mtaimed

[mtaimed]

Update four

Most of the plants seem to be alive. The small leafy plant seems to have died, as it's dark. But the same kinds of plants seem to have died everywhere else in the garden too. There seems to be less moss than in August, and the moss is less green.

All other plants are alive and still growing.

[mtaimed]

Update 3

All the plants are still alive and growing, some more than others. There is a lot of moss on the sides of the container, most likely from the riverwater.

[mtaimed]

Second update.

All of the plants are alive(I think), which is great:::)))! The leafy green plant and the Sedum plant have both gotten a lot bigger and taller. The Sempervivum plants have not grown by a lot but they tend to be slow growers. There is a lot of moss/algae on the soil and on the rocks, which is good I suppose(?). There are also new small weeds, probably from the soil itself that I used. 

The fact that there is new growth and new plants is a very good sigh, as it shows that the mesocosm is viable and all of the cycles are working properly.

[mtaimed]

First update.

There is noticeable condensation on the sides of the container. All of the plants appear to be alive and healthy. There are no major signs of growth. 

[mtaimed]

Over the summer, I had to create my own mesocosm, a small completely closed off ecosystem of sorts.

To create the mesocosm, I had to find suitable plants, a container, some stones and soil, and lastly, water.

To start off, I bought a plastic food container because it had a pretty airtight lid. I then found some pebbles from my driveway and washed them with tap water. I then brought some water for the mesocosm from a nearby river to get some microorganisms into the mesocosm to promote the metabolism inside the mesocosm(carbon cycle, water cycle, oxygen cycle). I used regular houseplant soil for my mesocosm.

Choosing the plants was the hardest part, as I wanted them to be viable. In the end, I picked some plants that had escaped the flowerbed and started growing in the most inhospitable place in our garden: the southern side of the garage. Not only is it extremely hot there, but also it’s nearly the driest place in our garen as the soil is completely sand and it gets very little rain. I'm not quite sure what all of the plants are called but according to me they are: some kind of a sedum plant, two Sempervivum plants, an unidentifiable flowering plant and an unknown green leafy plant.

In order to assemble the mesocosm, I just placed the rocks to the bottom, the soil on top and filled the container up more than halfway. I then planted the weeds and poured river water over them. Then, I closed the lid.

I did not use all of the plants in the picture as one was too big and the other was actually very likely to die, which I did not want. The  Sempervivum plants are also not show as it was a last minute decision to add them.