Biggest Trends in Gardening Products for Spring 2011
Spring 2011 is all about eco-gardening – making green choices and following sustainable practices to ensure the health and prosperity of our environment. That means using as little water as possible, sticking to local, native plants and reducing the amount of sprawling green space in favor of more hardscape features. With spring just around the corner, stores are stocked with new “all-natural” and “eco-friendly” products that promise to work as effectively as traditional gardening tools, without all the nasty chemicals and toxins. Here’s a look at some of the latest products to look out for:
Leaf packers:
The first thing we want to do when spring hits is clean up all the dead leafs left over from the fall. What we don’t look forward to, however, is the hassle of trying to load leaves into flimsy paper leaf bags that collapse upon contact. New leaf packers with hand-held compacting tools make the job easier. Firstly, they compact the leaves and reduce the number of bags used and, secondly, with clips attached to the hand-held compressor (which sits between two leaf bags) the bags stay upright and it is, therefore, much easier to load with leaves. Once the bags are full, all you have to do is unclip them, take the hand-held compactor and pack them down.
Product:
Leaf-Pactor
The Bagster®:
The Bagster® Dumpster in a bag® is a waste management product and system that allows you to take on a wide variety of landscaping projects without having to wait for a dumpster to be delivered or having to finish your project within a rental time period. When you purchase the Bagster® you get a bag that, according to the company’s website, is strong enough to hold up to 3 yards of debris/waste. You can use the bag at any time, all you have to do is place it in an easy-to-access loading area, fill the bag and schedule for your Bagster® to be picked up by the Bagster® team.
Product:
The Bagster®
Collapsible Rainwater Barrel:
Another by product of rainwater harvesting, the rainwater barrel is just what it suggests – a barrel that collects rainwater. We all need to use as little water as possible, especially now as more and more areas are banning the amount of water residents can use to water their lawns. Now, you can use the rainwater barrel to collect water for watering your lawn and garden. The convenient thing about this contraption is that it actually collapses and folds up just like a lawn chair, meaning you can easily put it away and store it when it’s not raining.
Product:
Heaven & Earth Collapsible Rain Barrel
Available at retail stores such as Sears, the Home Depot, Home Hardware, and others.
Or create your own rainwater barrel
Gardening tools:
New gardening tools allow you to do more with less. Many small gardening tools, like shovels, now come with twine cutters and/or serrated edges for cutting open bags.
Products:
Garant Planter’s Buddy 7 in 1
http://www.garant.com/index_en.php
Also, visit Rittenhouse for a complete line of unique and innovative garden tools: http://www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/Menu.asp?MID=14&Side=co
Gardening camera:
Now you can actually watch your garden grow! Gardening cameras are weather-proof and time lapsed and they allow you to video record your entire growing season so you can watch your garden flourish in a matter of seconds.
Product:
Wingscapes Time Lapse Plant Cam
Organic weed control:
Organic weed control products use a super dose of iron to remove weeds in an all-natural way. All you have to do is spray the weeded area, just as you would with traditional pesticides, and the weeds decompress in a few days. Weed pullers have also become much more user-friendly and effective, making them great alternatives to pesticides.
Products:
Weed B Gon Weed Control
http://www.turfrevolution.com/
Fiskars Deluxe Telescopic Stand-up Weeder
Patio veggie planters:
More and more gardening options for apartment/condo residents and homeowners with small spaces are hitting the shelves. The Potato planter sack is one such example, which allows homeowners to grow their own potatoes on their patios or decks without taking up much space. The vines in the small potato sack simply trail over the side.
Product:
McKenzie Potato Planter Bag
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