Growing Moss Indoors Made Easy

Growing Moss in Trays

All you need to start is a tray in plastic or stainless steel.  The one I’m using here is 30 x 20 x 5 cm deep. You must drill a couple of holes in the sides about 2 cm up from the bottom so the moss can never be flooded.

I then use corrugated plastic to form the divider and make that about 6.5 cm wide so that stands higher than the tray.I then use 2.5 cm foam sponge cut to size you can usually buy this in any aquatic shop. Before I place the foam in the tray I put a piece of banana leaf in each section about 2 x 10 cm.  Then the aged fertilized water is added.

Fertilizing With Conditioned Water

You must then allow the sponge to soak up the water until saturated.  Once this is done add your moss, cover with plastic held in place with 2 clothes pegs, and place the whole tray out of direct sunlight in a cool place.  The divider in the tray is higher than the moss and you should get good air circulation over your moss.

I find a good base fertilizer to be seaweed or kelp but watered down to 25% of its strength. The water I add to the seaweed I make up myself, in a clean 10 liter bucket.  I put about 30 strips of sun dried banana leaf and then fill the bucket with clean rainwater then leave for about three to four days.  The water will start to go a pale Whiskey colour.  It’s now ready to use.

Flush through your moss with clean water then add a few drops of the mix to your tubs. I use 3-4 drops per ice cream pot but I will commit myself to more than that. It is up to each of us to determine the amounts we use as there are so many factors to take into consideration.

Established Tray of Mosses

The mosses in this tray are over a year old but I do have mosses growing in a similar way in plastic take away food containers that have been and still are growing well, after about 20 months.  Its really just technique and patience.

Starting mosses in Mini Tubs.

Today Ice Cream is often served in a 2 part tub which is 8 cm across and 10 cm tall.  Ideal! Take this tub and make 3 small holes with a hot soldering iron or a hot 4″ nail where the arrows are. Cut a piece of filter sponge to fit the bottom and you have your propagator all ready.

Unpack your moss and check the top and bottom.  Pop it in the pot and add water up to the drainage hole level.  Clip on the lid, place on a East facing window sill, then wait!

By Paul Blowers  
Photos courtesy Paul Blowers