An article in a freebie newspaper distributed by our local supermarket caught my eye. It concerned the age old idea that classical music makes plants grow better. Apparently the reverberating sound waves stimulate protein production which increases growth.
A three-hour recital has been recorded including Mozart’s famed Symphony No 40. ‘The Floral Seasons: Music to Grow To’ is available as a download from a shopping channel website for free.
To be honest the world of shopping channels is not one that I am overly familiar with. And down-loading three hours of music is a recipe for disaster with my memory-deficient old lap-top computer. But there it is if anyone is interested in free music.
I often wonder though who conducts these tests to see if plants like what music and whether they are given much of a choice. Perhaps they are tried out with a choice of Mozart, Sibelius or Val Doonican? Could it be that they choose Mozart as the lesser of three evils?
I remember in my youth trying out my own experiments when I used to look after a large greenhouse. Three sweet-pea pots were put at either end and in the middle. The height of the sweet-peas was measured at regular intervals whilst different genre of music was played.
There was a clear and undisputed winner. The music that induced the most growth was Jimi Hendrix played at top volume. Which suited me just fine. And boy, did those sweet-peas grow!
Sweet peas clearly have excellent taste.
Ah yes!