I'm ready to make my terrarium. What size do I need?

In today's post, we go over one of the most common questions: what size kit do I need? We break it down into two different scenarios below: one where you already have your jar or terrarium container, and one where you don't.

I already have my jar/terrarium - what size do I need?

We refer to sizes by litres instead of width, height and length. This is because two terrariums can have the same capacity but look completely different due to having different shapes and sizes. You can find out how much capacity your terrarium has by placing it on a scale, setting to 0 and filling it with water. Once it's full, you can easily convert the KG weight into Litres (as they are equivalent when it comes to water).

We have a range of kits you can purchase without glassware in 5 different sizes (extra small to extra large) that include all necessary substrates - basic kit (no plants), moss kit, closed kit (including live mosses and plants), succulent kit (including succulents, sand and rocks), cactus kit (same as before) and the mixed kit which is a combination of succulents and cacti, substrates and decorative sand and rocks.

• Our extra small kits are perfect for little desktop companions and will fill a glass jar of about 500ml - 1.5 litres capacity.
• All of our small kits fit a jar with the volume of between 1.5-3L. This can be a large, half-gallon pickle jar, or a couple of smaller jars (such as for your tomato sauce).
• Our medium size fits terrariums with a 3-5 litre capacity. This might look like a fishbowl with 23cm diameter.
• The large size will fit a terrarium of about 5-10 litre capacity. This could be one of our smaller bottle gardens (that you can purchase here).
• The extra large size will fit a terrarium that has 10-15 litres capacity, such as this kit. Anything larger than that, please let us know so we can create a custom kit for you.

Some people prefer a 'fuller' look and others prefer something a little sparser. As long as there is enough soil if you're using plants, it doesn't really matter. The above is a guide. If you're worried about not buying a big enough size, always purchase the size above it so that you can be confident you'll have enough. If you have leftovers, you can have fun with an extra little project.

 

 

I don't have a jar/terrarium - what size should I get?

There are 2 main things to consider - space and budget.

If you already have an idea of where you'd like to place your terrarium once you've made it, make sure you take some measurements so you can select a terrarium that will fit that space. That way you can know for sure which size terrarium to get.

You then need to consider budget. How much do you have for this project? The larger the terrarium, the more expensive it will likely be. If your budget is quite low, you might want to seek out a terrarium or glass container from a charity shop, or secondhand on an online marketplace. Once you have your terrarium, measure its capacity by placing it on a scale, setting to 0 and filling it with water. Once it's full, you can easily convert the KG weight into Litres (as they are equivalent when it comes to water). Then you can read the advice from the first section above to help you find out what the best size kit would be.