Natalie Warrington | Updated 4:40 PM, August 2, 2021

There are many articles on how to make attractive glass containers, but mushrooms are often overlooked. Under the right conditions, fashionable fungi can be planted in lush, moss-covered glass containers to add a unique atmosphere to your miniature habitat. 

Some terrarium purists believe that "mushrooms are a sign of aesthetic failure." However, unexpected mushrooms can actually indicate that an ecosystem is functioning the way it should: recycling dead or decaying plant matter and returning nutrients to the soil. Mushrooms may germinate from moss in glass containers, grow from rotting wood (such as branches or bark), or directly emerge from the soil. If you are a fan of toadstools, you can even specially design a miniature environment to promote mushroom growth. Just make sure you don't touch anything that you think is unsafe, and never eat them without expert guidance.

Building a basic glass container is simple: spread a layer of soil, stones and moss or other green plants in a large container, add water mist, seal it, and place it in the sun to create a miniature , A self-regulating biosphere. But before you start encouraging mushrooms to grow, it's important to understand what they are and how they thrive. All mushrooms come from mycelium, a spongy network of white fungus filaments, usually found in fertile soil, tree roots, and decaying organic materials. Although technically speaking, fungi are not plants, you can think of mushrooms as the "fruits" produced by this mycelium. 

Growing mushrooms in glass containers means starting with mycelium and optimizing the growth conditions of mushrooms by adding water, warmth and food (organic materials). Keep in mind that it can take months for mycelium to produce mushrooms, especially if there is no decaying plant material to eat. When mushrooms really sprout, they will only rot for a few weeks-but the mycelium they grow from will stay in your mini ecosystem indefinitely, producing new mushrooms several times a year.

Unfortunately, this cycle of decay and regeneration means that it is almost impossible to plan a glass container with your favorite fungus throughout the year. The good news is that the warmth and humidity of ordinary glass containers provide an excellent habitat for mushrooms, so even if you can't see the mushrooms, you can enjoy its mossy charm.

The easiest way to grow mushrooms in glass containers is to build, water and wait-mushrooms may sprout naturally from the mycelium in the soil of the micro-ecosystem. Fungal spores can also be spread in the air, which means you may "grow" mushrooms in glass containers without your knowledge.

[Related: The seed bank is full of hidden fungi, scientists can’t put it down]

If you have been waiting for a few months without seeing any mushroom growth, try moving your settings to a cool place. This is not great for the plants in your terrarium, but their loss may be an increase in mycelium. Because mushrooms consume and decay organic matter, they will appear where the dead objects are. Mushrooms also thrive in the dark; unlike plants, they can grow without sunlight. If your terrarium greens wilt and you still can’t see the mushrooms, try our other tips below to increase your chances.

If you have a pile of compost, you may notice mushrooms popping up in it from time to time. You can create the same thing in your glass container: a humid, warm environment full of dead and decaying organic matter. Instead of waiting for the mushrooms to sprout on their own, try putting a few handfuls of compost into a glass container to start the process.

When we think of composting, many of us imagine food scraps, such as stale bread, vegetable peels, and old fruits. However, these edible scraps are more attractive to mold than to fungi because they contain nitrogen. Mycelium works best in materials found naturally outdoors, such as fallen leaves, lawn clippings, and dead wood. A mass of wet leaves and bark is a great way to start composting in your glass container. Although animal manure is common in the garden and may even be present in your compost, don't try to grow mushrooms with it: the mushrooms that appear may be poisonous. 

If you know where to look, you can source glass container materials from nature. Your backyard may have the mycelium needed to start growing mushrooms, but if you go to a park or nature reserve to look for it, you need to be cautious and understand the law. Many protected natural spaces have regulations that you can take home. If any, some wild mushrooms are poisonous and should not be touched with bare hands.

In other words, organic materials from nature can help initiate this process. For example, the soil around the roots of a tree is more likely to contain mycelium than the bagged potting soil in a store, and a large piece of rotting wood on a fallen tree is an ideal substrate for natural mycelium growth. If you can break a small piece without breaking the law or destroying the surrounding ecosystem, add it to your glass container and see if the mushrooms start to grow. Grabbing a full-bodied mushroom from the outdoors and sticking it in your glass container won't work. The key is to get mycelium into your ecosystem-if there is no support system under the soil, the "fruit" will wither within a few days.

Again, use it with caution. Be smart. Go home with a damp stick you grabbed from the forest floor? Should it be better to uproot a healthy tree to scrape off the sweet mycelium from its roots? not good. Not cool. And, the trouble is more than worth it! You can buy mycelium online effortlessly and even eat the mushrooms it grows. In fact, this is the last trick we use to encourage mushroom growth at home.

There is another way to add mycelium to your micro-ecosystem: buy some online. Mycelium is sold as white flakes or bricks, which may need to be broken down and soaked in cold water before planting. Start with a few small pieces and bury them in the soil, moss and plants in different areas of the terrarium.

[Related: 4 benefits of eating mushrooms]

Mushrooms still take a while to appear, but this method gives you the highest chance of seeing results. Store-bought mycelium is designed to grow easily, and different varieties can even be provided according to the type of mushrooms you wish to see. With a little water and patience, you may soon see chanterelles, shiitake mushrooms, boletus, etc.

Terrariums are beautiful, but mushrooms are short-lived-many varieties may not be suitable for the bright, sunny conditions that the rest of your small ecosystem needs to thrive. If you really want to see mushrooms, pick up the leftover mycelium from the store and put it in a cool place. Please also read the packaging-your mycelium brick may have instructions on how to coax delicious fungi. At the same time, your glass container can be placed in the sun until its own mushrooms appear.

Natalie Wallington is a writer for the DIY section of PopSci. Her coverage of social and environmental justice has appeared in the Washington Post, Audubon Magazine, VICE News, and other places. In her spare time, she collects stationery and takes naps on the sofa with her retired greyhound. Visit her website to see more of her work.

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