Repurposed bottle terrariums allow you to control you own little ecosystem while reminding you to care for your big ecosystem, earth. There are two main terrarium types, opened and closed, each with their own humidity, space, and air circulation advantages. Today, I'll be showing you how make an open bottle terrarium for a lucky bamboo plant. Lucky bamboo requires constant moisture with little or no fear of root rot. The bottle neck will help maintain moisture, even though the terrarium is open, and the open top will give the plant enough room to thrive.

Step 1: Materials & Tools

Materials:
glass or plastic bottle
water gems, grow rocks, or pebbles
charcoal
organic potting soil
distilled water or tap water that's been left out 24 hours
lucky bamboo or similar moisture loving plant

Tools:
long tweezers
spray bottle

Step 2: Drainage Layer

Fill your bottle 1/3 full with water gems. Water gems are a water absorbent polymer that absorb, store, and later releases water when appropriate. Next add a 1/2 in. layer of charcoal. Charcoal will filter your water as it enters and leaves the drainage layer. Together, the water gems and charcoal provide ample amount of space to store water.

Step 3: Soil Layer

Use the spray bottle to moisten the soil and use the tweezers to fill your bottle with moist soil to the desired level, packing it down as you go. Use the appropriate soil for the appropriate plant. I used organic potting soil to avoid chemicals building up and because organic matter retain moisture well. The soil layer thickness depends on the plant. My lucky bamboo needed a decent layer, 2 in., to ensure space for root growth and account for soil compacting. Once your soil is in, you'll probably want to clean the sides of the bottle. Use the tweezers to guide a piece of paper towel around the inside.

Step 4: Plant Layer

Use your tweezers to poke a hole that will fit your plant's root mass. Then, using your tweezers, carefully guide your plant into the hole. Still using your tweezers, pack the soil down around the base until your plant is firmly situated. Spray the inside a few times.

Step 5: Placement

And you're done...filling your bottle, that is. Now to decide where to place the bottle terrarium. Placement should depend on the plant you used and its lighting and temperature requirements. Since I used lucky bamboo, the low lighting and room temperatures of indoors is perfect. Thanks to your bottle terrarium your moisture loving plant will thrive with little attention.