Getting Started With Bottle Gardening

by Kelvin Ho

Who says you need to have a plot of land to start gardening? Or even a big container? Many small plants will grow in a bottle, and thus a popular form of gardening has sprung up all over the world. Bottle gardening, as it is known, does not require a great amount of space, which appeals to many people dwelling in apartment buildings or other smaller spaces or for those who have no yard space for a garden. This type of gardening can be done by children and can be a great way for them to learn about how plants grow. Let us look now at some bottle gardening basics so that we can get started growing a garden in a bottle.

A Living, Growing Ecosystem In A Bottle

The first piece of equipment you will need to start your very own gardening bottle is a bottle with a lid. Pasta or rice jars can be good choices, as well as bath salt jars as long as all every trace of bath salt has been washed away. Even an extra large mason jar could make an adequate home for your plant as well. Once you have chosen your bottle, place a layer of small stones or pebbles in the bottom. Next comes the compost to be poured in the bottle. There should be enough compost to make the bottom approximately 5 centimeters deep. The sides should be kept clear of compost bits as well.

Make a small insertion into the compost with a long stick, and then using sticks or even forks, lower the plant carefully into the bottle and the soil. After the plant has been added to the soil, water or moisten the soil and put the lid on the bottle. This plant should last for a long time without needing anything else, as it would not dry out because of the circulating moisture. There are certain plants to work well in a bottle garden, so it is important to search them out at your local garden center. As they are very small, they are also quite inexpensive as well.

Some plants that grow well in a small bottle garden include mosses, Sedum, small ferns, and small ivy. In a large bottle, plants that do well are Harts Tongue fern, Lady fern, African violet and Scaly spleenwort fern.

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Experimenting with bottle gardening is an exciting and fun experience shared by the entire family. It is entertaining as well as decorative to watch a plant grow in this environment.

Kelvin Ho is the webmaster of "TheGreenFingers.com". He enjoys gardening since young. Nothing pleases him more than to see his plants grow well. Visit his site at http://www.thegreenfingers.com to get more gardening and lawn care tips.

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