Customer Reviews

DuneCraft Cactus Gardens - Wild West Cactus Roundup

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

the planters are miniscule, and none of the seeds sprouted in either of our planters... should be called a cactus graveyard...

First off, I wouldn't categorize this as a toy. It would just frustrate kids and it's too hard to create and maintain. I bought it because it's cute. If you aren't going for cute and tiny, forget it. The taller tubes are no bigger around than a pencil and you have to fill them with soil. What kid (or adult for that matter) can manage that without frustration? When you are done putting it all together, you are supposed to drip water into the tiny "pots" with a straw so you don't disturb the little seeds. Again, a kid is going to do this? I just put the faucet on a trickle and did it that way.

If you want a child to have the experience of growing things, get them a little Aerogarden 3. They aren't expensive and much easier to grow.

So, why did I give this only 2 stars? 1) They don't give you enough soil to fill the tubes. 2) They don't give you enough seeds to plant all the tubes. Kind of a big flaw I'd say! I found a way around both of them though.

They give you a bag of what they call pebbles. It's really just coarse sand. I put the pebbles in the bottom of the tubes. More in the taller tubes, a thin layer in the shorter ones. Putting the pebbles in the bottom will also help keep the soil from being too moist and rotting the seeds/roots should they get over-watered, since there are no drain holes in the planter. Once I did that I had plenty of soil. The pebbles are only to put around the cactus after they grow anyway, just for looks. There's not going to be any room for them if the cactus grow. They really could leave out the pebbles and give you enough dirt.

To solve the lack of seeds, I happened to have a packet of cactus seeds on hand. You can either not put as many as they suggest in each pot, or pick up a packet of cactus seeds to go with the kit.

So, don't buy it for a kid, don't expect enough dirt or seeds, do expect it to be tiny and cute, and will it grow? Time will tell, but that's kind of the way it goes with seeds.

This was supposed to come with over 150 seeds, there were barely 20 and in BAD shape. This should be considered a toy and not a real cactus garden READ THE SIZE CAREFULLY... because it is actually about 8 inches long in total. VERY disappointed in the seeds. :( How do you grow healthy cactus' with bad, broken seeds? And SOOOOO FEW!DuneCraft Cactus Gardens - Wild West Cactus Roundup

The "pots" you put everything in are all connected and all small. I considered using a teaspoon to put the soil in the containers but decide I could make just as much of a mess pinching the soil in my fingers. It has been a week or two and have seen nothing, but in cactus time a week is nothing. The instructions said to use the plastic container everything came in as a hot house but there was no way I was going to get it to fit in there. Since nothing seems to be happening, just for good measure I am going to put together a make shift hot-house to see if that helps. The first of the month is coming up and that is when I will water it. When dealing with cactus, you are usually in for the long haul.

I really hope they grow, this thing is so tiny! Some of the cacti must be half the size of my little pinky nail! Geesh.