"He mentioned that in the spring, when the first thunderstorm passes thru, his tomatos have a huge growth spike."

Rain is the more likely benefit. vgkg (who uses iron rebar too)

I agree with vgkg, but it is a great story!

Hmmm, I'm so gullable. He seemed so serious....

Thanks for the comments, folks.

I have been told that the lightening does cause a chemical change, in the air, and nitrogen would be in the rain. I don't know. I don't think the pipes would have anything to do with it. If lightning hit the pipes, wouldn't it fry the tomato plants? Come on, how do we find out? Lotta

The electrical energy associated with rain clouds does, indeed, charge the rainwater with nitrogen. But it's an oxidized form of nitrogen, not the elemental nitrogen that makes up 78% of the atmosphere anyway. Rainwater carries a relatively high amount of nitrate nitrogen, which is immediately available for uptake by plants. That's why plants always looks fresher and greener right after a rain storm.

You neighbor's metal pipes and tomato stakes have nothing to do with any of this.

Would be entertaining to watch his tomatoes during a storm.
We get ground strikes every year in my neighborhood. After the last one (next door, split a tree all the way to the ground) I dont sit next to the window that has the copper rose trellis outside anymore.

Rick
I to grow tomatoes on metal stakes. Where did I get the idea? It was from a show I seen featuring master gardner Jerry Baker. He said that using metal stakes and nylon hose to tie up your plants would gather electrical ions out of the air. Which in turn energize the plants and roots. Maybee it's true, who knows?

The smooth metal condoit does work well, it lasts forever and the nylon hosiery ties expand and slide up the pole with the plants. I know that wood stakes don't last and old twine or rope catches on the wood stakes.

It works for me, if if their is no benefit from the electical charge.

Aha! Now we know. It came from master gardener Jerry Baker. Well, that proves it, n'est pas? ;0)

Let's see, rebar=iron=?????

Did you know gullible is not in the dictionary?

There was a yarn a few years ago that native grasses out here in the high deserts of the mountain west were more lush under high power transmission lines. Some hunter looking for wild something was supposed to have had noticed it.

Someone was going to try and get a grant to study the phenomenon. I never heard any more about it.

a good test with this would be to have a tomato plant next to a tesla coil (which ionizes the air) and make sure to water it with a showertype nozzle, and have a 'control' tomato plant without the tesla coil and watered the same way

then you could track the growth rate of each plant of the same type of tomato and then get you could get your results from that :)