Born from the Bomb
With the detonation of atomic bombs at Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945, the world lurched uncertainly into an Atomic Age. So did the garden.
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The Atom-blasted Seeds of C.J. Speas, atomic entrepreneur
Because everyone should have an irradiation bunker in their Own. Back. Yard.
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The Atomic Gardening Society
Surely the strangest gardening society ever assembled, Muriel’s AGS distributed irradiated seeds, organized tours, and awarded prizes for the best atomic plants.
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First Atomic Garden in the United States, 1961
The good citizens of Cleveland, Ohio are confronted with C.J.’s atom-blasted seeds. The looks on their faces are priceless.
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Just when you think things can’t get any weirder…L. Ron Hubbard shows up.
The founding documents of the AGS list L. Ron Hubbard, PhD, “Pioneer in Radiation” as a member of the “Scientific Advisory Board”. He was living in the UK—near Muriel—at the time and conducting his own wacky plant experiments; claiming that his e-meter readings proved that plants felt pain.
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The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the Moon Marigolds
Paul Zindel was a science teacher, and his Pulitzer prize-winning play uses C.J. Speas’ seeds as a plot device
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Atomic Seeds reach Gilligan’s Island. Fun follows.
The midcentury plant experiments inspired a 1966 episode of Gilligan’s Island. Not unexpectedly, they got the science all wrong.
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Disillusionment and Demise
“…the glamour, the excitement, of the boundless possibilities of power from the peaceful atom is gone. The peaceful atom has not ushered in a ‘new world’ but has rather become a part, a minor part, of the old one.” – David Lilienthal, 1st chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission
David Lilienthal, 1963
The Atomic Garden LIVES!!
It’s essentially low-tech GMO. Plant irradiation remains an active area of research, and government gamma gardens still exist around the world.
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Atomic Plants: Were they safe? ARE they safe?
First, it’s important to recognize that except for a few unusual lines of research, the atomic plants were *not* radioactive.
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Oral Histories of the Atomic Gardens
Soon there won’t be anyone left who remembers the midcentury atomic gardens…if you do, please add your history via the contact form to be included with the others here!
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Atomic Garden Resources: The Journal of Radiation Botany (1961-1975)
Let’s crowdsource just like Muriel…help wanted here!
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Atomic Garden Resources: The Wilkinson Collection
I visited Muriel’s remaining family. Here is what was in her trunk of mementos.
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