Bottle garden

A bottle garden is a container similar to a terrarium in which plants are grown. They usually consist of a plastic or glass bottle with a narrow neck and a small opening.cite web |title=Gardening glossary|url=http://www.emilycompost.com/garden_glossary.htm|accessdate=2008-03-20] Plants are grown inside the bottle with little or no exposure to the outside environment, and can be contained indefinitely inside the bottle if properly illumated. [cite book |last=Robberts |first=M.B.V. |title=Biology, a functional approach |year=1986 |isbn=0-17-448019-9]

Uses

Bottle gardens are commonly used as a form of decoration, or as a substitute garden in areas with little space, such as patios or high rise apartments.cite web |title=Bottle garden|url=http://en.mimi.hu/gardening/bottle_garden.html|accessdate=2008-03-20] Being easy to create and maintain, bottle gardens are also used in schools as an economic way to study miniature eco-systems within the confines of a classroom. They can also be used as a control mechanism, enabling the internal environment of the bottle to be effectively controlled and isolated from outside stimuli. Bottle gardens have also been used for vegetable production in dryland areas and areas with a shortage of water, allowing water to be conserved for other uses.cite web |title=Bottle gardening - some experiments|url=http://desertification.wordpress.com/2007/03/25/bottle-gardening-some-experiments/|accessdate=2008-03-20]

Operation

A bottle garden has the essential requirements of soil and water for the survival of plants that are housed in it, as well as a reservoir of water, as water is trapped inside the bottle and unable to evaporate. The carbon dioxide from plant respiration is used for photosynthesis, and the oxygen from photosynthesis is used for respiration. [cite book |last=Robberts |first=M.B.V. |title=Biology, a functional approach |year=1986 |isbn=0-17-448019-9] As such they require almost no maintenance.

References

ee also

* Ecosphere
* Closed ecological system
* Biosphere
*Wardian case
*Terrarium

External links

* [http://www.microbeworld.org/resources/experiment/experiment_biosphere_in_a_bottle.aspx An experiment to grow bacteria in bottles]
* [http://www.messaggiamo.com/gardening/34436-bottle-gardening-or-terrarium-design-and-maintenance.html The use of bottle gardens as garden designs]
* [http://desertification.wordpress.com/2007/03/25/bottle-gardening-some-experiments/ Plastic bottles for vegetable production]
* [http://www.onlinegardener.com/pdf/Designing%20and%20Growing%20Terrariums.pdf Designing and Growing Terrariums]