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RainwaterHOG Looks Great While Collecting Mother Nature's Liquid Givings
Posted by John Mahoney at 7:30 AM on July 31, 2008
The RainwaterHOG is a design-y rainwater tank (yes, there is such a thing) that collects rain to re-use in the garden, give to your dog or fill up your Super Soaker without draining the mains. Most people don't save rainwater because they don't want a giant open bucket/mosquito-larvae farm on their porch. But now, you can store it away in a nice recyclable virgin polyethylene tank. Each HOG holds 178 litres, and they can be linked up like Lego.
AU: Obviously the US hasn't had to suffer through water restrictions like we have in Australia. Looks pretty good, although doubt we'll see it in Oz...[RainwaterHOG via PopTech]
Design Toscano wants you to "expect the extraordinary from your home and garden," and that includes the walking dead. Take this 5.9kg resin undead garden zombie, for example. Designed by British artist Alan Dickinson, it's a life-sized resin sculpture that would be a terrifying addition to any lawn, garden or personal graveyard.
Effective over up to an acre of land, this battery-powered garden gadget allows you to commit mass mosquito-cide using a tank of propane. Silent and odourless, the trap emits octenol (something that mozzies find sexy, aspazzarently) to lure the beasties close to the machine. Once there, a vacuum gathers them into the "removable catch basin", or death pan, as I like to call it, where they are dehydrated, giving you the potential to serve mosquito, midge, black-fly and sand-fly biltong at your barbecues. Cost is US$500, and the mosquito trap will run for up to three weeks on a 9kg propane tank. [
Much as I think all lawn ornaments should be heaped into a pile and blown to kingdom come, I think I could spare a corner of my garden for these tiny chaps and their crashed spaceship. Disappointingly not made from exotic metals recovered from the Roswell crash site, they are instead made of weatherproof resin. The 9-inch space ship and two 7-inch aliens are available for US$49.95, or 3000 Flanian Pobble beads. [
It's been a long summer day tending the garden and you need to sit down, but there is no chair in sight. If only you were using the S(tool), then you wouldn't have to worry about finding one. Designed by Langton Stead, the S(tool) is a bent wood handle with two garden forks on either side. All you have to do is shove them into your lawn, and BAM!, instant chair. The perfect gift for the laziest green thumb you know, it's available directly from the designer, though no word on price. [
We've seen solar-powered LED 
Make's Phil Torrone is in Japan, visiting some old blog fodder in person, like this Japan find from 2005. Underneath an office building in the Otemachi business district of Tokyo is an underground rice and vegetable field. Created in a former bank vault, this hidden garden is maintained "using computer-controlled artificial light and temperature management. It was brought into being by a personnel company as a means of providing agricultural training to young people who are having trouble finding employment and middle-aged people in search of a second career." It's pretty cool, although it probably uses more energy to keep the garden healthy than it's worth if you look at what it produces. More photos at Make.
