What Happens When You Put Copper Wire Through a Tomato Stem?
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- čas přidán 1. 11. 2019
- In this video, I experiment with copper wire through the stem of a tomato plant to see if this prevents blight and other fungal diseases and to test if this method is a myth or does it work!
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Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :) - Jak na to + styl
You have to scrape away the varnish coating from the copper wire for it to give off copper oxide which will be available to the plant. Copper filings scattered around the plant will work just as well. Greetings from South Africa. 🇿🇦
thats true, the wire he is using has a coating...
Yes it does, that looks like transformer wrapping wire. It's coated to prevent electrical shorting. Run it across some sandpaper and try it again.
i used copper wire before (i did scrape it first) and it did help some. I like hydrogen peroxide solution lately though, it's cheap, safe and works for me.
@@pthomas5678 use that meself for funghi or stomach acid
@@Flux_Flow Hi is this something that Has to be sanded down and re-treated regularly as the oxygenation forms back on the wire?
We have a cure for tomato fungus here in Canada. After five months it snows and the fungus has no tomato plants to grow on so it goes to Australia for the winter.
Baneironhand Yup
In that case us Aussies will have to build a wall around Canada,what the hell around America as well that will keep the Trump weed out too
@@robertbarker2458 Then, there is the bad seed who can't separate his plants from his politics.
Especially as those politics are Aussie, not American. To grow knowledge of a subject, one must educate oneself on climate, nomenclature, and culture - I suggest we keep Trump amendments to the soil from whence our roots originate.
Robert Barker. Once Trump builds the Mexico wall he will build one along the Canadian border to ensure that all that fresh clean air that Canada makes does not cross the border into the US of A.
@@ppazpppaz8618 hahaha 👍
I've never heard of putting a copper wire through the plant, but I have heard of driving a copper rod into the ground in the garden to help tomatoes grow more. I remember that when I read that (probably 30 years ago), the author thought it had more to do with electrical activity than any nutritional or antifungal benefit from the copper. I've never tested it.
this is electroculture and I will try this with some trees in the garden
@@os7272 we also tried it but left some plants „untreated“ to see the effects. The ones with the copper wire grew substantially bigger than those without
@@tobias6346 I have had the same result
@@tobias6346 , I tried the grounding copper wire method in my cilantro garden. They are growing like crazy. Before I used it his method, I could barely get them to survive. I love picking my fresh cilantro when I’m cooking.
@@melissadaily1023I'm having trouble with mine this year too.
As many have already stated, the wire is coated. You have to used unvarnished wire. I'd also add that brass works better than copper because of the zinc. Important to note. You don't have to stick it "through" the plant. Just stick it in the ground next to the plants, and have it raised about 6 feet, like an antenna. If you try this, I think you'll find it's not a myth.
Zinc is toxic to people so i don't think that its a good idea to let the plant to collect zinc in its fruits
I put 2 shepherd hooks with copper wire attached to them in my garden, hope it works
For the antenna method do you have to scrape off the varnish?
@@lindawillfindit That's a good question, Linda. Whatever will be going in to the soil should have the varnish removed. In all honestly though, I'm just making a logical guess. I wouldn't think the exposed wire would matter. What I did is bought a copper water line. It's sturdy enough that you can make a large spiral on one end and then stick it deep into the soil.
Electroculture 😆
My italian grandfather put copper nails and copper wire on fruit trees and vegetables. He is mentioned in the west australian history of wine book as a pioneer of wine grapes in western australia. Some of the original grape stock he brought from italy in early 1900s is still grown for wine in the area. In 1963 1 was 17 years old and showed him how a little copper sulphate had the same benefit as copper wire and copper nails in the trees. At the time i think i actually connected with him as a person and not a kid. I watched him in the orchard and at 75 i have had my own property with fruit trees. I graft and grow for the joy of watching to new growth in spring turn to fruit in the autumn. His name was grandad or mr meleri when i introduced him. Mr was and still is a mark of respect seldom given these days.
Can you please start making small videos to show what you learned.
Thanks for sharing your story. May he rest in peace.
What a great story I bet he was a great person and fun guy to listen to !
Didn’t know you could grow anything in WA. It’s hot like hell
I am learning about copper coils aka Tesla and the use of them with Orgone. That can make plants grow faster
Copper wires often have very thin non conductive coating, so i recommend removing it with fire or sandpaper before using it.
NOW THAT IS WORTHWHILE INFO.
DO you know how to remove the coating ??? apart from using sandpaper.
I found a sheet of thin copper in the shed … so presume that it is coated as well …
@@snowyowl6892 ig not, check if it has oxidation, if yes its not coated
@@watermelonwatermelon6513
Yep. - it’s shiny as the sun and has been sitting in the shed for years … ✅
@@snowyowl6892 then heat it up with fire check if the enamel will burn
@@watermelonwatermelon6513
OK - got the picture …
(Have been enthralled by the copper info on utubes by Morley Robbins …)
I appreciate how are you include the whole process and your videos from beginning to end. I’m frustrated by many CZcams garden videos where they show you what they’re going to do but don’t follow up.
It looks like the copper wire that you used has a thin coating of insulation like enamel for instance. I would think that would prevent any electrical or chemical interactions such as the plant absorbing copper from the wire. I’m pretty sure you would have to use uncoated wire for it to work.
THIS is a really great thought for me to keep in mind when I set up my own electroculture project. In your further opinion, would you say roughing up the wires with sandpaper or something to increase reactive surface area of the copper would help these chemical reactions happen?
The wire doesn’t look coated
Just what i wanted to say, but you need not buy uncoated wire, as you are unlikely to find it, you can just get some fine grit sandpaper and scour the wire with it back and forth, until you reveal the pink shiny copper.... you cant miss it, and it will take but a few gentle strokes... The lacquer enamel is just that, an insulation for the wire, as to allow you to make electric coils and such without shorting the wire onto itself...
I suspect that it should work from the chemical perspective, as copper indeed is reactive when unprotected... not magnesium levels of reactivity, but it doth oxidize easily in contact with electrolytes(any mineral water based solution, like acids, spit, plant fluids and such), forming oxides and breaking down, not unlike iron and rust, but in a much more gentle and graceful manner, which should by all scientific logic allow some of copper ions to be assimilated by the plant...
Does it work as alleged by the ``legend`` on a biochemical level, i cant say, i will maybe update the comment in 5 months, as i too have a tomato forest every season, so ill conduct the experiment, pun not intended...
@@scottamusprime2510 that will remove any oxidation that is on the wire. remember that your hands have oils on them so it would be good to clean everything including your hands with hypoallergenic soap and hot hot water too. the enamel wire usually costs more. you can get wire from old electronics by cutting parallel along the wire. grab the cover of the wire and the wire itself with pliers and pull. the cut will continue on and it should be easy to remove the wire.
@@karenwalker4764 the wire he showed at the end looked coated or stained red. the guy is pretty thorough so i doubt it was treated or coated
Definitely the copper wire you used had an insulation coating, so although I wouldn't think it'd work anyway but the tomato plants had no contact with raw copper at all, another dead give away was the wire remained that redish copper colour, it should have turned green especially being outside in rain and dampness, even old copper wires inside electrical equipment goes green
Yup
I have noticed the copper spray is green, just like old weathered copper
My own experience. Yep , removing the varnish ( insulation) gives far more better results . Copper wire slows down the fungi about 4-5 weeks , it works but it isn't a miracle solution . Far more important is working clean, meaning, don't touch healthy plants ( even for picking tomatoes) when you have allready touched contaminated plants . Most fungi aso , are highly contagious .
That was the first thing that I thought of also.
Once i stock a copper rod up my pecker and my nuts grew to double size!! Profit!
I thought you were great in gladiator!
"Are you not Fertilised?!"
@@TH-ds2yx 👍👍
Maybe alex jones lol.
Lol.
@@kieran5909 aww c'mon.
Having worked with a scientist gardener in '70s-'90s I can say that the only thing in the myth holding true is the copper itself. Giving it in the form of stabbing with wire is quite ludicrous. Puncturing the stem with the wire damages the water pipes of the stem and also forms a possible point for infection. Giving enough copper as a mineral works, and of course as a spray, like you showed yourself. Thanks for an interesting video :)
Electroculture using copper wire as an antenna helps plant growth, and I've tested it. I just wind it around a wooden dowel post and stick it in the earth. Never looked at pushing it through the plant though. You'd need to be sure it was 100% pure and not coated with anything first. I'd be interested to see if placing the wire in the soil and winding it around the plant WITHOUT inserting it through the stem would be a better fix.
Crazy that tomato plants actually came standard with wireless technology
🤣😂🤣😂
Ha!
Tomato plants only use their own... fiber-optics!
@@NYCThrax1 what kind of telescope does a tomato 🍅 see 👀 with ?? . Oh wait you beat me to the punch. I'll show myself out 🚪 🚪
This enamel coated copper true copper is isolated from the plant no gain
Making this video takes months. This would take each of your viewers a season to try on their own. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
previous comment :"hello I just wanted to let you know you used insulated wire, I can tell this by noticing that the copper wire left outside of the plant hasn't bee eaten away by corrosion. it should have a thick dark cyan colour sometimes even black, yours stayed pretty much the same. your experiment was therefore inconclusive at best and should be repeated with proper equipment.
since this is a 3yo video if you made a new experiment I hope you will link it in the description of this video and make a disclaimer."
Victor Shauberger did a lot of research around the effects of iron tools and copper tools and I would encourage anyone with an open mind to do some research into this fascinating man.
I pushed a piece of copper wire into the compost of my house plants.
Without exception they all doubled in size and vitality over the next few weeks.
The wire doesn't even have to touch the plant, just the medium it's growing in.
It's the soil that is affected, Somehow revitalised.
Ciert amigo las personas quieren siempre alimentar la planta el que hay que alimentar es al suelo, bueno el cobre es bueno para la planta en esa forma clavado lo sintetiza, pero hay que pelar el cobre o construir una antena de alambre de cobre o galvanizado de 4 milímetros en espiral que terminé en una punta, esta debe estar dirigida al norte magnético, esta antena bajara la energía magnética de la atmosfera realizando unos prodigiosos beneficios a las plantas.
I have a quick tip. I started growing tomatoes in bulk and needed a cheap way to support them. I had 20 or so wire mesh sheets (the kind you put in concrete slabs - we use them in Japan to keep wildlife off our property). Anyway it works well as a trellis but maybe because they’re all rusty the iron is feeding the soil. Since using them, the tomatoes have been amazing and more plentiful!
Same. I'm from melb, Aus and I use rio as well and I get toms bigger than a Geisha annually.
@@ralphmoulph1256 the air flow , would have a lot to do with it as well
@@ralphmoulph1256 rio ?
it's electromagnetism... search for "electro culture"
@@ralphmoulph1256 rio ?
Hey Mark, seems to me that the copper wire you've used has some varnish layer protecting the copper...
If so: the results could have been different if the wire was stripped, sandpapered or otherwise
Hope you read this and perhaps try "busting this myth" again.
Cheers Rick!
That is correct copper wire always has a coating. If stripped maybe it would have worked. I have seen some stuff recently on electro culture maybe it works in the same way
@@mrolas5683 I agree except for the "always". Uncoated copper wire can be found if you look hard enough (not that hard, really; just Google the phrase). But yes, coated is probably the default, and is very likely what you'll get if you don't specifically check.
And even if it's uncoated, sanding to rough up the surface of the metal will make it more reactive by exposing more surface area, so it's a good idea to do that anyway.
And, as others have mentioned, even if not coated, there will be an oxidation layer that you'd remove by sanding. I'm not sure how significant that is -- to echo someone else's question, does anyone know if it's important to remove, resand, and reinsert the wire periodically to expose fresh unoxidized surface (or more simply, just add fresh wires)?
Anyway, I'd never heard of this, but I've always had trouble with various kinds of fungal disease on my tomato plants, and this video plus the comments has me intending to try it this year. (Seeing that he missed the coating issue doesn't prove that it *does* work, but does mean that his experiment didn't disprove it either.)
@@voidstarq for conductivity it would be good to strip the coating where it’s contacting the stem. The rest should be fine to leave as it. More often then not copper wire will always have a coating. Copper is actually pink looking not the bronze like colour
It does look like 'enameled' wire.
As an electrician I noticed that also
I've never heard of copper through the stem, but I've heard of putting copper in the ground to regenerate the ground because when we use steel and other metals we are removing nutrients from the dirt. I'll be trying that this year.
Me tooooo!!! First time gardening and using the electro-culture method. Super excited!!!
Well we are removing iron and carbon from specific places. They don't sweep up iron from the garden to smelt.
I'd never heard of the copper wire method before. Interesting. What worked for me was I planted dill in the next row by the tomatoes. I'd always had trouble with tomatoes worms, but when I planted the dill, they were attracted to the dill and didn't bother the tomatoes. I was amazed. Had bumper crop too. Thanks for your informative video.
This is good to know , Thank you
Hi, I have been doing this copper thing since about 10 years after I was about to give up growing tomatoes due to year after year getting my crop ruined by blight. I use copper wire out of an electric cable, I have never had blight again, and my tomatoes are not under cover. I stitch a piece of wire trough the stem just above the roots when I plant them. I am totally convinced that it works miracles!
where?
@@concken1 My garden is in the north of Germany, if that's what you're asking. Or do you mean where do I put the wire? As I wrote, at the bottom of the stem.
Copper sulphate does kill fungus, hence why it stops blight problems.
Blight occurs due to lack of air flow and very high moisture levels from rain or humidity, it is most commonly occurring after rain with short periods of sunlight which creates the humidity around the plant then followed by more rain which repeats off and on over several weeks in alot of climates.
Without sufficient airflow the fungus grows quite rapidly and if not removed it can spore as it dries becoming airborne and can very rapidly spread through entire crops.
The best methods to eliminate blight are heavy pruning removing all leaves they have any spotting traces on them and discarding away burning matter.
In large crops liquid herbicide is sprayed that consists of copper sulphate and detergent phosphates yet this practice in itself can have dire long term problems if not done in the correct manner due to soil leaching and also run off if a rain follows soon after, resulting in roots dying from leaching deep into soil also run off into streams,catchments can have further poor outcomes due to toxicity on all biomes!
That is such a great idea to use wire inside cables. They have tons of those at the local thrift store. I'll give you this little tip a friend who grew up on a farm showed me when I was 20. My birth certificate says I'm 66 now, but it's just another example of false info in government documents .... but I've been doing it since then. Everybody says plant them deep, but also make a trench the length of the plant seedling and put them in sideways. Let them get a little leggy and remove the bottom leaves as it's growing, at least 10 inches. Before they were 7 dollars a dozen for eggs here in the US, supposedly due to avian flu outbreak, I saved every egg shell, would wash them out and dry on the counter, then would grind them up in a coffee bean grinder, and would mix it in with the soil in early spring and late fall. Really helps the root rot problem. Best of luck for your 2023 crop. I'm going tomorrow and pick up wires !!!!
Bonsai tomato plants anyone?
I learnt this back in the 60s,but we used copper nails back then without any coating on them.love your channel
It has come to my attention recently that NPK fertilizers also naturally inhibit the uptake of copper, zinc and other key minerals in the soil. There is a book called Cu/re that explains so much about copper and it's importance to not only plants but us as well.
I’ve heard that insufficient copper contributes to greying hair?
Can you share the author of the book you are referencing? I found one by Morley Robbins, but not sure if it’s the same one.
Correct copper is so important that life of living things could not exist without!!
Yes, when you purchase a carrot if it tastes sweet it is full of minerals, but commercial fertilizer make them bitter
Not enough minerals in the carrot.
Carrot, Celery, and either Apple or pears juice combo reduce blood pressure 18 points in 20 minuets.
Also, Carrots contain Iodine!!
I planted marigolds in with my tomatoes as a companion plant and never had any fungus or Horn worms.
Yep Marigolds work great for that!! Nice Chuck.... and let’s be honest.. if a tomato plant is grown correctly and it’s healthy, then pests can’t really keep up.. they’ll attack weaker plants
Same here...Marigolds every year with the tomatoes
@Tom Oh, basil it was? That explains why mozzarella was a total failure with my tomatoes.
I would trust the merigolds over anything else..i know tomatoes dont like tobacco...call me paranoid but i just don't like the idea of copper possibly going up the stem to my food source i get enough copper in my multi-vit maybe it's all good...but i'll stick w the merigolds !
Me too, always! My tomatoes and plants are huge i also grind up my egg shells and dried used coffee grounds and side dress my plants throughout the growing season. I have never used copper wire. I do put an egg in the hole before planting as well.
I'm no gardening expert - in fact, apart from my first job after leaving school almost fifty years ago being in tomato greenhouses, I have very little experience. But I did spend ten years as a radio mechanic which was long enough for me to recognise coated copper wire. It is coated to prevent conduction between coils in components like transformers, microphones and speakers and the coating is usually enamel and unreactive - so extremely unlikely to break down during the period of a growing season. Given the gauge and colour of the stuff you used (it looks particularly dark), the coating would be thicker. The coating would need to be physically removed for there to be any contact between the copper and the plant.
thanks for this comment, a lot of gardeners dont understand the em spectrum which is interesting considering photosynthesis requires interesting physics and chemistry. he needs to find some industry standard wire and strip it and uncoil a piece. he had like hobbyist wire so we were testing teflon or something more than copper.
So I have actually been wondering this for a while.
So the wire in coils such as Tesla coils and speakers is coated?
I've always wondered why the electricity would move through the coils instead of short. The people making diy videos always seem to forget to mention that.
@@k_tess yeah, tesla coils have to have enameled wire to keep it from shorting. you can get away with using ethernet cable as the secondary and use a solid core as the primary. get a leyden jar and arc gap and bam! nice lil zap zap machine. im interested to see if plants would grow different around a constantly running tesla coil.
@@k_tess Yep you're exactly right. We call it magnet wire
@@PLAYERSLAYER_22 you can just buy bare copper wire, it is used for safety grounding
I put an iron nail close to the roots of my tomato plant last year (new to gardening) and it did great. It was still producing throughout the winter and when I thought it would be toast now that it's spring, it's putting out lots of flowering and has at least 10 fruits on it. I did it with my potatoes as well, and they did good. Thanks for this!
Love your raised beds, I've never heard of using copper in the garden before, learned something new. Thanks
One of the things I have done for years is plant Marigold flowers near my tomatoes..., apparently nematodes hate the smell (Nematodes hate garlic/onion aswell). I normally don't bother with companion planting too much.., but I have found this works, aswell as the flowers bring more bees. Win Win.
Not the smell, marigolds actually produce nematocides, compounds that kill nematodes. Scientists aren't 100% certain on how they kill them though. Some think the plants leach it out, which would be bad. The leading hypothesis is that marigolds actually attract the parasitic nematodes to them and then kill them which is why you see less if an effect on tomatoes. Another theory is also that the mycorrhiza fungi connect the marigolds and tomatoes and allows the nematocides to be transported to the other plants and prevent the parasitic nematodes from doing as much damage.
Side note (especially to other readers that may use synthetic nematocide sprays): see how I mentioned parasitic nematodes and not just nematodes in general? That's because not all nematodes are bad. Some are actually part of your beneficial soil micro-biome. They kill pests that would harm your plants. So don't use synthetic nematocides in your soil, stick to marigolds and companion planting and rotate where you plant.
I've heard this aswell
Scientists lying, you sound surprised Joshua. Why don't you research copper wire and tomato plants yourself before making unsubstantiated claims against Self Sufficient Me?
I do the same :) I use the big marigolds that grow 3-4 tall (can't remember what they're technically called. I bought the seeds several years ago and save the new seeds each fall to use in the spring)
@@freemontsolutions6766 Joshua didn't say a word about copper wire and tomato plants. He was talking about marigolds and nematodes and nemacites. He didn't attack self sufficient me at all. He is entitled to his own opinion about any subject though.
This is electroculture technique, you can turn it around the stem or put the copper wire through the tomato stem. With electroculture with antennas you can make them more resistant to frost and cold, and also resist a lot more against desease.
I just came here to say this!! Yes. I've just started playing with this myself.
Lol no
Is there a book or website on the subject of electroculture?
@@jeanninegodwin2285 search "Electroculture Gardening Techniques for Beginners - Elevate your garden Cultivate Elevate" - includes some video at the bottom of the blog
@@jeanninegodwin2285 Search electroculture in youtube
Interesting, I have used copper to save my personal health for years. My dad grew 100 tomato plants each year, what he did was place Epson salts about a teaspoon at a radius of 4-6 inches from base of plant. When the sweetness of a tomato is noticed it has more minerals bitterness is from artificial or commercial minerals.
I have had a serious auto accident by a snow plow hitting the vehicle that was removing a 1/4 inch of ice from the windshield. I was thrown 25 feet Thru the air, causing a head concussion and whip lash with spinal injuries.
I invented a 2 3/4 inch Twisted copper and Sterling Silver Sacred Geometry Flower of life, that removes my dizziness and body pains. I have not read of or seen any information of such an item
anywhere. I later had a severe near life threatening tooth ache, went to see a dentist, he wanted me to pay a fee and sign a contract before I could see him. Took this FOL and held it to my face over the toothache, and the pain began to disappear and in 2 1/2 hours it was gone for good.
Sounds interesting, do you wear the FOL or keep it with you?
@jf6447 yes, I use a non.metalic parachute cord to suspend it over my chest. Solar plexus area.
Thank you, I had forgotten my Mother did this 30 years ago.
Hey Mark, I'm with RickV..... I'm a scrapper and it looks like you have what's called red copper which is a "coated material". I would try actual copper wire. I believe red copper is metal wiring with a copper-coating rather than a solid piece of copper. Either way man love your gardening videos just starting to crank up my garden for this year good luck brother!
Laminated copper, enameled wire or magnet wire. This would prevent any electrolytic reaction between plant enzymes and bare metal. Aside from that, this guy was talking about copper based fungicides that can be sprayed on and washed off later and that's fine. Having the copper inside the plant is a different story. The spray can be washed off whereas, a wire in the main stem puts copper all though the plant (including the tomato) where it can no longer be washed away. My question is this: "How much copper is safe in the daily diet?
@@usnva5638 The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for copper varies depending on age, sex, and other factors. The RDA for adults is approximately 900 micrograms per day, while the upper limit for safe copper intake is set at 10,000 micrograms per day.
After reading many of the comments and even for myself when I saw the wire at the end of the tomato plants life I thought shouldn't the wire have turned green from being exposed? I would have to say chances are the wire was coated. Perhaps you could give it another experimental trail next time on 1 plant of the same variety say Beefsteak vs Beefsteak, lightly burn the wire you will use then insert it in the trail plant and do a side by side comparison. Since many are sure the wire is actually coated? Just my .02 😀
Great observation. The copper wire is covered with shellac, so it wouldn't corrode.
Copper rod
My thoughts as well. I'd probably have taken some emery cloth and cleaned off a section I'd want to remain inside the stem. Good eye.
Please try this again as I found it really interesting!
Also do notice that wire is clear coated, it would be interesting to see experiment with raw copper, author can remove clear coat with a lighter and some fine sandpaper
Love these types of experiments on plants!!
I'd love seeing real time results.
I tried wrapping my tomato plant with copper wire a few years back and from experience , the plants dont like that. It started causing disease but once I removed the wire and hit with peroxide water mix it came back. The key is to wrap the copper around bamboo or some form of nature forming clockwise coils and then sticking the wire in the ground about 6 inches for maximum benefits.
Keep up the great work, was very impressed with your take on keeping chooks, great stuff.
Yes, I had great success growing Roma tomatoes. I took the seeds of a Roma tomato bought at a local grocery chain store's produce section. The seeds from that puny little Roma were saved. I let them air dry in my kitchen for just a couple days. Prepped the soil with a good raking. For fertilizer I placed about a half inch piece of fish head at about ten inches into a hole, covered with soil to ground level. Then planted three seeds directly into each place where each spot/hole had been prepared. For bug control/ blight disease and everything else that grows here (which is just about everything) I used a few drops of Dawn antibacterial dish soap in a spray bottle concentrating on the underside of the leaves. We have two growing seasons. It took two years/four seasons for the Roma tomatoes to acclimate to the growing conditions. Never fertilized them again only that one time at the beginning. Those Roma tomatoes grew huge while the plants were manageable using the cone shaped plant cages. Hope this helps someone. It sounds like a lot of work, believe me it's not.
P.S.} I also used companion planting which you can google it if you wish.
💜 WONDERING IF THE COATING ON THE WIRE WAS SCRAPED OFF 💜
What a brilliant experiment. I love the way you set it all up and kept an open mind. In general I love your channel and shared it with my mother in Arizona. Can you PLEASE try again with the coating scraped off, or sanded, or whatever the majority of comments suggest? I think it would be a worthy experiment. I noticed someone mentioned that you could get zinc if you tried it with brass instead. Can you do a plant or 2 with a stripped brass wire to see if this is true. There is a gizmo called a nutrimeter that will tell you the nutrient content of vegetables- maybe you could actually measure before and after. Apparently we are all deprived of zinc in Australia so this would be a major triumph to get some more zinc content into our food! Yes, please do more of these experiment type videos. I really enjoyed it!
G’day cobber , haven’t read all the comments but I’m having a marked improvement in my garden by the electro culture method , being a Frigie I’ve lgot lots of copper handy and find it really stimulates the plants . I’ve been growing on the same beds for 15 years and this is the best cropping I’ve had yet , may be coincidence , who knows .
I have never heard of sticking copper through the stem of the plant. I have had good results using copper foil around containers and raised beds to stop slugs and snails and it seems pretty effective.
Is the “foil” coated against oxidation?
I tried to buy copper foil but no luck yet.
@@snowyowl6892 maybe just throw a couple old pennies in there near the roots, I hears plants only take what they need?
Best tomatoes I ever had was the year I buried fish under each plant and once a week put a pinch of Epsom salt and white sugar next to each one. That year I grew a 3 pound tomato
Patti Brooks 3 pound tomato 3 weeks ago with 3 likes
White sugar? That didn't attract bugs and ants?
That's what my ex son-in-law does and he grows great tomatoes! Also marijuana. LOL!
Thank you for experimenting and letting us know! :)
I like how you conduct your experiments. You have excellent process!
I think all that r claiming that the wire was coated should do their own follow up on their own tomato plants & give us their results
It's not theory, that's fact; the wire was coated. Call again when you find a clue.
The color possibly gives it away that it has the insulating coating, looks like motor and transformer wire. A good source for uncoated wire is scrap ethernet cable only insulation on that is easily removed, the varnish type is a pain.
The red (rather than pink or orange or brown) color of that wire and the fact that it's still shiny after years of exposure to air means it's coated in a thin layer of plastic enamel. This product is called "magnet wire." The coating is thin enough that it wouldn't be flammable, but thick enough to keep the wire from oxidizing in air and dissolving into the stem. Even if there's a few nicks in the plastic, any effect it had would be way reduced by the tiny surface area.
Mark, Another item to verify is if you are using 100% CU (Copper) Wire. Unfortunately, some liberties made at the manufacturing source might have other materials like aluminum in it to keep profits up when raw copper costs are high. Like the idea and I appreciate those comments below that support the idea. Maybe give this hack another try taking into account removal of any coatings which must wire have to actually avoid CU oxidation and in sure % Cu content is high? Lastly - I'd of thought as you removed the copper wire at the end of the season from the plants, you would have seen the copper wire turn bluish in color. Which I don't think I saw in your video. Thanks
Did you mistakenly purchase some copper coated aluminum? The copper coating is to prevent aluminum oxide formation which has high resistance in connections, it has nothing to do with manufacturing profits or hiding the aluminum. All electrical copper is extremely high purity. (Though it is common for a chinese supplier to swap in counterfeit materials)
@@TheDuckofDoom. Did you just come to argue then bow out and concede in the same post?
@@kramnull8962 A counterfeit has nothing to do with legitimate manufacturing or a buyer choosing aluminum vs copper conductors. In this specific case of Chinese substitution, it would be outright fraud, by selling non-electrical grade copper (maybe cheaply remelted plumbing) under the label of electrical purity copper. But this has nothing to do with dilution or aluminum, both of which would be fairly obvious. The expense is in the electrolytic refining needed to remove the final 1% impurities.
(Aluminum also has a high-purity electrical grade btw.)
@@TheDuckofDoom. Damn. Well that explains why after 20 years of Comm/Scope dumping scrap wire in a gulley on my neighbors property, in the 70's through the 90's; the chinese came and dug it out of the ground and left him a million for his troubles.
All he had to do was let them dump it and cover it up, then 20 years later matured into $1M. Figured it was for the PE coating.
I am writing from Turkey. I have been dealing with organic farming for 12 years. I saw your channel by chance 1 month ago and reviewed it. You provide good and valuable information. I can see in the comments below that this method is effective and useful. Thank you.🙏👍
That copper looks like it’s coated , maybe it’s just the video. Sometimes they coat it in a clear varnish to stop it corroding.
It isn't coated Mark - it can't be because this wire is at least 35 years old - my Grandfather salvaged it and I inherited it when he passed Edit: ok, just because it's old it doesn't mean it can't be coated but it's scuffed and worn so I doubt it affected the experiment too much. Yes, it's probably the video and lighting making it sheen like that. Cheers :)
@@Selfsufficientme hi i would have sanded it first
Good point
This is obviously a transformer wire. It's coated.heatbit up with a lighter and the paint will fall off.
@@anth1655 G'day, it also had plenty of wear and scuffs so even if that was the case I doubt it affected the experiment much at all...
It's so cool you try experiments, I learn a lot on your channel
What a lovely conducted experiment. Just all about it that I was asking myself :)
Love the way you explain your ideas 💡 and tips
Me: Doesn't have a garden, has no intention of starting one, doesn't like tomatoes
CZcams:
Me: I will watch the whole video
@@mangolighters Tomato sauce is not the same as eating raw tomatoes especially with pizza
If you get a chance, you should try fresh cherry tomatoes. They taste like candy. Don't bother with store bought tomatoes, they are harvested before they're ripe and they are very bland in comparison.
@@AKAxeMan black krims are much sweeter.
@Ig Hanchks herbs are a great start, I started with chives, basil, thyme, sage, and rosemary years ago. Tea garden can be great in the kitchen window. Micro tomatoes and greens can be grown year round in the window
I might try the experiment again, but running the wire through emery cloth to bring it up to bright copper first.
Thanks for putting in your time to explore the data.
I've just noticed this article which I thought showed a very well done trial. Just one thing that I noticed: The copper wire appears to be coated. They do this to prevent corrosion and also for insulation. If so, the test would need to be repeated after scrubbing the wire in contact with the stem with sandpaper to make sure that there was metal contact with the plant fluids.
its true im an electrician, that is transformer wire. its coated.
indeed its coated. failed experiment i say
Did anyone know I'm fully trained expert in all aspects of the fight scene
yep, that looks like varnished wire to me. so what you did was open two holes in the stem for disease to attack. might as well toss one of those giant aussie pennies into the soil.
Yes, is coated...No copper in contact with the plant, failed experiment...
@Dodge Ram scientists have nothing to do with a copper wire being coated or not, but if it wasn't coated when coiled up it would short circuit.
I really appreciate the time, effort and observation you put into this. Tomatoes are a must have for me and it was a valuable video.
I appreciate the time you took to carry out this experiment! I like the trellises you showed. I will have to try something like that!
Thanks Mark, I think you did a good test. With the price of copper as high as it is I'll stick with pruning and fertilizer. I'm in South Carolina and because of the high humidity I've taken to pruning a lot. I read that the improved air circulation helps to prevent disease and I think it might. I love your channel, thanks a lot.
David
Love your videos, Mark! Especially your no-nonsense -- dare I say down-to-earth -- presentations. Thanks!
previous comment :"hello I just wanted to let you know you used insulated wire, I can tell this by noticing that the copper wire left outside of the plant hasn't bee eaten away by corrosion. it should have a thick dark cyan colour sometimes even black, yours stayed pretty much the same. your experiment was therefore inconclusive at best and should be repeated with proper equipment.
since this is a 3yo video if you made a new experiment I hope you will link it in the description of this video and make a disclaimer."
Do you end up with Fried Tomatoes after a Thunder Storm ?
just the green ones,olive oil and corn meal/flour mix salt,black/cayenne pepper. salivating
BOOM!
Lol
Good one!
Maybe not, but you sure as hell get boiled tomatoes on a hot day if they're exposed to the full baking sun all day!
I was hoping it worked for you too, but I am also reading the comments. All very helpful. I also just love your personality!
Wrap copper around a stick or wood. It creates an energy vortex. It’s that energy that helps keep pests away, less watering and huge yield of crops.
I recall hearing that growing marigolds between your tomato plants help keep them healthy. Apparently, marigolds repel aphids (?) or other pests. I have no idea whether this has any real value, but it looks really good in the garden.
This is actually true. It release essential oil that repels some weeds and some pests.Check for allelopathic plants.
I think they help with Nematodes... marigolds attract nematodes, so help keep the tomatoes nematode free...
I use marigold plants and spearmint to repel flea beetles and other pests. no slugs, snails or pests. Aphids show up if your soil is too full of nitrogen - too much pee still in the animal manure if you used animal manure or pee.
Yep. Just smelling a Marigold flower and you are instantly repelled !
Kill ants to get rid of aphids, the ants keep aphids for their secretions
Really no difference, just wireless tomatoes are a little more convenient as you're trying to carry them around the garden.
😂
Wifi tomatoes r wireless
@Noobz Threefortyseven 5
Heard of this for years,
thank you for demystifying.
Thankyou for this video. I grow tomatoes for fun, and many other varieties as a hobby. Yes, at the end of the growing season my tomatoes and Courgettes and Kale all succumb to fungi, but I do well up until then. The use of copper spray is well known, it is good that someone took the time to determine if other treatments were viable and now we know. Good upload.
I have always planted mine with a copper earth stake in the ground. I use it as part of the trellis. I also bury a chunk of concrete with my tomatoes. Gives them access to calcium in the limestone. Have always had great success with tomatoes in Brisbane
Try egg shells.
@Great Plainsman
Yes Egg Shells 100% to STOP Blossom End Rot
I just watched the movie CALENDAR GIRLS. In one scene, a man advised another man to insert a penny into the soil of a potted flower to help it flourish. I thought it was odd but 24 hrs later I randomly find this video. 🤯
That actually works though if you have copper deficiency in the soil...I have done it several times but the key is potted plant, the same way if the soil has iron deficiency you can use old steel shavings or rust it self it its clean. as rust basically is hydrated iron oxide
Rusty iron really helps some plants,not sure about tomatoes but they do love that red soil.
That happens to me all the time I call it the universe(God) trying to tell me something
I really appreciate your willingness to try different approaches to improve your plant / soils health. You put a lot of effort into what you do and I just want to encourage you to keep up the good work. I am bothered by you needing to do your foliar applications based on how well balanced your overall performance seems to be. I know that it will take some extra money but I wonder what a soil analysis would reveal? Have you also tried planting complimentary plants together to see if that would improve your overall plant health?
Electro-Agriculture is amazing... have not heard about putting the copper-wire through the plant, but putting copper wire around a wooden stick and putting that near your plants. Am doing it on out balcony and it already looks promising! As it is about electro-magnetic force aka ether, the way you wire it might be essential....clockwide or anti-clockwise...definitely not both ways like I noticed you did. Thanks for your videos.
2 things - in Australia, you need to wrap counter clockwise and no need to stab your plants just wrap a long branch counter clockwise (southern hemisphere) and stick it in the ground facing north. also use copper, brass or bronze tools - not iron - please try that!! 💐🦋😁
If your plants are acting up try doing what I do:
1: Call them lazy and shame them into doing better.
2: Praise other plants in front of them to make them jealous and crave the attention
3: if you're dealing with a particularly ornery plant, you c ould swear at it
4: if none of those things work, try giving it a taste of your middle finger.
Thats how I raised my boy.
I heard grunge music works too, but when they tried classical music, it was less effective
I liked the way you set up your experiment to find out if the copper wire worked. In a comment made by another reader about growing grapes, one old farmer did this to success. Was his soil deficient in copper or the components the plants used to take up the copper into their leaves, and your soil was not? Or was it something else? That is what makes a farmer a science based grower by trials like the one you did!
interesting, also - your long growing season sounds amazing.
Edit: Here's the re-test video with no doubt that the wire is NOT plastic-coated ;) czcams.com/video/dJO2K_u58OM/video.html G'day Everyone, the copper wire is over 35 years old and isn't coated (edit: well, it doesn't seem to be coated and I've tried burning and scuffing it but yes I could be wrong) it was salvaged many years ago by my grandfather and wasn't purchased in a roll. It also had plenty of wear and scuffs so even if that was the case I doubt it affected the experiment. Regardless, I didn't make up this myth I merely tried it in my own garden and here are my results and opinion. I thought I would just let you know this info to save me writing the same thing in the comments section 1000 times (because I'm sure this video will go viral lol). Cheers :)
This wire is definitly coated. I used to work for a recycler where we sorted this kind of wire.
@@Lordroran Say you are right, I'm still confident the scuffs and wear on this wire was enough to not compromise this experiment (as unscientific as it still is anyway) but I do appreciate your input. Cheers :)
Never heard of this gardening myth before. But in my opinion, piercing the plant with the metal would cause trauma the plant would have to heal over and would also predispose the plant to fungal and bacterial infections.
To me, the best way to add copper would be putting supplements in the water/soil and promoting the good fungi and bacteria that help the plants absorb nutrients, like minerals (Cooper, zinc, iron, etc).
@@joshuamc96 I think you are spot on Joshua and this is the last time I'm going to stick my plants with wire! A good dose of trace elements should be enough to help the immune system of tomato plants. Thanks for sharing your opinion and knowledge! Cheers :)
Isn't it better to make a mild copper sulfate solution and pour it to the soil, so that the roots will transport it through the whole plant, instead of injuring it?
Looks like the wire being used has a coating of something around it. I'd try it again with uncoated wire.
that makes sense
Jeffrey Packer I heard you have to burn the wire first to take off the coating then strip off the burned layer. They copper wire then would conduct earth magnetic energy waives and that would have better conduction of energy with the earth. Copper wire also used in holistic methods where the wire is treated/ processed the same way then wrapped and worn around the body for I think 3 days on 3 days off for a certain period of time after it people report having restored energy levels.
Agree, almost certainly coated.
@@tvoymasik "waives"? *waves* 😐
Uncoated wire should turn green after a while as it oxidises, so I reckon you're right about it being coated.
Interesting, thank you for showing your experience with this copper wire.
I was told not to puncture through the stem but to affix antennas made of wood wrapped in copper wire into the ground surrounding the plant.
Very interesting, thanks for the info! i've heard this myth on and off for 30 or more years...never believed it enough to try it...thanks for doing this for me.
It would need to be uncoated wire if it was going to work, the wire he used had an insulating coating on it.
The copper wire you used has a coating on it. You need to scrape that off before using it. It’s an insulation coating that prevents short circuiting when wound together. Try again with raw copper (shellac scraped off)
Next time you might want to use two of the same type of plants in a separate area as test subjects. That way you can see if that makes a difference. Thanks for your input.
First…brilliant work on the maters, and growing in general! Thanks so much for all your hard work made available to us. That is pretty dang decent of you. Do you think the open sores on the stem would attract infection?
The biggest problem I've had with growing tomatoes is having the stem that holds the blooms drop off right at the knuckle. I did some research and learned this is caused by a calcium deficiency and was told to look for a fertilizer with calcium. When I couldn't find the fertilizer I was happy with, I crushed up calcium supplements and dissolved them in water and poured it on the soil. This actually fixed the problem and I got a good amount of fruit from my plants.
Crushing up egg shells until they are pretty small, and then working them into the soil works good too. Egg shells are around 123.7% calcium (maybe not that high, but they are pretty high in calcium). It takes a year or two for the calcium to work into the soil. But when it does, you can see the difference.
Also, I find that snails and slugs tend to avoid plants that have a layer of finely broken egg shells around them. It's not 100% effective, but it does seem to work pretty good.
barn lime, epson salts
Dissolve oyster shells or egg shells in vinegar, then dilute with water and apply. DIY water soluble calcium
Milk 👌
@@tarnishedknight730 the egg shell cut up the soft side of slugs and snails...
You would do better to put a 'copper' penny underneath the tomato plant when you plant them. Or, crush up a mineral tablet with high copper and sprinkle that around the bases of your plants. Also, tomato plants love magnesium! Sprinkle epsom salts around the base of your plants and water.
Pennies are zinc
@@karlsapp7134 Pennies before 1982 95% copper. After 1983 97.5% Zinc!
Have done this for several years work very well
I wanted to comment on the wire that looked coated. It seems like a lot have also seen that. Interesting video. Thanks.
Hi Mark - I am surprised to hear that copper inserted into a plant as illustrated could benefit a plant, as I use copper nails to prevent plant regrowth on stumps and perennial weeds (such as brambles) that are growing in areas where their roots are impossible to dig out. I treat such problems in the autumn when the the sap movement through the plant slows and nutrients return to the roots, presumably taking the copper back with them to kill the plant (the timing and principle is the same as if I were treating woody plants with a shop bought weedkiller). It is also possible to buy barrier fabric with copper mesh to protect areas from roots penetrating walls or spreading into areas where you would not want them (ie root growth is inhibited of the tips of roots that come into contact with the copper in the fabric - a type of root pruning without killing the plant). From my experience of using copper nails, and copper fabric, I associate copper with death of plant material rather than growth hence my surprise that piercing copper wire through the stem of a plant could have benefits. Thank you for taking the time to test out the myth that it would have benefits.
Something for me to research. Thanks for sharing
Copper nails in trees is actually a common method of killing unwanted trees. I remember someone actually went to jail for doing it to their neighbors trees in BC Canada
I thought one used steel for killing stumps like that, I used a roofing nail recently.
What's a tomato? Lol
Personally not fond of tomatoes but my wife of 35 years is. To balance it out we have tomatoe based meals every day.....
Thanks for the vid
It's the first I've heard of actually sticking the wire THROUGH a plant. We made antennas of wood wrapped with wire that go into the ground and have a piece of copper sticking up in the air. We've been having fun results. Seems though, the least affected is tomatoes, although there is some help. Try on different areas. Peppers, zucchini and cucumbers are going wild. Flowers as well.
Awesome video, great content. Love it.
Thanks Mark,
I was curious about that myself.
I’m not a big tomato fan myself but my 84 year old dad lives with us and he LOVES tomatoes, so we mainly grow them for him and share with our neighbors.
Awesome video man your videos are always super helpful with my garden!
Thanks mate! Just a quick peek at your latest release - you have an interesting and entertaining editing style. Keep at it :)
Self Sufficient Me thank you so much man same to you!
Appreciate you testing and dispelling that urban garden legend. Your one of the few gardeners I trust.
I'll file that in my mind with the electroculture myth.
Wireless vs wired tomatoes.....lol! Either still has to be better than the NBN!!!
I hope there's a good password on the wireless tomatoes.... Wouldn't want anyone hacking them... 🤣🤣🤣
Becster Brisbane lol Bec lol 🇦🇺👍🐶 northern nsw here :) have a good day.
Becster Brisbane lol, so true, cheers from Nth NSW 👍
Wireless Tomatoes, what next, bloody technology's creeping into everything. NBN? Does that stand for (No Better Now?)
@PoopCoin Patrick hope you like Brown cooked plants
Ive also heard of knotting techniques with wire. It causes the scion aka grafting point. to get really fat at the botton if done early. This gives the plant a sort of boost thats said to yeild denser fruit.
Cool video, thanks for the information.
I find using Epsom salts in water as a foliar spray helps with fruit set and stronger plants. It works best on peppers and Eggplant but even my tomatoes seemed to benefit from it!
I believe that adds magnesium...
That is pure MgSO4 Magnesium Sulphate so you are getting minimal beneficial for tomato fungal issues.
The best thing for all is to purchase a good complete chemical fertiliser and to alternate fertilisation with an organic liquid...Carp or seaweed extracts. All soils can benefit from an annual addition of some trace elements too.
Hey mate I love ya vids. After looking at the comments on this one ya might have to try it again. I'm see a vast majority of comments stating you need to clear off the coating on the wire 1st. I'm also thinking it would be interesting to see if a few copper coils in the soil would eliminate fungus growth or infection
Never heard of this method. I've learned to never water tomatoes from above and to prune the bottom 6-12 inches of leaves.