It’s officially spring and we’ve had some lovely weather lately that makes us truly believe we are through winter. I’ve been seeing many families beginning their seeds for gardens and I can’t wait to start ours…but not yet. The last three years I’ve started our seeds, joyfully, with everyone else and it has only lead to being bummed and replanting. They get leggy or the cat believes they were planted for her pleasure only (they weren’t, haha).

E and V have been into scooping lately (I know, I know–most of the posts begin this way, but observing and following the child is a BIG part of Montessori). On our last hiking adventure, E managed to collect a few little moss balls. Since we can’t start our seeds, I thought they would enjoy creating a moss terrarium that would involve another favourite of E’s: rocks!

We have a lot of jars. I try to limit our waste, so grocery stores with bulk bins that allow us to bring in our own containers and fill with goods, especially glass jars, is pretty great. But with the pandemic, many of these stores aren’t allowing for bring-you-own-jars, which leave us with plenty of unused ones. We were able to find one, among our collection, that would be perfect. If we had just one or two moss balls, a wide-mouth Mason jar would’ve worked perfectly, like these. But with a few different moss balls and a lichen, we decided it was best to go with something wider, like this.

So how to create your moss terrarium–

Layers:

-First, rocks. Smaller pebbles, like these, would be ideal–but we used the rocks we had leftover from our wedding reception almost 3.5 years ago.

-Next, orchid potting mix. This blend is perfect for preventing the top layer (soil) from settling into the rocks.

-Top Layer, potting soil. Just a thin layer. Moss grows everywhere, unlike most other plants, moss are non-vascular (and yes, you know there’s a homeschool lesson coming up:), so they don’t need deep soil (if any).

• Add moss and water. Just lay your little clump on top and they’re good to go. (We have a lichen, likely temporary, which is so cool as it looks like coral. Lichens need to dry out while moss enjoys humidity, so we’ll probably observe and study, then take the lichen back outdoors. Also, certain types of lichen can be harmful.)

And that’s it!

Have you ever created a moss terrarium?

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