Hello my Wildlings! I’m so happy you joined me today! Today, we’re going to make a jar of dirt!
Now, don’t give me that look! Everyone loved it when a certain pirate had a jar of dirt!
See, what happened was, I was clicking around youtube. Since every algorithm of every site I frequent knows I like jars, and I like dirt, YouTube said, “Lets give her a video about a jar of dirt” and WHOA! My mind was blown.
The video, from a YouTube channel called Homemade Ecosystems, was showing what one of their terrariums looked like after 200 days. The M. Night Shyamalan twist on this terrarium was that it literally started out as….a jar of dirt.
What you might not believe about my Goblinesque self if that…I’m not very good at growing things. Well, green things. Fauna I’ve got covered, but Flora seems to die under my care. Since I kill green things I, of course, long to grow green things.
Once upon a time I tried to grow a closed “moss” terrarium. I watched TONS of videos of how to do it right, then I followed them step by step. Do you know how hard it is to find moss when you live in a suburban neighborhood. It was kind of cute, but didn’t thrive. I guess I needed some of that super healthy forest moss instead of growth stunted city moss.
Anyway, I still go down the moss terrarium rabbit hole from time to time which is probably why YouTube thinks I have a thing for jars and dirt.
Which brings us back to…well…jars of dirt.
At the end of the video they told you how to make your own jar of dirt, and it was fairly simple.
- You need a jar.
- You need some stones.
- You need some dirt.
My goblin brain went, “Aha! I have all of those things!”
HOW TO MAKE A “NOTHING BUT DIRT” TERRARIUM
STEP 1: Get a Jar
This turned out to be trickier than I thought it was gonna be. I absolutely have a lot of jars. But it turns out I don’t really have the RIGHT jar.
I found plastic jars and glass jars, mason jars and favor jars, clear jars and colored jars, and the biggest problem is that most of my jars already have something in them. Like paper shred for paper making, paper beads, odd coins, wax drippings and organically collected empty snail shells.
The jar I absolutely could not find was the one I made my failed moss terrarium in, which would have been perfect. I swear I remember where I left it. The garden Gnomes must have stolen it.
Anyway, despite my jar hoard, I had to buy a jar for this.
STEP 2: Get Some Stones
This one was easy. I have rocks for my aquariums, and rocks from my failed terrarium and rocks because my combination goblin/crow brain often goes, “Ohh, shiny, must keep forever!” even if the rock is just a normal rock.
What I COULDN’T use are the pet rocks my kids have.
STEP 3: Get Some Dirt
Rocks was easy, but this was 100% by far the EASIEST step.
The dirt needs to be “living” dirt, not store bought dirt from the garden center. If you use the dirt in a bag from home depot it will be lifeless and nothing will happen. You will literally just have dirt in a jar.
Dirt from a forest or a garden would be the best dirt, but I don’t have a forest or a garden, so I just got some dirt from the back fence close to the overgrown area behind our yard. Closest thing to forest dirt I could get my hands on.
It doesn’t really matter though, because it will still have the things in it needed to start its own ecosystem. There will be plant seeds in the soil, probably bug eggs, possibly actual bugs. It will also be full of other natural elements that are not found in processed soil.
In theory anyway. It worked for the guy in the youtube video anyway.
So, now we just wait and see.
Who is eager for the first update? How long do you think it will take for the first plant to pop its head up? Do you think there will be any living worms or insects in there?