Desert in a Box
Maybe it's their space-alien appearance, or the way they evoke the Wild West, or the fact that they thrive with virtually no care. Whatever the reason, kids love cacti. This group planting technique lets kids have their own little patch of desert, even if your climate is more arctic than Arizonan.
| Prep Time: Under 1 hour | |
| What you need: | |
| Plastic drawer organizer
50/50 mixture of potting soil and builder's sand Variety of miniature cacti Gravel Desert decorations | |
| Seasons: Year round | |
| Materials: plastic container | |
| Instructions: | |
| 1. | We started with a plastic drawer organizer filled with a
50/50 mixture of potting soil and builder's sand (you can also
use premixed cactus soil). We selected a variety of miniature
cacti (look for them in garden centers and florist's shops),
transplanted them into the soil mix using salad tongs, and
lightly watered them in.
|
| 2. | We then added a thin layer of gravel (from the pots the cacti came in), along with some desert decorations: a steer skull crafted from modeling clay, a guardian lizard (from a local craft shop), a plastic cowboy, and a road marker made from craft sticks |
| 3. | To keep your cacti happy, water them once a month until the soil is damp to the touch but not soggy |
Join Us