You'll find lots of new gardening products hitting the shelves and catalogs this spring -- many of them enviro-friendly.
Here's a sampling of what's new, available at many gardening centers:
EarthBox. Think automatic garden in a box. This plastic box -- a little more than a foot wide and 2 feet long -- has a self-watering reservoir in the bottom and a plastic sheet that goes over the potting mix to reduce evaporation and stop weeds. Just keep the reservoir full and it's brainless growing (www.earthbox.com, $50).
Stone carpets. No need to push around wheelbarrows full of stones to build a stone path anymore. This product from the Tenax Corp. bonds stone to 4-foot sections of mesh so you can just roll out instant paths. ($49 per box).
Leatherman Genus Pruning Multi-Tool. This one fold-up gadget has a tool for any yard job you can imagine: pruners, a wire cutter, screwdrivers, mini-saw, bottle opener, sharpening stick and more ($99.99).
Revolution Planter. An 8-inch-diameter hanging cage that lets you grow tomatoes out of the bottom. The cage is filled with soil and has a built-in water reservoir. Plant a tomato in the bottom, hang it on the patio and you'll get fruits at eye level. A good option for those with blight problems in their garden soil or for those with little space who just want one or two tomato plants (Gardener's Supply catalog at www.gardeners.com, $19.95).
Ultra-green. This potting mix is 100 percent organic with no peat (it's a blend of compost, worm poop, coir and perlite) and is made using equipment powered by wind and waste oil. Developed by soil scientist Mark Highland (www .organicmechanicsoil.com, $8.99 -$10.49 for 16-quart bag).
Terracyle All-Purpose Potting Mix. Also a peat-free mix, this blend of compost, coir and worm poop comes in recycled 1-gallon milk jugs (Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, $5).
Escar-Go Supreme. Get rid of slugs and snails without heavy-handed chemicals. This granular product contains pet- and wildlife-safe iron phosphate and a fermented bacterium called Spinosad to make slugs so sick they stop eating and die. Also controls cutworms and earwigs (Gardens Alive catalog, www.GardensAlive.com, $9.95 for a 13-ounce box).
PotHoles Drainage Discs. Keep soil from dribbling out through your pots' drainage holes with these 5- or 6.5-inch porous discs. The material is breathable and rot-resistant and lasts for years (www.charleysgreenhouse.com or www.floriantools.com, $9.95-$12.95 per pair).
Essex Plant Supports. These elegant four-legged plant supports are shaped like a vase so they help tall flowers stand up in the garden in bouquet fashion. Made of powder-coated black steel (Gardener's Supply catalog, www.gardeners.com, $24.95-$29.95 per pair).
Dynamite Organic. The first organic-certified (OMRI listed) granular fertilizer that's formulated to last for three months in a single application. Think timed-release Osmocote, only organic. It's derived from feather meal, blood meal, bone meal and potash, carries a 10-2-8 nutrient ratio and is odorless (Home Depot or www.dynamite plantfood.com, $8.99 for a 2-pound container).
ColorStorm Premium Rubber Hose. Dramm Corp. has high-quality, crush- and kink-resistant rubber hoses that come in six "rainbow" colors to match the company's Watering Wands. (Ace and True Value hardware stores or www.dramm.com, $50 for 50-foot hose).
Bloomington-based Toro Co. has new products to help with watering chores. The Water Wand extends your watering reach with spray pattern options for watering flowers, trees and shrubs. Available in 21- and 36-inch models; $15.99-$19.99. New hose-end nozzles include the Front Trigger with gel-grip handle and adjustable flow control; the 6-Pattern Push Button nozzle with a side-mounted dial is easy to adjust; the 8-Pattern Rear Trigger (or Front Trigger) models have two more watering patterns and a gel-grip handle. The new nozzles range from $13.99 to $15.99. The Turbo-Flow garden hose is kink- and tangle-resistant. It comes in 50- and 100-foot lengths; $29.99-$54.99. Hose-end connectors for quick connections are $6.99-$18.99. Available at www.shoptoro.com or Ace Hardware and Home Depot stores.
