Terrarium log

Thanks, Cali! Most of the jar terrariums are set up in the standard way, black gravel, fiberglass screen, and miracle gro organic potting soil as a medium. I like the organic stuff, because it's got the right texture, and none of that perlite, which is an eyesore in these setups, IMO. This latest one, and the previous one, I've been experimenting with the clay mix. Using clay is especially convenient, because I can gorilla glue rocks together before hand, and use the slurry to conceal all the cracks and gaps.

The mix is loosely based on the concepts found here, minus all the sciency stuff.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-discussion/22990-ultimate-clay-based-substrate-thread.html

I'm just going for a sticky clay like feel, and used cat litter, potting soil, and shredded up sphagnum.
 
Made this one today. Used clay as a base here too.

IMG_0587.JPG IMG_0590.JPG
 
Thanks, Pap!
 
Inka4040 said:
Awesome, Andy! Which liverworts are you growing? I have a couple diff kinds of riccardia, which are all doing really well.
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I threw in a small cutting of marchantia, conocephalum, and some leafy liverwort I can't remember the name of. All three seemed to be doing well, but I haven't seen them since over a week before Christmas. The last time I was in lab, I also added a bit of hornwort.

Over my Christmas break, I also got a nice 2 gallon glass kitchen jar thing to start one on my own. So far it is just organic potting soil (with lava rock underneath for drainage), some rocks and a nice little piece of driftwood from one of my tanks. In the next week or so, we should be going over bryophytes in lab, so both terraria should be getting some mosses added to them soon.
 
Wow, really nice work Ricky! How'd I miss this thread? Anyways, how are they doing long term?
 
Andy, would you ever be interested in swapping some small samples? I frickin love marchantia, and the liverworts in general are just insanely beautiful to me. I'm growing 2 distinct types of riccardia right now, one I'm pretty sure is chamedryfolia since thats what it was sold to me as, and the other has a much more scalloped, rounded growth pattern. I also have an assortment of tropical mosses from a grower in Hawaii. Would love to set up a trade once the weather gets a bit warmer.


Seth, the oldest one I had was the pitcher one, which was still going strong when I sold it in November. The ones with african violets included will likely deplete their substrates faster than the ones with just anubias and mosses, which should persist for years with proper care. The clay substrate ones should be pretty much good to go, as the nutrient content should be richer than the ones with just pure potting soil. Overall, from the few I've kept for myself, these things seem exceptionally stable, and I've put a lot of thought into using plants that will be unlikely to outgrow their vessels. Apart from the occasional trimming, these things should be fine for years with minimal care and effort.
 
Where do you end up getting the moss from? It looks similar to the types that grow around in the woods near my house. I've never had great luck with it in the past but I think it's because I didn't keep it moist enough.
 
I got them from a seller off Dendroboard. He farms them in Hawaii. The mosses I got from the ebay seller in Arkansas have been far more hit or miss in the sealed jars, but the ones from Hawaii, for the most part, are doing exceptionally well. There are a few I still haven't tried in the jars though...
 
Inka4040 said:
Andy, would you ever be interested in swapping some small samples? I frickin love marchantia, and the liverworts in general are just insanely beautiful to me. I'm growing 2 distinct types of riccardia right now, one I'm pretty sure is chamedryfolia since thats what it was sold to me as, and the other has a much more scalloped, rounded growth pattern. I also have an assortment of tropical mosses from a grower in Hawaii. Would love to set up a trade once the weather gets a bit warmer.
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Yeah, I'd love to. All I have now are small cuttings, but if they do well, I should be able to take some cuttings to trade you in spring or summer. I should also have some various mosses and other plants to swap by then.
 
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