Rainforest in a Jar

Hey guys!

You know, there is one thing that I've always been pretty amazed by and it is thoes little self-contained biosphere things. A self contained biosphere operates alon the concept of a closed ecological system. In theory, a closed ecological system consists of one whereby the function of an ecosystem is succesfully isolated and contained within a confined space so that no matter transmission outside that confined space is necessary for the survival of said ecosystem. Well, that's the theory anyway. Today, I decided to put said theory to the test. It started out with a jar I bought on impulse.

It's a jar of dirt!

Random fact about myself (as though I'm not already constantly giving out random personal information as it is) I love containers! Bottles, tupperwares, anything that is transparent and can be used to hold something else inside of it, I love it! Especially Jars! Now, I don't know why this is so and I am not even going to get into the psychoanalytical aspect of that here but the point is I'm never short of containers because I keep buying them on impulse! (you never know when I'm going to need it eh?). Dirt was also pretty easy to find so basically all I had to do was take one of my biggest jars and fill it up a bit with dirt. Like above.

It's a jar of dirt and weeds greens

One of the harder parts was deciding what kind of plants to put inside. I mean, obviously they can't be too big otherwise they will break the glass... but too small and well, what would the point be. Furthermore, as you know some plants require more care than others yet, at the same time, I don't want to fill my jar with weeds! I finally decided on ferns and mosses but small ones so that they will either (hopefully) stay small or I can just trim them as they grow if they look like they're turning too big! I like the mosses in particular also because they seem to require the least care and would have teh highest chances of surviving in my amateur biodome. When that's done, spray a bit of water in with a mister, seal the jar and... voila! SELF-CONTAINED BIOSPHERE!!!!

DOOOOMMME!!!! actually its a jar

Okay please ignore the horrible long and unkempt hobo hair! I've been meaning to get a haircut...meaning to get a haircut soon. Anyway I think this will look lovely on my shelf next to my fighting fishes. Maybe on an elevated stand. 

Rainforest in a Jar

Isn't that like totally coool? I think it will make a good conversation starter for people who come visiting! "By the way, check out my COOOL BIODOME!!!!" Sure beats "hey come check out my cool jars!"

Through the rain

Also, its really quite relaxing to look at the plants through all the mist and water droplets caused by the plant's own respiration. Lovely!!!! Next project, maybe populating the biodome with miniature figurines that will make it a utopia!!!