I used regular potting soil in my closed terrarium and it's doing great

Everyone says you have to use special sterile mix or you'll get mold. I had a big bag of basic Miracle-Gro potting soil left over from my patio plants, so I used that in a big jar I sealed up about three months ago. I just layered some gravel at the bottom and put the soil on top. The ferns and moss are growing like crazy, and I haven't seen any mold at all. Has anyone else had a good run with regular soil, or did I just get lucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.xena3mo ago

Oh man, that's awesome. I totally get the whole "special mix" advice, but I swear half my plant wins are just dumb luck. I had a jar with some dirt I literally scooped from my backyard, like weeds and all, and it's been sealed for over a year. It's just a weird little world of its own now, with these tiny mushrooms that pop up sometimes. Maybe the mold spores just didn't win the fight in our jars.

marymorgan3mo ago

Wait you've had a jar sealed for over a YEAR with backyard dirt and it's not just a mold bomb? @knight.xena that's wild. I tried that once and it turned into a fuzzy green mess in like two weeks. The fact that it made its own little world with mushrooms is kinda amazing. My "dumb luck" usually means a plant dies from my own overwatering.

felix_coleman871mo ago

Honestly my buddy tried the same thing but with dirt from under his deck where the dogs hang out. He sealed it in a pickle jar and forgot about it for like 8 months. When he finally opened it it smelled like straight dumpster juice but somehow had this weird layered thing going on with moss and a single dandelion that was still alive. The mushrooms he got were these little brown things that looked like shriveled up raisins. Tbh I think some jars just get that magic balance by accident and the rest of us get science projects that smell like death.