DuneCraft cast a new light on terrariums at Toy Fair last month with the introduction of its LED Light Cubes.
Available in four versions—Tropical Jungle, Carnivorous Creatures, Mini-Meadow Garden and Mini-Cactus Garden—the Cubes employ red and blue LED lights that are USB driven and consume a fraction of the energy of standard bulbs—one watt, to be exact. They can plug into any computer USB port, and have an optional plug for an electric outlet.
Each Light Cube kit comes with terrarium, growing medium, LED lights, seeds, and complete instructions. They use 15 micro LED lights that provide plenty of light for growth, with red lights to promote flowering, blue lights to foster foliage. One or both lights can be deployed depending on what’s being grown, and to facilitate optimal growth.
The Mini-Cactus Garden offers a variety of cacti, which start sprouting in under a week and are easy to grow. The Mini-Meadow model comes with wildflower seeds and likewise sprouts in less than a week, blooming in the first month.
Tropical Jungle, meanwhile, has quick-growing polka dot plants, China Doll trees and lobelia, and show color within weeks of sprouting. Finally, the Carnivorous Creatures cube features flytraps and sundews.
“If you don’t have flies, they’ll eat hamburger!” said DuneCraft rep Alicia Borley. And like the other Light Cubes, Carnivorous Creatures requires no sunlight.
“Using the USB cord is awesome!” related Borley, noting that people are using spare computer ports more and more for varied activities.
She also pointed to the company’s hydroponics specialty, and the addition this year of strawberries to its popular Hydroponics Kits line, namely, the Everbearing Strawberry Hydro-Dome.
With the new product one can grow plants from seed, clone plants and make root cuttings. It comes with the Hydro-Dome greenhouse and includes hydroponic rack, hydro-pump, two-part nutrient packs, net pots, rock-wool, strawberry seeds and complete instructions.
“I used to watch my grandfather in Gallatin, Tennessee grow strawberries,” said Borley. “You’re supposed to flip them upside-down and put a bag over them. This eliminates a lot of that process.”
Presumably, the Everbearing Strawberry Hydro-Dome also eliminates the strawberry-growing problems of deer and peacocks in Gallatin, which Borley also recalled.
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