If you're on the hunt for the perfect gift for your favorite gardener, you've probably seen your share of plaques, t-shirts, and kitschy little garden gnomes. Whether you're buying for a birthday, a graduation, or just to say "I love you," you can be sure that gardeners will always welcome gifts that make their green thumb even greener. These gardening gifts make garden planning and tending easier, smarter, and more productive by providing the information any gardener needs for successful harvests, whether the end result is a gorgeous lawn or a bounty of tomatoes for the dinner table.
Gifts to Help Get Your Garden Ready
Planning and getting ready to garden involves a lot of measuring and data collection. Even before a single shovel of soil has been turned or seed has been planted, you need to figure out the best time and place to plant.
-
Soil Temperature Sensor
While last frost dates are a good regional measure of the best time to plant, there's a great deal of variation within the different planting zones. A soil thermometer will tell you when the soil is at just the right temperature for the seeds you plan to plant. Later in the season, soil temperature readings can help a gardener decide when plants need an extra drink of water, a shade cover, or some mulch to cool things down and keep the temperature in optimal ranges.
-
Soil pH Meter
The right soil pH can make all the difference in the amount and quality of your harvest or the appearance of your flowers. Some plants like rhododendrons and azaleas like their soil on the acidic side, while others like lilacs thrive in alkaline. On the other hand, with few exceptions, most vegetables like their soil to be somewhere in the middle. An inexpensive soil pH meter tells the gardener whether the soil will need to be amended for successful growing.
Gifts for Monitoring Garden Conditions
Plants need the right amount of light, water, and nutrients to thrive, but that's just the start of making sure that the garden has the perfect conditions. These monitors and sensors can help any gardener, from novice to experienced, react to changing environmental conditions to keep their crops happy.
-
Thermometer
Frost can kill off tender plants in the spring or damage crops ready to be harvested in the fall. A thermometer will not only help you watch for damaging cold, it will also help you gauge whether you need to provide more water — plants get thirstier on hot days, too.
-
Soil Moisture Meter
Over- and underwatering probably cause more plant problems than any other single factor. The solution? A simple soil moisture meter will tell you whether or not your plants need more water or they're good to go. These are especially fun for younger kids — they're easy to read and give them a real hands-on activity.
-
Rain Gauge
Do you really need to turn on the sprinklers today? A rain gauge can help a gardener decide whether Mother Nature needs a helping hand. They're also a great instrument for Junior Weather Watchers and gardeners who want to keep track of the rainfall for the week, the month, or the whole season. You can go completely old-school with an acrylic rain gauge or go high-tech with a digital rain gauge that records rainfall data and conveniently self-empties.
-
Humidity Sensor
Ambient humidity can be vital for healthy plant growth, especially for indoor gardeners. The Temperature and Humidity Multi-Sensor Station lets the gardener monitor the temperature and humidity in up to four different indoor and outdoor locations, and transmits the measurements to a single wireless display. They're a great gift for garden hobbyists and budding horticultural entrepreneurs.
The Ultimate Garden Gift
If you’re looking for an all-in-one garden gift, this is perfect for you.
-
A Personal Weather Station
If you're buying for the serious gardener — or gifting yourself — why pick and choose among the various gauges and sensors available? A full personal weather station, such as the AcuRite Atlas®, can include sensors for temperature, soil moisture, UV and light intensity, wind speed and direction, humidity — and you can even include a lightning detector. This weather station, along with the AcuRite Iris™, can also provide you with remote monitoring capabilities via the My AcuRite® app that allow you to track weather trends and keep an eye on things when you're away on vacation.
Garden Gifts from AcuRite
The right technology from AcuRite can help any gardener improve their crops, whether they're growing a few tomatoes for their own kitchen or fields of flowers for sale. Environmental monitoring equipment is the gardening gift that keeps on giving, planting season after planting season.