In today’s world of depleted soils and chemical-heavy farming, more people are turning to natural methods to revitalize the earth and grow healthy food.
Love the concept - the only thing I would say is that there is also ground current EMF aka dirty electricity, which is prevalent in the North American power grid since utilities use ground rods, instead of dedicated neutrals, to run electricity back to their substation. Stray electrical currents have been found in the middle of the desert, and at even very low levels can harm us, as our cells communicate via extremely low frequencies (ELF). Water is a fantastic electrical insulator, and may be a better option in terms of garden location.
Roman, please, would you explain what you mean? …are you saying to make the water, copper rich I don’t understand exactly what you mean please would you expound on your recommendation?
Cool stuff. Will be experimenting with this this season. As a professional gardener, if it works I will share with clients.
Btw, I noticed that you mention leaving insulation (coating) on wire. Imo as an electrician (I wear many hats), the insulation on wire/cable contains many toxins such as PFAS and lead. Would not recommend. Easy enough to remove by running a blade along the length and peeling off.
Bees and many other pollinators do rely on Earth’s natural electromagnetic fields to help them navigate, especially when returning to their hives. So it’s totally fair to wonder if electroculture setups might interfere with that.
The good news is that most electroculture methods—like copper antennas or simple atmospheric setups—don’t generate strong artificial electromagnetic fields like machines or power lines do. They mostly work by tapping into the natural energy in the air and soil, so they’re generally considered gentle and unlikely to disrupt pollinators. In fact, some gardeners have reported seeing more bee activity after using electroculture, possibly because of healthier plants and more blooms.
When you say to point the antenna north, do you mean angle it towards north? Since the antenna will be stuck in the soil perpendicular to the ground, you wouldn’t be able to point it north.
I have the same question. I don't understand what it means to face the antenna north. It is pointing straight up vertical, right? How do you face it anywhere?
Great question! When we say “point it north,” we’re referring to the direction the wire or coil should be facing, not angling the entire antenna. The antenna stays upright (perpendicular to the ground), but the orientation of any directional elements—like the top wire should align with magnetic north. Hope that clears it up!
Great question! When we say “point it north,” we’re referring to the direction the wire or coil should be facing, not angling the entire antenna. The antenna stays upright (perpendicular to the ground), but the orientation of any directional elements—like the top wire should align with magnetic north. Hope that clears it up!
So glad you’re diving into it — it’s such a fascinating and rewarding practice. Feel free to share how it goes or if you have any questions along the way. Happy experimenting! 🌱⚡
Me living in the southern portion of the Pacific NW, would you clarify the copper wire direction for me? I do have a compsss and I’m on my way to the hardware store to buy copper wire, full copper wire not just coated. I very much appreciate your wisdom and experience and want to get it right. Plus, I want to teach my patients this procedure because I feel it goes way beyond the biodynamic principles I’ve taught them to garden.
The electroculture is a proven technique, but the direction of the winding must always follow the ‘Right Hand Rule’ of current flow, and magnet field. The example you give for the northern hemisphere also applies to the southern hermisphere! (Lookng from above onto the coil, the conductor rises in a counterclockwise direction.)
I curious why you can’t just take any electrical charge from even an outlet and put it in the garden. I have an extension cord that runs from my garage to a chicken coop that’s 75 feet away. It runs through a rose garden as well as some vegetable raised beds. I have two rose gardens and each with 5 roses in each one. The roses that have extension cord running through it have much more beautiful blooms both in quality and quantity. I’m not saying it’s the extension cord that runs though it, could be a whole host of other factors, but I am curious to find out if any electrical current running through one’s yard would work. Or it’s specifically through the atmosphere is where the electrical current must come from. Your thoughts?
That’s such an interesting observation—thanks for sharing it! You're right to be curious. In electroculture, the focus is usually on using natural electricity from the air or earth, not the kind of electricity that comes from an outlet.
That said, the fact that your roses near the extension cord are blooming better is really curious. It might not be the electricity itself, since the wires are insulated and shouldn’t be leaking current into the ground—but there could be other things going on. Maybe the cord slightly warms the soil, or maybe it’s affecting the magnetic field in a small way. There are still a lot of unknowns in this area.
If you're up for a fun little experiment, you could try growing some similar plants in an area without the cord nearby and see if there’s a difference. That’s how new discoveries often start—with someone noticing something unusual!
Have you seen any changes in the vegetables growing near the cord too?
I noticed that when my stepfather put up “pig fencing” in half of his raised vegetable beds, all the beds that had the fencing grew tall plants, the ones that did not, grew stunted plants in comparison… even if they were the same type of plant. Farmers also notice this phenomenon with the tallest weeds growing near their fences…
Thank you so much for the great information. I have always read about putting copper Pennie’s in plant beds, do they have any electroculture properties on their own?
You're very welcome! Great question — copper pennies can contribute in a small way since copper is a conductive metal and interacts with the earth’s natural energy, but modern pennies are mostly zinc with a thin copper coating. For stronger electroculture effects, pure copper wire or rods work much better. That said, adding old all-copper pennies (pre-1982 in the U.S.) could still offer a mild benefit! 🌿🔋
I was just reminded of this in a French movie about a 19th century chef and his muse recently. Thanks for sharing this info because it's been on my list of to-dos.
Copper wire is actually ideal for electroculture—it’s highly conductive and works very well for drawing atmospheric energy. You can definitely use copper picture hanging wire as long as it's real copper (not just copper-coated). Wrapping it around a grounding rod is a solid approach. Just make sure the wire stands upright and is well-anchored into the soil for best results!
Yes, electroculture can absolutely be used in the Southern Hemisphere, including Australia. However, orientation does matter. In the Northern Hemisphere, we often align antennas or wires facing magnetic north, but in the Southern Hemisphere, it's generally recommended to align toward magnetic south to harmonize with your local energy fields. Adapting the orientation to your hemisphere helps maximize the effectiveness of the method. Thanks for bringing this up!
You would learn a few things, if you think the aurora borealis and australis are evidence that the magnetic fields that compasses align to are creating dynamic (moving) fields, rather than static fields. Much like an electromagnet.
If this is true, putting a static magnet near your electric coil will create a static magnet “bubble” that would block the ability of the earth’s magnetic field to “encourage” electrical flow through the wire.
You can enhance all this by making a simple windmill/fan that spins a static magnet near the wire- this would encourage electron or proton flow through your wire (depending on the spin). Read a “electrical theory” book to make sure you get the spin right.
You will also realize that wire oriented east or west (I forget offhand which) is more likely to “catch” the earth’s magnetic field and move electrons through the wire. Orienting the wire north/south reduces the earth’s magnetic effect on the wire.
And, in addition, if the earth has one north and one South Pole (not two magnets with like poles pointed at each other at the equator (ridiculous), you would understand that unless you’re depending on gravity and the Coriolis force to move electrons (ridiculous), rather than magnetic fields, the rotation of the wire would be the same no matter where you are on the planet. (At least once you get away from the poles where the plasma particles are raining downward)
The natural flow of electricity, for reference, is a negative charge up from the earth to the positive charge in the upper atsmosphere.
Ever wonder why bare oak trees in winter look somewhat like black lightning bolts frozen in time? Something to think about….
Experiments suxh as this can be found in the book THE INVISIBLE RAINBOW. It works - very valid.
I've started investing in copper garden tools. It makes sense to me. Thankyou for a great article
Excellent article. Thank you.
I love it!
Love the concept - the only thing I would say is that there is also ground current EMF aka dirty electricity, which is prevalent in the North American power grid since utilities use ground rods, instead of dedicated neutrals, to run electricity back to their substation. Stray electrical currents have been found in the middle of the desert, and at even very low levels can harm us, as our cells communicate via extremely low frequencies (ELF). Water is a fantastic electrical insulator, and may be a better option in terms of garden location.
Roman, please, would you explain what you mean? …are you saying to make the water, copper rich I don’t understand exactly what you mean please would you expound on your recommendation?
Cool stuff. Will be experimenting with this this season. As a professional gardener, if it works I will share with clients.
Btw, I noticed that you mention leaving insulation (coating) on wire. Imo as an electrician (I wear many hats), the insulation on wire/cable contains many toxins such as PFAS and lead. Would not recommend. Easy enough to remove by running a blade along the length and peeling off.
Peace.
How does this effect pollinators? Since bees use an electromagnetic or sonar to return to hive will this affect them?
Bees and many other pollinators do rely on Earth’s natural electromagnetic fields to help them navigate, especially when returning to their hives. So it’s totally fair to wonder if electroculture setups might interfere with that.
The good news is that most electroculture methods—like copper antennas or simple atmospheric setups—don’t generate strong artificial electromagnetic fields like machines or power lines do. They mostly work by tapping into the natural energy in the air and soil, so they’re generally considered gentle and unlikely to disrupt pollinators. In fact, some gardeners have reported seeing more bee activity after using electroculture, possibly because of healthier plants and more blooms.
When you say to point the antenna north, do you mean angle it towards north? Since the antenna will be stuck in the soil perpendicular to the ground, you wouldn’t be able to point it north.
I have the same question. I don't understand what it means to face the antenna north. It is pointing straight up vertical, right? How do you face it anywhere?
Great question! When we say “point it north,” we’re referring to the direction the wire or coil should be facing, not angling the entire antenna. The antenna stays upright (perpendicular to the ground), but the orientation of any directional elements—like the top wire should align with magnetic north. Hope that clears it up!
Great question! When we say “point it north,” we’re referring to the direction the wire or coil should be facing, not angling the entire antenna. The antenna stays upright (perpendicular to the ground), but the orientation of any directional elements—like the top wire should align with magnetic north. Hope that clears it up!
So intriguing! Thank you for sharing. I’m going to gather my materials for this starting tomorrow!
So glad you’re diving into it — it’s such a fascinating and rewarding practice. Feel free to share how it goes or if you have any questions along the way. Happy experimenting! 🌱⚡
Thank you, RE
Me living in the southern portion of the Pacific NW, would you clarify the copper wire direction for me? I do have a compsss and I’m on my way to the hardware store to buy copper wire, full copper wire not just coated. I very much appreciate your wisdom and experience and want to get it right. Plus, I want to teach my patients this procedure because I feel it goes way beyond the biodynamic principles I’ve taught them to garden.
The electroculture is a proven technique, but the direction of the winding must always follow the ‘Right Hand Rule’ of current flow, and magnet field. The example you give for the northern hemisphere also applies to the southern hermisphere! (Lookng from above onto the coil, the conductor rises in a counterclockwise direction.)
Very correct (see my comment on this article)
I curious why you can’t just take any electrical charge from even an outlet and put it in the garden. I have an extension cord that runs from my garage to a chicken coop that’s 75 feet away. It runs through a rose garden as well as some vegetable raised beds. I have two rose gardens and each with 5 roses in each one. The roses that have extension cord running through it have much more beautiful blooms both in quality and quantity. I’m not saying it’s the extension cord that runs though it, could be a whole host of other factors, but I am curious to find out if any electrical current running through one’s yard would work. Or it’s specifically through the atmosphere is where the electrical current must come from. Your thoughts?
That’s such an interesting observation—thanks for sharing it! You're right to be curious. In electroculture, the focus is usually on using natural electricity from the air or earth, not the kind of electricity that comes from an outlet.
That said, the fact that your roses near the extension cord are blooming better is really curious. It might not be the electricity itself, since the wires are insulated and shouldn’t be leaking current into the ground—but there could be other things going on. Maybe the cord slightly warms the soil, or maybe it’s affecting the magnetic field in a small way. There are still a lot of unknowns in this area.
If you're up for a fun little experiment, you could try growing some similar plants in an area without the cord nearby and see if there’s a difference. That’s how new discoveries often start—with someone noticing something unusual!
Have you seen any changes in the vegetables growing near the cord too?
I noticed that when my stepfather put up “pig fencing” in half of his raised vegetable beds, all the beds that had the fencing grew tall plants, the ones that did not, grew stunted plants in comparison… even if they were the same type of plant. Farmers also notice this phenomenon with the tallest weeds growing near their fences…
Thank you so much for the great information. I have always read about putting copper Pennie’s in plant beds, do they have any electroculture properties on their own?
You're very welcome! Great question — copper pennies can contribute in a small way since copper is a conductive metal and interacts with the earth’s natural energy, but modern pennies are mostly zinc with a thin copper coating. For stronger electroculture effects, pure copper wire or rods work much better. That said, adding old all-copper pennies (pre-1982 in the U.S.) could still offer a mild benefit! 🌿🔋
I was just reminded of this in a French movie about a 19th century chef and his muse recently. Thanks for sharing this info because it's been on my list of to-dos.
Will any metal wire work? (Barring aluminum) as in picture hanging wire? Wrapped around a grounding rod ?
Copper wire is actually ideal for electroculture—it’s highly conductive and works very well for drawing atmospheric energy. You can definitely use copper picture hanging wire as long as it's real copper (not just copper-coated). Wrapping it around a grounding rod is a solid approach. Just make sure the wire stands upright and is well-anchored into the soil for best results!
Is this for Southern hemisphere or does Australia need S orientation?
Yes, electroculture can absolutely be used in the Southern Hemisphere, including Australia. However, orientation does matter. In the Northern Hemisphere, we often align antennas or wires facing magnetic north, but in the Southern Hemisphere, it's generally recommended to align toward magnetic south to harmonize with your local energy fields. Adapting the orientation to your hemisphere helps maximize the effectiveness of the method. Thanks for bringing this up!
I recommend checking out a ‘learning about electricity’ book for children from the library.
This one helped me a lot:
https://www.amazon.com/Manga-Guide-Electricity-Kazuhiro-Fujitaki/dp/1593271972
You would learn a few things, if you think the aurora borealis and australis are evidence that the magnetic fields that compasses align to are creating dynamic (moving) fields, rather than static fields. Much like an electromagnet.
If this is true, putting a static magnet near your electric coil will create a static magnet “bubble” that would block the ability of the earth’s magnetic field to “encourage” electrical flow through the wire.
You can enhance all this by making a simple windmill/fan that spins a static magnet near the wire- this would encourage electron or proton flow through your wire (depending on the spin). Read a “electrical theory” book to make sure you get the spin right.
You will also realize that wire oriented east or west (I forget offhand which) is more likely to “catch” the earth’s magnetic field and move electrons through the wire. Orienting the wire north/south reduces the earth’s magnetic effect on the wire.
And, in addition, if the earth has one north and one South Pole (not two magnets with like poles pointed at each other at the equator (ridiculous), you would understand that unless you’re depending on gravity and the Coriolis force to move electrons (ridiculous), rather than magnetic fields, the rotation of the wire would be the same no matter where you are on the planet. (At least once you get away from the poles where the plasma particles are raining downward)
The natural flow of electricity, for reference, is a negative charge up from the earth to the positive charge in the upper atsmosphere.
Ever wonder why bare oak trees in winter look somewhat like black lightning bolts frozen in time? Something to think about….