On 8/29/2023 at 3:36 PM, ChocoMom said:Okay....so how many of my fellow gardeners have ever heard of Electroculture? and, How many have tried Electroculture?
My husband happened to come upon a video about it, and took a deep dive into the history of it, etc. He showed it to me, and I was curious. In 2002 when we purchased the house and property, we found many clusters of copper wiring out back and never did anything with it. So, I figured- why not try it?! I'm not putting any money into it- just a few minutes locating some wooden posts to wrap the wires around. My garden is about 45 feet by 90 feet, so I made up a dozen or so of these contraptions, and when I ran out of sticks, I just stuck the wire right into the ground.
I did not fertilize the ground. I did water a few times bc the early summer was very dry here. I rototilled and pulled weeds same as I do every year. The results have been astounding:
The first cabbage I EVER GREW was this year, and weighed in at 7 pounds. There are three more in the garden - even larger.
The first brussels sprouts to ever grow beyond 3-4 inches are now boasting dozens of sprouts on each 4 foot tall plant.
The first cauliflower to ever grow at all in that garden were huge gorgeous heads.
The first broccoli to ever grow beyond a couple inches w leaves produced over 16 heads - and are still producing.
The carrots and beets are massive. I've pickled over a dozen pints of beets for hubby- and that;s less than half of the beets I planted. The carrots are insane.
The zucchini are growing faster than I've ever seen, and I've begun pickling those too!
I grew red onions and they are huge!
The acorn, buttercup and pumpkins seem to be growing faster than normal.
The green and yellow beans are producing more than I have ever seen. I've picked them four times- and there's so many I've had to freeze dry, freeze, give away, cook- I cannot believe it. I blanched and froze 12 pounds in one harvest, and today will be the fifth harvest.
Peas, I've picked three times- freezing or freeze drying 3-4 quarts. They are still producing.
Sweet potatoes are ridiculous. Not even done growing, and they are massive.
The tomatoe plants are so huge, I had to pound T-posts inside the tomatoe cones to hold them up.
The basil was so plentiful, I made 6 jars of pesto- and they are still producing!!!
The parsley has grown so well, I've been able to make salads using the parsley as greens. Like in Shopska salad.
The only thing that did not fare well were the potatoes. The potatoe beetles were the most horrendous I've even witnessed. I did a second planting, and hope to harvest in Sept/Oct. We will see.
But, I was just curious if anyone else has tried it and had similar results. Fun experiment, nonetheless.
I've never done much that gives input to this conversation, but the Washington Post gave a survey of the topic this past week: https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2023/08/30/gardening-electroculture-explained/
Paywall gifted link: https://wapo.st/3L4Kikw
