Cold and Warm Weather Gardening Terrarium Containers

Terrariums are small, enclosed shelter containers used to maintain small plants indoors in cold temperatures prior to warmer temperatures arriving. The terrariums need to be see-through structures because of the light requirements for the seeds. There are many varieties of vegetable seeds that need light reaching the seed during germination. Germination is done with little or no soil mixture covering over the seeds, or it is done with just soil mixture under and around the seeds. The seeds are just slightly pressed into the soil mixture, or they are just slightly covered with the soil mixture.  Examples include cucumbers, peppers, squashes, tomatoes, melons, and lettuces. Flower seed examples include snapdragons, petunias, begonia, poppies, and impatiens. Seed starter mixtures are designed to have light coming towards the planted seeds.

For seeds that require darkness to germinate, like onions or sunflowers, the terrarium unit is covered with black plastic during germination. When leaves develop move plants to a sunlit area.

In cold temperatures keep seedlings and transplants warm and in well-lit spaces.

Transplant seedlings from a seed starter mixture into a potting mixture after the true leaves have formed on the seedlings, for feeding of the seedlings’ roots.