Terrarium soil mix (nutrient enriched)

Terrarium soil mix (nutrient enriched)
I had made a video on terrarium soil mix long time back.
However nowdays I am using a slightly different soil mix which is also nutrient enriched. This soil mix is providing me with better results so thought of sharing the same with you all.
Here are the 6 components with the amazon buying links
1)Coco peat - Helps to retain moisture and keeps the soil loose and airy too. Usually comes in blocks which can be soaked in water to disintegrate into a soil like texture.
amzn.to/3rhez2L
2)Sand - good drainage and aeration properties. Also improves soil texture.
amzn.to/3ccEi8h
3)Dry Peat Moss - has great water and nutrients retention properties
amzn.to/3rhDfbF
4)Pine bark - helps with drainage and aeration
amzn.to/3f8ub6k
5)Activated charcoal - Antimicrobial, removes toxins, prevents mold and odour
amzn.to/3lSdqh5
6)Aquasoil - its a complete substrate in itself. Rich in nutrients and organic acids
amzn.to/3vUkOx7
A terrarium soil must have good drainage, aeration and water retention properties. Additionally it must have a lower ph as favoured by closed terrarium plants and moss and should also have antibacterial properties. Presence of nutrients in the soil mix will greatly benefit the plants with respect to their health and growth. The above mix has all these properties and hence can be an ideal soil mix for your terrariums.
Timecodes
0:00 - Intro
0:19 - Coco peat
0:48 - Sand
1:17 - Dry peat moss
1:45 - Pine bark
2:04 - Activated charcoal
2:23 - Aquasoil
2:59 - Conclusion
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The urban nemophilist lives in the city but his heart and soul lives in the forest and wherever there is green.
The celebration of colours, the ambient sounds, the mystic scent and the fascinating wildlife that make up the forestlands and waterbodies of our earth is the elixir of his life.
The urban nemophilist attempts to capture all of this through his green art and sustainable gardening activities while his sketching and music sets up the mood for what is nature-appreciation at its best.
His goal is to create awareness on conservation of nature and wildlife through is art and sustainable initiatives.
Terrariums | Aquascapes | Dish Gardens | Bonsai | Gardening |Sketching | Music | Nature Walk
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Follow us on :
theurbannemo...
the_urban_nemop...
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Music :
Music :
Walking in the sky - Nico Staf
KZbin audio library
#theurbannemophilist #terrariumsoilmix #soilmix #terrarium

[@harryme472]

Very much like what I use. The only difference in my mix is instead of Aquasoil , I use a small amount of worm castings. It works well.

[@kumarnathani8661]

What's the ratio u used of vermicompost

[@dot2dotted]

I just mixed my first Terrarium soil mix! It looks great. I'm excited! Thanks for the video.

[@vinitamorrison3308]

Thanks for the video. I will use this from now on. I have started doing terrariums after watching you. Two of my children have done terrariums too as part of their home school project now. I hope they'll take that as a hobby. It is very relaxing.

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thank you. Happy to know that you children are getting into the hobby

[@TheMarymicheal]

Glad to know that you are able make your children do such activities.

[@kyx5631]

Straight to the point, excellent video.

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thanks

[@pamelaslatyer2766]

🎉great mix thanks hopefully I have success just learning and you advice sounds great

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thanks

[@Craftalyticalrants]

This was so helpful and informative! Thank you!

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thanks. Glad it is useful

[@rutheterium2801]

Thank a lot Sir for sharing this information

[@lorenzoserrano]

the mix is: 2 parts coco peat, 1 part sand, 1 part dry moss, 1 part pine bark, 1/2 part activated carbon, 1/2 aquarium soil

[@amitbose6381]

Thank You

[@rogersimone8860]

MERCI et la musique est top😄😀

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thank you!

[@DDterrariumbonsai-oh9zh]

i like it

[@shawnconrad705]

Great video! I am learning a lot from your videos! I am curious as to what type of sand is best for this mix. I imagine certain sands have an effect on the PH balance of the mix. Any tips would be helpful! About to assemble everything for my first terrarium

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

I use horticulture grade coarse sand. Thanks

[@adrianadiasdalmeida]

Good afternoon! Here in Brazil, the air is very humid. I think the mixture should be a little drier or am I wrong? I use vegetable land, coco peat, charcoal e sfagno. I love your channel!!!

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thank you. As long as you get positive results with you substrate all is good.

[@sobhagyasd2173]

This is very useful . Do u know any other substitute for pine bark and dried moss ?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thanks. You can skip pine bark and moss if you do not have. But easily available on Amazon

[@j.r.bertolet3644]

💚

[@flamerocker055]

The video was great! I have to ask, is adding Dry Moss really necessary? I can't find any moss in my area so can I just skip adding the moss ?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You can skip

[@tigerphobic]

Hi! Love your videos! I'm trying to start my own terrarium but I can't find pine bark anywhere! Would there be a substitution for pine bark I could use? Would orchid bark be possible?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thank you. Yes you can use orchid bark.

[@willymammoth7043]

Check etsy.

[@saranyakasi771]

Brother do you have any idea on creative gardens and mini forest to increase the number of pollinators and beneficial insects

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You need to include flowering plants I guess.

[@kyraxmako]

Thank you for sharing!!! To build a terrarium with this mix already containing activated charcoal, is it relevant to add anyway a small charcoal layer above the first layer (pouzzolane) ?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes you can. Thanks

[@someguy3049]

If you have no moss, might as well consider not doing terrariums

[@martinfernandes4941]

Hi...What are your views on including following in the soil :- Crushed Brick pieces Vermi compost , neem powder , dried cowdung powder

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Brick chips and vermicompost should be fine even though I haven’t used it in my mixes. Neem and cowdung not sure.

[@martinfernandes4941]

@@TheUrbanNemophilist Thank you 🙏

[@avinasha6171]

I think making the bark pieces a little smaller will be more better

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes I do that sometimes for smaller containers. For bigger jars I leave it that way.

[@benattokaran]

Plan to make closed terrarium and Being in the Aquascaping hobby my knowledge and experience is limited to aquatic plants. Do u have a video for aquatic plant soil preparation or is it aqua soil and spring tails and that’s it and maybe gravel to raise the rear of the terrarium

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Just aquasoil will do great. Maybe gravel below that if needed.

[@wanistory7795]

Love the video, I have been looking for a terrarium soil mix, but one question. If you dont have dry moss, can you replace it with something else?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thanks. You can skip the moss in that case

[@wanistory7795]

Ok thanks!

[@mdshamsheeransari]

Thankyou for the information, do we need to buffer the coco peat and coco chips?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

I am not clear on your question. Could you explain what you mean by buffering.

[@mdshamsheeransari]

As coconuts are from the coastal areas, the coco peat and coco chips contain huge amount of sodium and potassium, so when we use them without buffering the calcium in the soil to a extent reacts with sodium and pottasium, thus less calcium is available to plant, so in buffer we do is before adding the peat or chips in substrate we soak them in calcium nitrate to reduce the sodium and potassium levels in peat, and this is the master trick used in hydroponics for great results, so do we need to do it for terrariums too?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

@@mdshamsheeransari that is some great info. I have never done it. The substrate quantity is very less in a terrarium so not sure if it will have any positive impact.you could try it out and let me know the results. Thanks

[@poojayadav773]

Very nice video...What is substitute to aqua soil

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thank you. You can try garden soil

[@poojayadav773]

@@TheUrbanNemophilist Thank you so much

[@AIChatTech]

Hi, alternative to pine bark can leaf compost be used. Pls suggest

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Crushed lava rocks or pumice would be a better option I feel.

[@rampart3120]

Hello, first of all i'd like to thank you for these videos that are very helpful as i'm a beginner in terrarium making. I started to use this substrate weeks ago for my terrariums as well as for my plant propagation boxes. The only difference is that I use coco fiber (not sure about the translation but I didn't found coco peat in my country) and douglas fir bark. However, I noticed that the bark tend to mold very quickly, but I don't know if it is indeed mold. When I look very close, I can see a very tiny layer of white or sometimes greenish color. It this normal ? It's been 3 weeks since i've made my propagation boxes and the plant seem fine.

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Thank you. Coco peat and coco fiber are the same. So no worries. I suggest you use orchid bark or pine bark which is not really prone to mold. Other bark may have mold issues.

[@rampart3120]

I'll try that out, thanks !

[@CustomExplainervideos]

Can we use almond shells instead of pine bark? This activated charcoal is the same as the one we use as a face mask?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Never used so no idea. You can give it a try but any non seasoned botanical may invite mold. Use horticultural grade charcoal or activated carbon. May not be same as used in cosmetics.

[@m.m.arifulislam2140]

Thanks for the details. Can I add vermicompost instead of aqua soil?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes you can

[@m.m.arifulislam2140]

Thanks for your reply. Can I use any random bark from nature if pine bark isn’t available?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

@@m.m.arifulislam2140 I would not suggest as random bark can lead to mold issues in my experience.

[@m.m.arifulislam2140]

@@TheUrbanNemophilist thanks

[@eliaszackaria]

Question, do you keep the prepared terrarium soil in airtight container?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Regular closed container. Not necessarily airtight always

[@AshishKumar-we7dc]

I added crushed charcoal in place of activated one will that have any major effect

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

That will work just fine

[@aaronlynch2148]

Would it be okay to just use the Aquasoil because it is a substrate in itself or do you need everything else to allow things to grow in the terrarium?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Based on my experience kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqDGipKCZd-LeMk

[@seeniammalpothiraj4803]

Make a brief vedio on isopods and terrarium animals please

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

I will be doing one on Isopods soon. Meanwhile you could watch these on springtails and other critters kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3rRimCOgrh0gq8 kzbin.info/www/bejne/emeqqYJ6hbuYbas

[@peternuyts3315]

Hey I didn't read the comments so maybe someone already asked, but what kind of sand is it u use? Is it aquarium sand?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes but coarse river sand is better

[@saranyakasi771]

Brother can we all types of springtails and isopods in terrarium?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Springtails yes. Not sure about Isopods

[@benattokaran]

Is sphagnum is replacement for dry moss?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Dry sphagnum moss can be used

[@afrozamou790]

Can we use any other plant bark instead of pine bark?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Better to skip if you do not have it.

[@shawnconrad705]

Another question! I’ve purchased all the materials for this substrate mix. Now what is the proper way to store the left over mix. I purchased a decent amount and would like it to last for future projects! Thank you!

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You can store the excess in ziploc bags or a closed plastic or glass container

[@shawnconrad705]

@@TheUrbanNemophilist Thank you so much for the response! Your videos have been extremely helpful! Definitely watched many of them multiple times each now! I really like your style of creating terrariums. Having seen other channels, yours just have a certain look to them that I would like to emulate!

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

@@shawnconrad705 🙏

[@p.e.b7705]

Would this be good substrate to use for bioactive enclosers that I wish to house spiders in?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes it should work.

[@tannibarua3187]

I just made this, Couldn't find any pine/orchid bark.. & i used vermicompost instead of aqua soil, is that will be ok? & can i use a bit of Fungicide? So that it stays mold free!

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Vermicompost is fine. I have never used fungicide In closed environments so really cannot say. You could try and let me know if that worked. Thanks

[@NitinCarpenter-zi3kq]

did it survive?

[@redspotaquashrimps]

Can you replace Dry moss by Sphagnum Moss instead? It seems have same benefit

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

should be fine I think

[@stevenwu19891125]

It’s okay to use horticulture charcoal instead of activated charcoal?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes

[@Toru101]

Is it ok to use construction sand rather than river sand?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

I prefer coarse river sand.

[@martinfernandes4941]

Hi...is it necessary to use pine bark.Is there any alternate if we don't get pine bark here in Mumbai. Thank u

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You can skip pine bark if you do not have it

[@martinfernandes4941]

@@TheUrbanNemophilist Thank you.Pls publish more videos.Your video are amazing 👍

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

@@martinfernandes4941 thank you

[@seeniammalpothiraj4803]

Can we use black or clay soil in aquascaping ?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Can use but it might get messy. Better to use aquasoil.

[@sunitaajani5557]

Hi ,can we use coconut husk instead of moss and Ash instead of coal?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You can skip moss if you don’t have it. Ash may not be a good idea

[@sunitaajani5557]

@@TheUrbanNemophilist Thanks 🙏

[@larsbouwmeester5022]

When you use this soil mix do you still need to add rocks at the bottom? or does that depend on the type of plants you add

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Covered here kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqDGipKCZd-LeMk

[@larsbouwmeester5022]

@@TheUrbanNemophilist Awesome thanks man!

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You are welcome

[@marksingh5180]

If soil is wet enough will it be able to stick on the terrarium wall ? TQ 😊

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Not this mix

[@2010gurmeet]

1.Can you let me know which is better cocopeat or peatmoss 2.As peatmoss is acidic, so i want to ask is tropical plant will thrive in it ?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Both with work

[@phoenix7631]

Hey what can i use instead of dry moss ?!

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You can skip it if you do not have. You can add crushed lava rocks or pumice but it’s not an alternative to moss. However they are good for the soil mix.

[@NitinCarpenter-zi3kq]

I have no access to any kind of bark here, what’s the replacement, coco chips?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You can use lava rocks or even skip

[@souradipnag2949]

Instead of pine bark what we can use? Any alternative, which can be easily available... Thanks n advance...

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You can skip the pine bark if you dont have it. However it is available on Amazon. Buying link in the description.

[@mdshamsheeransari]

How about coconut chips instead of pine bark

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

@@mdshamsheeransari can be used

[@mdshamsheeransari]

@@TheUrbanNemophilist thank you

[@MissNebulosity]

do you have a video on how to make a mixture from stuff you just have in your yard? I just wanna make something simple and not have to spend a whole bunch of money putting something together.

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes and here it is kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJXEqamma5eBh80

[@skabc18]

Can we use perilite instead of river sand ?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Will fly around the enclosure and may not look natural and blend with scape aesthetically. But you can surely try

[@monabraun2892]

Is good for moss in closed terrarium?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes

[@ruhsexperimentsgliesperimentid]

But the pine bark hasn't resin in it? And the resin, someone says, isn't good for terrariums... 🤔

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

No resin

[@shubhaoak2165]

Can I use vermicompost

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You can use vermicast in small quantities. I don’t use it myself but have seen others using it and getting results.

[@pheux1947]

Thoughts on vermiculite ?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Haven’t used. You can always try

[@beckythompson3668]

Can I source my own sand from a (salt water) beach and my own pine bark from a tree?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

River sand is recommended. Pine bark you can use.

[@robbikun]

I need help. My mix smells like ammonia. What should i do?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Looks like your mix is turning putrid due to lack of aeration and build up of anaerobic bacteria. I suggest you prepare fresh soil mix for your terrarium.

[@bruno42111]

can I use this mix for a carnivorous terrarium?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes you can

[@shubhaoak2165]

What can I substitute for aquasoil

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

You can skip if you dont have.

[@shubhaoak2165]

Thank you

[@max.2568]

Does spaghum Moss work ?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes

[@kaushik-ev5uk]

Can I skip pine bark?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes sure you can

[@jmaeabergas1194]

Can i use activated carbon instead of charcoal?

[@jmaeabergas1194]

Any sand will do? I only shop online and I'm a student I only save up a little amount of money and waiting for my scholarship. These are the only thing I can buy that is available on the online market is sphagnum, coco peat vermicast, and pine bark some are not in one shop activated charcoal, is way too expensive so I'm eyeing the activated carbon instead which is cheaper. Keep making videos it's an inspiration to me!

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes sure you can use. Thank you

[@jmaeabergas1194]

@@TheUrbanNemophilist can i skip the sand and bark?

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

@@jmaeabergas1194 you can surely try by skipping

[@artingreens]

Do u sterilize ur Terrarium mix

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes most of the the time

[@kumarnathani8661]

Can we use vermicompost instead of aquasoil

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

Yes you can try

[@kumarnathani8661]

What would be the ratio of that