Master Gardeners
- Author: Jennifer DeDora
Published on: August 5, 2024
As you can see, my closed terrarium experiment was a success! For those who didn't happen to catch my first blog about this terrarium, my son and I decided to try to make one after seeing multiple social media posts about creating one. Here is the link to that blog. https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=59422
It's now been 6 months since I opened the terrarium so I'll list a few of my observations:
1) The plants grew very, very fast and are now creeping up to the very top and are practically escaping!
2)The plants go through a life/death cycle, either dead leaves falling and new little leaves replacing quickly
3) The isopods are thriving! They've had three or four broods born. As they inevitably die or molt, the others quickly eat the biological material, along with any dead or decaying leaves. They are also munching on the piece of wood that was placed in there for that reason. They can be seen in two of the pictures, so look closely!
4) The soil really settled. I see that as a good thing- the plants need the room.
5)There is a patina of green growth around the terrarium that seems to be a part of the ecosystem. I don't what it technically is, but it seems to pose no problem whatsoever.
6) There is no smell and no pests that come of it. I was worried it might stink or attract undesirable bugs, but it has not at all.
7) It's way prettier than it looks! The true beauty of this self-contained world is very hard to catch in a photograph!
8) It's a very soothing and entertaining tabletop “decoration.” After my recent surgery, I spent more hours than I'd like to admit just gazing and watching the isopods busy at their little lives in there.
9) My only regret: not finding a few plants that change with the seasons, mine prob will be just green all year long!
Thanks for taking this closed terrarium adventure with me!
photos by Jennifer DeDora
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