Plantasia, or better said Mother Earth’s Plantasiais an electronic music album released in 1976 by the Canadian composer Mort Garson, one of the pioneers of the famous Moog synthesizer, which became famous as one of the first experiments for promote plant growth through music. But why was such a record made? And what does science say about it?
The publication of Plantasia
The initial idea of Mort Garson – already author of the song chosen for the TV broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing – was to create an album for communicate with plants. An apparently crazy idea, born from reading the essay “The secret life of plants” published in 1973 by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird. Inside they were presented various theories (now considered pseudoscientific) according to which plants are able to communicate with other creaturesincluding us humans. So why not create an album to communicate with plants and make them grow better?
Garson made the 10 tracks on the album using a Moog, that is, a modular synthesizer, and included within the original packaging not only a vinyl record but also a short botany manual. However, he was not the only one to have this idea: imagine that too Stevie Wonder tried to do a similar thing with his album Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. What differentiates the two works is that Plantasia remained absolutely unobtainable for decades, becoming a cult only later thanks to some YouTube users.
In fact, taking possession of Plantasia in the 70s and 80s was anything but simple.
It could only be purchased in nursery Mother Earth Plant Boutique of Los Angeles or if you purchased a mattress from the Sears supermarket chain. The reasons for this curious sales strategy are unknown today but they contributed to making Plantasia an object extremely rare. Even today a first copy can easily exceed $250especially if in good condition.
Does Plantasia really work to grow plants?
The first scientific studies on the relationship between music and plant growth date back to 70s. Among the most significant it is worth mentioning that of the researcher Dorothy Retallack who observed how plants, in the presence of classical music or jazz, they grew faster and in the direction of the speakers. The most widespread explanation invoked for this behavior is linked to cytoplasmic flowthat is, the way in which plants transport nutrients. According to this hypothesis, some vibrations – whether natural or coming from a speaker – could help this process, indirectly promoting the growth of the plant itself.
So is it confirmed that music helps plants grow? Not exactly. In fact, a large part of the scientific community believes that this type of study is not enough to state something like this: le experimental conditions (such as light, water and soil type) are not always controlled or replicable, leaving a large margin of uncertainty.
In short, according to science, Plantasia It doesn’t really promote plant growth. It remains, however, a musical experiment one of a kindwhich deserves to be rediscovered by anyone who loves music and botanical curiosities!
