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The Use Of Copper In Your Garden

Welcome back to Nigel's Gardening World, although I've been having a few sign-in problems lately, and now have a new account in the name of Helleborus. In this issue I will be talking about the use of copper in our gardens, not just as a slug deterrent, but also how it is beneficial to our plants and soil. Enjoy, and do not forget to leave feedback at the bottom of the page.

Ever since I started gardening at the age of six, I often wondered why Granddad insisted on using copper watering cans as opposed to the cheaper plastic type. I also could never understand why his plants did so much better than mine, when I gave them the same care and attention as he gave his. I put it down to experience as he was greatly more skilled than me at the time. When he died three years ago, I inherited his old copper watering cans and made an interesting discovery.

When I started using his copper watering cans, plants started to do much better and any sick looking plants picked up after a few days. I also found that there were fewer slugs and snails roaming around my greenhouse. Surely just by using a copper watering can this cannot happen, I hear you say! Well, I thought exactly the same until I started doing some intensive research and got some interesting results.

Many of us use iron and steel tools for our garden which are the normal type sold in many garden centres and DIY stores. Iron is magnetic, which demagnetises the soil when used, but if you use copper tools, these are conductive, which is believed to increase the flow of earth energies. This helps to nourish plants, increasing valuable nutrients and minerals to help them do their best.

My copper watering can works in a similar way, increasing minerals within the water as well as destroying any nasty organisms which can increase the risk of viruses.

However, all of my water is collected in a water container when it rains. If I got it directly from the tap, there would be little effect by using a copper watering can. This is because many water suppliers use chlorine (as well as other forms of treatment) which destroys bacteria and other nasties. Chlorine would kill off the useful minerals and magnetism in the water, which has proved beneficial to plants when using a copper watering can.

Many years ago there was not much in the way of water treatment, which is why many households had copper piping. Copper, at the time, was said to help destroy bad organisms within the water.

As our water is treated now, many plumbers use plastic push-on pipes, but many storage tanks are still copper. There are still disagreements whether or not our supply pipes should be made of copper, and whether the chlorine and other forms of treatment react with the copper causing health problems.

Some poorer countries still do not have adequate water treatment, if they even have a supplier, which is why copper pipes are used in most cases to help destroy bacterial diseases. This could be in the form of a hand pump or, if there is a water supply, copper pipe work.

Anyway, back to gardening otherwise I will start talking about plumbing techniques!

As I feel that the copper watering can is definitely having an effect on my plants, a friend brought me a copper trowel for my birthday a couple of months ago. I have used it to plant some leek and parsnip plants in my garden, and it is already deterring slugs and snails. About a week ago we had a heavy downpour and I went down the greenhouse in between the showers to shut the window. There were slugs all over the grass, but there were none near to where I used my new shiny trowel.

Copper garden tools were researched in the 1950s by a man called Viktor Schauberger. He researched the use of copper in agriculture and horticulture discovering that it had many beneficial results, the main ones being those I have covered above. Also, he noted that because copper does not rust, if tools were made out of this they would last much longer than the normal iron and steel ones.

Viktor Schauberger was a fascinating man who spent most of his life observing nature in the forests which he looked after, in his home town in Austria. He was a trained forester, rejecting academic training as he wanted to learn from his own experience of the forests and mountains. He did much research into various aspects of nature, enjoying the peaceful surroundings around him.

You can read more about his life by visiting this article, 'Who was Viktor Schauberger?'

Copper tools should last a lifetime, but many people do not buy them because they are fairly expensive. However, they are good quality, sharp edged and strong, with the extra benefits of not having to buy several tubs of slug pellets a year. Sounds like a good deal to me!

The final thing I must emphasise on copper tools is not to leave any lying around, as many of you know that copper is valuable to scrap dealers. It has even been known for houses to be broken into in order to steal the copper water piping!

Apart from garden equipment, many people use copper slug tape around the rims of pots. Slugs and snails do not like the electric shock feeling as they try to slither over it, if they get that far! This tape is particularly useful if you have plants such as hostas, which are much loved by slugs and snails.

I have had better quality, healthier plants ever since using copper in the garden. Some top gardeners have different views on the subject, but some wear magnetic wrist bands to help with aches and pains or rheumatism, among other health problems. These are usually the ones that believe in the power of magnetism, especially if it helps. I have been wearing a magnetic wrist band for a number of years now and if I leave it off for a week, like when I was in hospital, I find my health problems worsen, especially my muscular problems. But perhaps it doesn't work for everyone.

Many garden shows now have stands promoting the use of copper in your garden and sales have risen since the introduction of these tools in 2001. Copper watering cans have been around for much longer than the tools, so although Granddad never said it, I know the secret was in the can! He did say he had ideas about the use of copper, and the success it brought in his plants!

Give it a try and let me know how successful you are.

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