Electroculture

[MissS]

I have heard of how electricity in the garden benefits your plants for years. It involves using copper wire in your gardens to help harvest the energy generated by storms and the environment as a whole. Has anyone one tried this?

https://cultivateelevate.com/blog/elect ... UCbHeT4iFg

[MissS]

This is supposed to help keep garden pests at bay. I wonder how it would work for those that have nematodes in their soil.

[worth1]

I tried it and got struck by lightning.

[Moth1992]

Well the harvesting of energy is absurd nonsense.

But i would not be surprised if having copper in the ground has some sort of effect since copper oxide is a fungicide and algicide.

[MissS]

I tried it and got struck by lightning.

You should probably try it again then

[worth1]

I tried it and got struck by lightning.

You should probably try it again then

I really did get indirectly struck by lightning when I was a kid
I was finished feeding the chickens and gathering eggs, my daily chore and lightning hit the chicken yard. Somehow it ran down the fence and hit my hand as I was closing the wire gate.
Made my hand go numb for about a day.
It obviously electrified the wet soil but the resistance kept the full charge from hitting me.
I was about 20 feet away from where the lightning bolt hit.
Scared the hell out of me and it was deafening.
I thought I was a gonner but realized if I thought I was a gonner I was still alive.

[karstopography]

http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/students/co ... rcuit.html

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6538021

The surface of the earth is normally negatively charged in fair weather, but positively charged under a thunderstorm. The atmosphere is normally positively charged. The links above have a lot on the flow of current between the earth’s surface and the atmosphere, but there’s surely a charge and a differential between the atmosphere and earth’s surface, even on a cloudless, sunny day. Interesting that plants might respond to these forces.

[bower]

Snow is also positively charged iirc. Giving off some O3 ozone ions as it melts, which may help stubborn dormant seeds to germinate.

[karstopography]

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I made an antenna! 18 gauge dead soft copper wire ran into my bed and twisted clockwise up the bamboo with a terminal coil about 6’ off the ground with the end of wire pointing to magnetic north.

[worth1]

News flash.
South East Texas man abducted by mysterious UFO.
All that was left of his last known location was a charred garden spot and a coil of burned up copper wire.

Neighbors say a large lightning bolt struck right after a large disc like object was seen in the area.

[GoDawgs]

Now ET can phone home.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

[BigVanVader]

Well the harvesting of energy is absurd nonsense.

But i would not be surprised if having copper in the ground has some sort of effect since copper oxide is a fungicide and algicide.

Yes it is much better to use copper tools when working with soil. There's much less resistance when moving copper through soil, and as you said it has a protective effect on plants. This is a fascinating documentary that touches on the thoughts behind using copper instead of iron or steel.

[bower]

Inquiring minds wanted to know... and there it was. Electrical potential of mushrooms increases after rain..
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-mushrooms ... tions.html

Copper is pretty expensive as a slug barrier, if you convert the cost to bags of carrots at grocery rates.
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/ga ... item=SS407
$22.50 or about 7 bags of carrots 25 ft so 6 ft square coverage
or
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/ga ... item=SS407
16 ft for $36.50 whew. 4 ft square coverage for a dozen bags of carrots.
I cannot grow a dozen bags of carrots in the 4 square feet, for sure.

[JRinPA]

Snow is also positively charged iirc. Giving off some O3 ozone ions as it melts, which may help stubborn dormant seeds to germinate.

I bought an ozone generator last year, for hunting, for hunting clothes, really. It does a nice job of killing scents. Makes the truck cab smell different, fresh, I guess. So, I could use it for seeds? Huh.

[Moth1992]

Careful, inhaling ozone can be super harmful.

[karstopography]

Good luck finding bronze or copper alloy garden tools in the US. In Europe or Australia they are online vendors galore for a wide range of garden tools, but finding one here in the US is not an easy task. I’ve been seeking but not doing much finding.

[bower]

Snow is also positively charged iirc. Giving off some O3 ozone ions as it melts, which may help stubborn dormant seeds to germinate.

I bought an ozone generator last year, for hunting, for hunting clothes, really. It does a nice job of killing scents. Makes the truck cab smell different, fresh, I guess. So, I could use it for seeds? Huh.

When it comes to the ozone released by melting snow, I guess the question is 'how much' ozone. (I think not very much).
I have some hazel seeds that haven't sprouted, and I've been meaning to grab a handful of snow to put on top of that pot.
Now I'm wondering, is there the same ionic charge and ion release, from snow that's been melting slowly for weeks, rained on, etc.
I think I'll do it anyway - even the extra chill - unchill cycle might be helpful.
WRT clothes, why do clothes smell amazing when dried on the line? I don't own a dryer, I do my best to rinse out any and all soap, and everything on the line has its own smell - is that ozone too? I should google it...

[MissS]

My parents once gave me an air cleaner. It created ozone which made the house smell nice. I wonder if you put one in a room with your seedlings if you would notice any differences.

[bower]

I think the point of O3 for dormant seeds is that it might help to scarify the seeds.
The 3% peroxide soak sure worked for my rose seeds! I have a wow of little rose seedlings now.