Magnets and copper effect on plants

Anybody notice plants grow a lot more next to copper and magnets. I been trying this and notice a big jump.

I'll join your experiment by plopping a magnet from my fridge in with my pitcher plant in its pot in my windowsill.

This sort of folklore has been around a long time, and resurfaces on occasion. It's lovely to believe in but there's precious little hard evidence -- it's all anecdotal stories. I suppose I'm the resident skeptic. My garden plants are already bathed in a massive, dynamic magnetic field (Earth). Personally, it would take a rigorous double-blind study to convince me that little magnets and copper wires would measurably impact plant growth. My 2c.

Well I don’t know I’m just speaking on my intuition. From my experience as a plumber and water operator, a lot of old cisterns were lined with a sheet of copper. Copper was said to prevent algae and mold. I don’t have a true experiment per say but I started cuttings in two locations. One with magnets all around the pots and a small copper pyramid I made. The other pots are just control. Both by a window sill that gets afternoon sun.

The cuttings with the magnets are flying and thriving. In constantly filling with cup with water. The control hasn’t shown leaves yet at all, it’s been about three weeks. The paw paw was along with the magnets, she took a long while to sprout but she finally started showing leaves. That pawpaw mind you a very slow and steady plant.

I agree the earth is a giant dynamo, think about this…you have the whole ocean full of water. but you need to harness the water and refine it to use for what you need, you could increase or decrease the pressure etc. you see what im getting at?

I don’t have the answers or could prove to anybody that this is legit but these are things my intuition has guided me to.

You should check out an article called The Pyramid Greenhouse by Les Brown. I never utilized any of his findings or teachings but if they are legit man that’s something people need to know about especially farmers and gardeners.

I know if the plant is lacking in trace minerals, adding it to the soil gives a big boost.  Iron and potatoes are a good example.  Copper and magnolia is another.

Haven't tried magnets.  They don't seem to be made from iron so much these days. Might be worth experiments with some house plants.

I know some elders throw wheat pennies or a silver coin inside their pot or garden when the plant something. Wow yes. Also heard old timers throw iron nails and copper. I guess it's another way of obtaining them minerals.

I have had one report of a cell phone charger killing a plant,  when they moved the plant away from the charger ( inductive charger )  the plant came back...

Many many variables at play like the iron in the plant, the frequency of the magnetic field, how fast does the magnet cycle poles ( via a coil ) strength of field.        

Would be interesting to see the effect of magnets on micro organisms.

A quick search shows others have considered this idea...

https://gardenerdy.com/the-effect-of-magnetism-on-plant-growth/

Yea the poles are key. One pole is good for some and bad for others. I was into magnetic water. And certain pipes make the water good for some things and bad for others. I don't think we understand magnetism as we put to yet. I think there's more to magnetism just what we know now.

Rad Anthony wrote:Yea the poles are key. One pole is good for some and bad for others. I was into magnetic water. And certain pipes make the water good for some things and bad for others. I don't think we understand magnetism as we put to yet. I think there's more to magnetism just what we know now.

There is so much right before our eyes we don't see or understand.

I work with water...I been getting into a lot of dowsing. Man it's crazy what you could find and how the earth is connected.

I decided to participate in the experiment by putting a refridgerator magnet in with my pitcher plant.  So far it hasn't increased its growth pattern from how it was doing before (its still a baby plant, I mean it is about 3 in. tall with several "pitchers".  Chances are I'll leave it for a while and then move it to another plant to see if it helps that one instead, and if it doesn't work I'll probably put it back on the fridge, but everyone should keep experimenting with things.

Well my pitcher plant is dying, so there's that.  And it started dying before I moved it outside, so I know its not from the hardening process.  Anyways the pitchers most of them are shriveled up and crackly, I keep brushing the outsides of them with water with my fingers to help them rehydrate, but its not working.  Was it the magnet?  Well I moved it to the radishes but it didn't hurt them for the week it was in there before I harvested them, I think though, if it helps some plants and hurts others, then I'm not going to do the experiment anymore since it would be a gamble and I'll just put the magnet back on the fridge.

Add me to the skeptical group on this one.

There have been a lot of studies trying to show a connection between magnets and plant growth in one form or another, and so far nothing has been very convincing.

Any test you do with 2 plants is just too small of a group to matter, I can pick two seeds from the same plant, put them next to each-other in the same plot, and in many occasions one will outgrow the other significantly for no apparent reason. It's hard to get identical soil nutrient and bacteria/fungi contents even within a localized plot, and no two seeds are genetically identical. It's very hard to clamp down on all confounding factors, so you need a very large set of plants to get any good statistical analysis out of it in my opinion.

In any case, copper could make a difference if the soil was just low in copper, so certainly that's possible. It's also not totally impossible that plants do react to the magnetic fields of earth, but even if you get better growth or some other effect out of messing with them, that wouldn't necessarily be a net benefit. A bigger and faster growing plant isn't always healthier, it could be more susceptible to disease for example if it's putting all its energy into growth.


Here's an analysis of many of the studies done before 2014, you can see that the results are wildly all over the place in every study done prior, affecting different organelles and factors at seemingly random in different species. You'll see in some it stunts growth, in some there's "elongation" of seeds but it's due to a difference in osmotic pressure and dry weight is unaffected, as well as lots of other oddities.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4154392/#B78

I didn't go through each study being evaluated either, it's possible they used too few samples or have other issues. Remember even an article in a well reputed journal should be looked at closely with some skepticism, It's very rare to see falsified data but to do a study without a large enough data set or get results that end up conflicting with the vast majority of established papers happens relatively frequently. Papers really need to be replicated and at large scales before confidence can be built in them, having many references usually indicates others thought the study was well done, too.

Personally, I think it's great that people experiment. Keep doing it! I certainly do. Sometimes I hit a sweet spot with all my crazy soil mixes. I can't describe the exact chemistry in my particular situation without a lab, but there's no magical element; it's based on the chemical and biological mechanisms we understand well. Since I'm cheap, my plants are my lab, and tell me when I'm in the zone.

I does seem to come down to feeding and building vibrant, active, rich soil. This is the foundation for everything, for civilization even. When we plunk our seeds in the rich soil we have made, they respond as if they have rooms in an exclusive posh hotel built for royalty. The beautiful part is that this does not rely on global supply chains or chemical plants -- it can commonly be done with materials within walking/wheelbarrow distance. The biological mechanisms for rich soil were operating long before humans showed up, and will be operating long after we are gone. We have proven we can tap into that. That's awesome.

It's also why I stay remain respectfully cautious about ideas that are intriguing and seem magically "science-y" but when asked the question "how does it actually work" sort of offer hand-waving, anecdotal testimony as a reference, and a wish that such a thing might be true. Tricky business, that. I can't help but think of the classic old ad for shampoo -- Fabrege Organics with wheat germ oil and honey! And they told two friends .... My 2c.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyxmj1Yf6Dk