Guest guest Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 I found a blackberry today with a reading of 5 and others with readings of 8,9,11, and even 14. I tasted them all.I didn't do a triangle test though.So that test is just my unofficial opinion. The 5 was not nearly as sweeet as the 11 and 14. I'd consider them all vine ripened. I'm not real sure Brix tells you the item is full of nutrients or that 14 has more nutrients than 5. Brix is measured with a refractometer which measures crystals, as in sugar or salt. I've discussed this before and while I am not an expert on refractometers, I don't know how Brix correlates to nutrient content. Haven't had a chance to read and filter brix talk Suze mentioned but have had several instrumentation classes.I've read " high " Brix plants are healthy in that bugs don't eat them whatever hi is. The pigweed leaves in the OP corn patch yesterdey read 5 or 6 and my corn leaf read 4 1/2. Dan Skow says the weed shouldn't have higher Brix than the crop and has recommendations for the problem in Farming in the 21st Century. Takes money and time for sure, to even try this suggestion. He is at International Ag labs in Minnesota I believe. This all leads to a lot of experimentation which is costly esp if very little saleable or even very little usable product is grown and I have to eat weeds. We have edible weeds too and the milk cow prefers them to grass when they're highly palatable. Probably she likes the minerals in them too. Salatin calls it salad bar beef when the livestock roam around the farm eating what they prefer. This takes more acreage so costs more for land, taxes,fence building, etc and brings prices up again.Weeds are only in an edible state a short time so it's hard to keep a critter full on the short season weeds. Livestock have to have nutrients when weeds aren't palatable and in season. So agronomists " invented " otherstuff I suppose. Long season grasses,hybrids, etc. Wheat is even grazed for several months in fall and in spring. and If not overgrazed it will have berries for harvesting in June in KS. Some farmers know what Brix reading is great and even what Brix is minimal at various stages of growth. But that is " top secret " info I think and I'm not sure of nutrient content in that hi Brix crop. Such as Full of nutrients, or high in folic acid, or high in protein, or hi in B vitamins. etc. Regards, Dennis Kemnitz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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