Orange County Register

Quirky gadgets at a tech show always catch my eye. I had to stop and find more about PlantSense’s EasyBloom Plant Sensor, which looks like a plastic cartoon flower with a fork on the end.

The idea is if your flowers and vegetables are dying, you stick the EasyBloom sensor among the flower beds for at least 24 hours. It collects information like soil moisture, temperature, sunlight and humidity.

When you’re done, pull off the tip to expose the USB port and plug it into your computer (Mac and PC compatible). It takes the information gathered and tells you pretty nicely why you are killing your plants (click images for larger view). The computer-screen image below explains why the ground isn’t so perfect for cucumbers. Lots of details at the company’s Web site, too.

It’s already available at stores like Amazon and Buy.com for about $60.

Earlier reports from CES 2009:

• Palm gets back into the phone game with the Prē
• How tech can help you have the perfect garden
• Tech toys, crowds and other early scenes from CES
• Samsung slims down Blu-ray player
• Panasonic’s 0.3-inch skinny TV
• The best TV Toshiba has to offer
• Wireless TVs without the lag
• Powermat: Charging up without cables — or electricity!
• What we all need: A Minoru (3D webcam)
• How green can Fuji’s EnvironMax batteries be?
• Meade’s no muss, no fuss automated telescope
• CES gadgets: D-Link’s nifty photo router, USB monitor
• A smaller, cheaper CES: Will it be better?

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