If you love plants, or know someone who does, then the products that Dunecraft has to offer will make you so excited! I love plants, so I was very happy to try out their Hydro-Dome hydroponic grow dome. But they have so many other fun products too, for example their Strange Plants collection features plants that move, plants that grow eyeballs, plants that grow flowers that look like brains, and plants that eat flies and small insects!

The kit comes with everything that you need, and good clear instructions on how to set up your dome. They even include stickers so you can make the outside look as pretty as the inside. The very cool part is that they are all grown without dirt, and they grow very fast! Our seeds were sprouting within two days, and they love the windowsill and are going like gangbusters. We are going to have lettuce to eat in no time at all!

It is very easy to set up, and fun to watch. It amazed me how quickly the plants started growing. Once they have sprouted and get roots going down through the growing pod, the fun starts with fertilizer, and aeration. They include all of the items you need for that as well. The complete kit is just $29.99 and would be a perfect gift for teaching children about plants, or just for someone who loves plants. You can find the Hydro-Dome and a ton of other very fun and educational items on the Dunecraft website.

If you are a gardener, and a cook, or even if you just try to be, then the NatureMill is going to be your new best friend. The NatureMill is an indoor composter that can be set up in your kitchen (or anywhere else really), to make quick use of your table scraps. The result is awesome compost that will be great for using in your gardens and flowerbeds. I seriously can not wait for spring so I can put the compost to good use.

NatureMill Composter

I have so many great things to tell about this product, for example, you can add food to the mix at any time, up to 120 lbs a month! That is a lot of food that would have been wasted that instead will become beautiful compost! There is no mixing, the machine does all the work. We love that there are no trash odors, and the variety of items we can put inside. The NatureMill provides a continuous air flow and a powerful carbon filter to remove odors, and the compost tumbler is completely sealed!

Compost is ready in 2 weeks, and there is even a red light to let you know when it’s time to empty the bin. Unlike traditional composting methods, you can add meat, dairy, and fish. You can even compost pet waste, kitty litter, and cage beddings. This is because the NatureMill has high temperatures inside.

It was very easy to set up and get going. The instructions were clear, and the product comes assembled, so all you have to do is make the composting mix. Everything you need is included except for one cup of dirt (which you can get out of your garden, even if the dirt is frozen).

We eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, so it has been wonderful to be able to easily convert the waste into compost. Now in the middle of the snowy winter, we don’t have to think about running out to add scraps to the compost pile, we just add it to the NatureMill in the kitchen! We would really love to get the cabinet kit (shown in the photo), if only we had a free cabinet.

The composter does have to be plugged in, and it works best when you break up your food waste into small bits. It’s been very nice to be able to add our pet waste and especially the bird cage bedding, which used to go to the regular trash can. I can’t wait to be able to use our compost in our future garden beds when spring arrives. It will be such a great way to start off our plantings, and to feed our garden, without having to spend money on commercial compost!

You can buy online direct from the company via the NatureMill website, and you can also check for local stores. The NatureMill should be on the wish list of everyone who loves to garden, or just wants a better way to address the food waste in their household.

I love to garden, in fact, one of the main reasons I wanted to own a home was so I could have a yard of my own to play in. Oh how I wish I had known about the GardenScribe back when we first bought our home! I was very excited to get a chance to review this product! What a great tool for anyone who gardens, and especially if you are just starting to plan a garden too.

It works like a garden scrapbook, with a page for each plant. There is a photo holder so you can add your own photo of your plant, or just slip in the tag that comes with the plant (or both). Then on the rest of the page it has a ton of information to fill out that will help you know what works for the plant. It’s such an easy and convenient way to keep all the information organized. I was using a small box before to store all my plant tags, and let’s just say that wasn’t cutting it!

GardenScribe Binder

The GardenScribe is well made, and very large, with room for many plant pages! There is even a great garden planning tool included so you can draw out your future plans with ease. The binder is pre-loaded with pages to fill out for each plant, as well as category tabs like annuals, trees, perennials, shrubs, etc.  Not only does the binder really help keep track of everything in your garden, it looks great doing it too. The cover color and material are both attractive, and since it is for the garden, the cover is easy to clean as well.

The company even offers an online resource of  Plant Knowledge if you want to know even more about your plant. I can’t wait to really put my binder to use in the spring when I plan to add new perennials and other plants to the garden. It was a lot of fun to use for planning our fall vegetable garden as well.

You can purchase your own GardenScribe from their website for $39.95. They also offer refill pages, and empty binders.

The OFF! PowerPad Outdoor Lanterns are a fun and attractive way to repel mosquitoes, including those that may carry the West Nile Virus. The lantern uses a candle and heat-activated pads that repel mosquitoes up to 225 square feet (about the size of an average deck or patio). The lantern also includes a 4-foot pole so it can be placed anywhere in the yard.

Each candle and pad (they come together, as the candle is perfectly timed for the pad) provide 4 full hours of protection. Each refill pack contains three pads and three candles. You can also relight the candle if you don’t use it for the full 4 hours at a time.

We love the way it looks, but more importantly the protection it provides. Our state has had confirmed cases of West Nile virus, so it’s always important for us to do what we can to avoid mosquito bites, but we still want to enjoy the gorgeous summer night weather. The OFF! PowerPad Lanterns help us do just that!

Try it yourself! One lucky reader will win an OFF! PowerPad Outdoor Lantern!

To enter, just leave a comment on this post before midnight July 13, 2009. You may comment daily. Open to USA addresses only.

This post was written for Family Review Network as part of a program by SC Johnson, who also supplied the product for review and giveaway.

*this giveaway is now closed, congrats to Janna*

What is that strange looking flower in my garden? Only the coolest garden gadget ever! The easyBloom plant sensor! This amazing little gadget combines two of my favorite things, gardening and technology, to help grow a better garden.

I test drove two different plots in recommend mode, both in our backyard, and not too far apart from each other. Imagine my surprise at just how different the spots really were. Both got similar amounts of sunlight, but the water content was different with one area being mostly dry, while the other was totally wet.

The sensor has three different modes:

• Recommend: learn about the area then get recommendations on which plants would grow best in that spot.
• Monitor: use the sensor next to an existing plant to track how it’s doing, get feedback on what it needs to do better, etc.
• Water: simply stick the sensor in the dirt next to a plant and hear a beep alarm if it needs watering.

The first two modes will launch the software that runs online to get recommendations and also to keep a nice record of all the areas that you have tested. When you connect the sensor to your computer via the USB connector for the first time, you will register and get the software (it runs online). Then you can set which mode you want your sensor to be in (done only through the software, my only complaint because it would be nice to be able to change modes on the actual sensor). The easyBloom comes with extra petals, batteries, a USB cord which is helpful for those of us with laptops, and a holder that you can put on the wall or stand on it’s own.

To see a better example of how it works, visit the how it works section of the site. There is even a video that you can watch to get an even better feel. It’s really so simple to use, and so very cool to get recommendations and personalized information about our garden. I have a feeling our garden is going to be even more amazing thanks to the easyBloom.

You can buy your own EasyBloom Plant Sensor for just $59.95. It’s well worth the price (and it qualifies for free shipping too). So, if you love the garden and gadgets, you will have to agree with us that the easyBloom is totally wish list worthy!

Expert Gardener, Brown Thumb, Never Gardened, Looking for a Housewarming Gift?

The EasyBloom Plant Sensor can help the expert gardener understand exactly what’s going on in their garden with it’s precision monitoring of sun, soil, temperature and humidity. If you have a brown thumb, the EasyBloom Plant Sensor will tell you whether you’re over watering or under watering, or whether your plant needs different light or soil conditions. If you’ve never gardened, the EasyBloom Plant Sensor will tell you, step by step what you need to know to get started gardening. The EasyBloom Plant Sensor is the perfect gardening gift for new homeowners who need help finding plants for a new location. All backed by our 30 day money back guarantee.