DIY Terrestrial Moss Covered Log for Paludarium

[Guns286]

I wanted to cover a piece of driftwood that I have with terrestrial moss and add it to the paludarium I plan on making. My only experience with moss and driftwood was using thread to attach Java moss. I found that it doesn't work the same way with terrestrial mosses. So, I did some research and am trying one of the suggestions I found.
I picked a bunch of moss from my yard and removed as much of the dirt as I could. Then I put it in a blender (please dont tell my wife!) and added some sugar and a can of beer (the formula suggested beer or buttermilk. I had lots of beer and no buttermilk so the choice was easy). I blended it into a Pesto-like paste and spread it over the driftwood. I now have it sitting in the same area of my yard that I collected the moss in the first place, so it gets the same light exposure (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours a day). I also mist it with water to add moisture.
So, we'll see how it goes.

[Edub]

Interesting! I have used my blender to make a moss milkshake before and had that work well, but I have never heard of using beer. It'll be interesting to see how this does.

[Wy Renegade]

Looks good. Will be interesting to see the results. You've mentioned you paludarium a couple times, do you have a thread going on it?

[Guns286]

Thanks guys. It's been a week and not too much action. I'll take a pic in a little while and post it. I assume it's going to take some time for the moss to attach and grow.

[Guns286]

Its been 2 weeks and I dont have much to report. I cant tell if the moss is growing or not. I'll just keep watching it and see what happens.

[Guns286]

Just a quick update. It basically still looks the same. I'll add a photo soon, but I dont see any growth. Can anyone suggest something I can do to help it along? Or am I just stuck waiting?

[@marko@]

its moss. growth is going to be slow. i minced some mini fiss for a dry start, and its been 3 weeks and i just noticed a handful of the tiniest new growth points.

[Bunfoo]

What kind of terrestrial moss was it? Some work better than others. The buttermilk works a LOT better than the beer, and organic yogurt works a lot better than buttermilk. It usually takes at least a few weeks for the moss to start growing in from paste. It helps to keep it in a cool, dark, damp location for the first couple of weeks. We would put our logs into a container with no lid filled with a shallow amount of water to keep humidity up.

Spraying the moss with "worm tea" (made from worm castings/poop) also helps to add beneficial microbes that help speed growth.

I'm NO expert but I do have some fair amount of experience with mosses, with trial-and-error.

Once the moss begins to grow in well, you can try submersing it entirely in fishtank water for an hour once or twice a week. It really helps to bring out lush, deep greens. We used to grow a little moss in the cup our betta fish came in, when we would do full water changes (way back when I had no idea how to care for them, he was in a 5g with no filter and so we'd fully change water weekly) we'd place him in some of his tank water in the cup, and when we were done we'd net him out and leave the water a bit longer in a windowsil. Believe it or not warm water will speed growth in established terrestrial mosses.

A plus side to this kind of start is that mosses grow in nice and evenly, but a downside is if you get two or more different kinds on accident they can look kind of patchy (which imo looks a lot more natural anyways.)

ere's an example of a bit of patchy moss application (this was a bug habitat)


Here is the moss I was talking about earlier, with the fish.


And this is what it generally tends to grow out like when prepared like you have it(We prepared this with yogurt, kept moist, and sprayed with worm tea once a week or less.)


It should actually grow out a lot more "even" for you, but sometimes creases or differences in level will appear especially with this method, as humidity and growth rates will range in small areas.

Good luck!

[Guns286]

Originally Posted by Bunfoo

What kind of terrestrial moss was it? Some work better than others. The buttermilk works a LOT better than the beer, and organic yogurt works a lot better than buttermilk. It usually takes at least a few weeks for the moss to start growing in from paste. It helps to keep it in a cool, dark, damp location for the first couple of weeks. We would put our logs into a container with no lid filled with a shallow amount of water to keep humidity up.

Spraying the moss with "worm tea" (made from worm castings/poop) also helps to add beneficial microbes that help speed growth.

I'm NO expert but I do have some fair amount of experience with mosses, with trial-and-error.

Once the moss begins to grow in well, you can try submersing it entirely in fishtank water for an hour once or twice a week. It really helps to bring out lush, deep greens. We used to grow a little moss in the cup our betta fish came in, when we would do full water changes (way back when I had no idea how to care for them, he was in a 5g with no filter and so we'd fully change water weekly) we'd place him in some of his tank water in the cup, and when we were done we'd net him out and leave the water a bit longer in a windowsil. Believe it or not warm water will speed growth in established terrestrial mosses.

A plus side to this kind of start is that mosses grow in nice and evenly, but a downside is if you get two or more different kinds on accident they can look kind of patchy (which imo looks a lot more natural anyways.)

It should actually grow out a lot more "even" for you, but sometimes creases or differences in level will appear especially with this method, as humidity and growth rates will range in small areas.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the info! Those mosses look great! I think I may have to scrap this one and start over. It's been a month and this is still what it looks like





It's damp cause its raining here, but it's usually a lightish brown color. I can't tell if those little tan colored specks are the begining of growth or just crap that's stuck to it. I would think that, after a month, I would see SOMETHING.
I used 2 different kinds of mosses





I have no idea what type they are. I just thought they looked cool and, more importantly, found them right in my back yard.
So I'm going to get some organic, plain, yogurt. Mix it with moss and coat the branch with it. Should I then sit it outside, like I did with this one, in the same spot that the other mosses are growing? Or should I sit it under my deck (dark, damp place)? Then, at what point should I submerse it in water, for an hour a day? Please talk me through this cause I'm a complete terrestrial moss idiot!

Thanks again for all you help.
Bill

[Bunfoo]

Hmm yeah, at a month you should begin to see some growth already with those two types. They'll be green from the get-go so those brown bits aren't moss for sure.

It was likely applied too thickly to the log. With moss you really just need to "brush" on a thin application, and then keep it moist. Putting it under the deck or even in your house would be fine, just keep it in a shallow tray of water for humidity and remember to mist it BEFORE it begins to look dry. You can begin to soak it once the moss has mostly developed across the log.