What Is Electroculture Gardening?
Electroculture gardening uses a copper antenna to collect electricity to boost plant growth.
Proponents claim it can eliminate fertilizers, but the method is largely scientifically unfounded.
Photo by Cathy Scola / Getty Images
With electroculture, there is no generator or battery, and supplemental electricity is not needed.
The antenna supposedly harvests the electricity passively and transmits the electricity back to the plants.
Benefits of Electroculture Gardening
Proponents of electroculture believe itstimulates plant growthand helps in numerous other ways.
Shocking seeds with electricity can help them germinate faster, essentially waking them up.
In tests with cabbage, yields increased by 75-percent, and the cabbage was more flavorful.
Later experiments in Germany showed that strawberries, beans, and barley grew larger and ripened faster when electrified.
In the 20th century, the glut of inexpensiveNPK fertilizersstalled interest in electroculture.
However, in the 21st century, environmental concerns about commercial fertilizers have again increased interest in electroculture.
Simply put, electroculture may not work.
“She has found no reputable journals that have proven electroculture’s claims.
Electroculture proponents believe that spirals of different sizes will attract different electrical frequencies.
Making an electroculture spiral antenna is simple and inexpensive.
To form the spiral, you will need wooden dowel rods, 12-gaugecopper wire, and a template.
The template can be a paper towel roll, marker, soda can, or water bottle.
For tools, you’ll need wire snips and a hand saw.
Tip
Electroculture antenna kits are available to buy.
They contain multiple copper spikes with spirals at the top and cost about $1 per spike.
You’ll need wire snips, a hammer, a level, and a hand saw.
Should You Try Electroculture?
Residential gardeners are not able to access large-scale, high-voltage plant electrificationthe kind that is scientifically proven to work.
If you’re adventurous, try electroculture gardening on a small scale with lettuce, spinach, or carrots.
Separate one group of plants and let it grow independently as a control group.
On the other side, set up spiral or loop antennae near a second group of plants.
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