David Byrne Journal: 9.4.06: V for Vendetta, Paradise, Procession:
"When the Bass brothers financed the first Biosphere, that earth in a bubble out in Arizona, the trees all failed in an interesting way. All the trees in the biosphere were droopy and lacked the strength to stand upright. They grew, but were too weak to stand. They studied the problem and found the answer. No wind. The Biosphere bubble lacked any wind so the trees had nothing to make them sway. It was the swaying, pushing against an invisible yet very palpable force, that gave them the strength to grow upright, stand reaching up to the sky. I met one of the Bass brothers at an American Museum Association show and he took me to a Blues club that he owned in Fort Worth. The band was rocking and he was so down home I forgot all about the Biosphere so I never got to ask if the story was true."
1 comment:
I don't know if this story is true - but I do know that I learned this lesson growing tomato plants indoors. The first year we did it, the plants folded in half as soon as they started to develop fruit. No strength in the stems.
A friend said, "A fan. You need an oscillating fan." And, indeed, we did. Same principle - always keep things moving a little, to develop the fiber to stay upright when things get a little heavy.
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