Hot Toys for 2012: Grow with DuneCraft

My love of nature and all the beauty produced by our wonderful earth is something I always like to share with my children.  Each year we garden together and work on the farm, but though I have many plants indoors and out selected more for their aesthetic properties, I had yet to involve them in the joy of growing plants for enjoyment along with sustainability.

The DuneCraft Super LED Cactus Garden offered a terrific opportunity to engage my sons in a creative planting project.  I knew cactus plants were fairly low maintenance so they’d easily keep up with them as a first project and it would also open a fun learning opportunity as they are such fascinating plants to explore.

My youngest son was very enthusiastic to begin planting.  The kit was easy to understand and with a little help from us, he was able to assemble and prepare the cactus garden.  His enthusiasm soon spread and my oldest son joined in to learn about the properties of cactus and how to prepare an optimal environment for them to thrive.

Near the end of our assembly, what I didn’t expect was the wonderful lesson in lighting that is incorporated into the DuneCraft Super LED kit.  Fifteen powerful micro LED lights provide light for the cactus seedlings and plants to thrive. The state of the art light has red lights to promote flowering, blue lights to foster foliage, and you can set it to use one or both lights, depending on what you are growing.  Included in the instruction is information on what type of light plants need at different stages and how the kit maximizes growth with each setting.  Absolutely love impromptu learning sessions like this!

Though our cactus garden has only been set up for a few days and hasn’t had a chance to sprout (it takes about a week or so,) it’s still a constant source of attraction for sons (they check on it daily) and a source of inspiration for conversations as they have telling everyone about their new-found knowledge of cacti and their garden at home (yes, I am a proud mommy!) 

DuneCraft has an entire line of exciting products that bring science and nature together to inspire creativity and a love of all things green! You’ll find the LED Light Cube, Dome Terrariums, Miniature Gardens and more at http://dunecraft.com. There’s a kit available certain to peak the interest of any child (or adult!) on your holiday shopping list.

Disclosure:  Sample product was provided by DuneCraft.  All thoughts and opinions are that of Rural Mom