Interesting article on comparing organic farming and traditional farming.

[dim]

"Brix" appears to measure sugar levels, nothing else.
How are we supposed to judge nutritional levels from this ?

sounds like you work for Monsanto ... LOL

WHAT IS BRIX? - AGGRAND Organic Fertilizer Dealer - Boise, Id. 208-602-1362


perhaps join Dr elaine ingham's Yahoo group if you wish to learn more ..... very knoweleagble people there from all over the world who actually practice using this method ... and it's not rocket science and there is loads of info on the net

I have been practising High Brix gardening methods for a few years now, and also brew my own actively aerated compost teas

I am a full time landscaper so can play around with ferts and nutrients at my client's bills .... I can see how things grow using high brix methods using conventional methods (both vegetables and normal garden plants)and using high brix methods ....

also check the 420 ******** forums if you want to learn more .... most guys there know more about fertilizing than most farmers and many use organic high brix methods

and here are some youtube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL2mnf_rfjI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTx4bgDgF3U

[Bigmallly]

I am a full time landscaper so can play around with ferts and nutrients at my client's bills ....

I really wouldn't be too proud of that statement.

[Alison]

Have read the link, it appears to be saying that sweeter is tastier, rubbish, I like my veg to taste of veg and find sweet things quite overpowering (although I do appreciate if you're used to putting sugar in everything you'll crave it, same with salt). This is a total red herring to the discussion and nothing at all to do with health. The c*******s analogy in particular has no relevance to anything I grow at the lottie.

[dim]

Have read the link, it appears to be saying that sweeter is tastier, rubbish, I like my veg to taste of veg and find sweet things quite overpowering (although I do appreciate if you're used to putting sugar in everything you'll crave it, same with salt). This is a total red herring to the discussion and nothing at all to do with health. The c****** analogy in particular has no relevance to anything I grow at the lottie.

LOL .... then stick with miracle gro

no-one is forcing you to change your prefered method of growing

just telling you what works for me (and many others)including Harvard university who have studied it extensively:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlcX2WpnQWI

[teakdesk]

... it appears to be saying that sweeter is tastier, rubbish.

Well said!


I hate sweet tomatoes; I love acidic tomatoes with a background sweetness!

Brassicas? The epitomy of non-sweetness; love them! But I do need to add salt! (Although to give you an idea of how much salt if I say I can't eat k3ll0gs cornflakes cos they are too salty you'll realise I don't need lots).

Even sweet strawberries can be improved by reducing the sweet effect with black pepper.

[veggiechicken]

just telling you what works for me (and many others)including Harvard university who have studied it extensively:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlcX2WpnQWI

Unless I'm missing something, that Harvard study is about making Compost tea from leftover food. We make compost tea from garden plants all the time.

Another red herring perhaps?

[dim]

Unless I'm missing something, that Harvard study is about making Compost tea from leftover food. We make compost tea from garden plants all the time.

Another red herring perhaps?

different stuff ....

the compost tea made by harvard is 'actively aerated compost tea' ....

you take good compost such as worm humis, add rainwater or dechlorinated water, add organic unstrapped molasses, fish hydrolosate and seaweed extract/kelp ....

then you add an airpump (a strong one), and introduce air/oxygen to the brew ....

the bacterial and fungal microbes in the compost feed off the foods (seaweed/fish/molasses), and rapidly reproduce ... depending on the temperature and the time brewed, you end up with a fungal or bacterial 'dominant' tea

in simple terms, you end up with a liquid super concentrated form of compost that is 'full of life'

its not a fertilizer, but at the end of the brewing cycle, you can add a few ingrediats to 'beef it up' (such as blood meal if you want a bit more nitrogen, or bat guano (from fruit bats that are low in N but high in P&K if you want less Nitrogen etc etc) ... basically, you are feeding the soil, and not the plants

the stuff that you mention and that you chuck in a bucket with water is totally different (you are making a 'leachate' with very little life and a bit of NPK

read this link to understand a bit more about how this works:
Soil Food Web | NRCS

the Koreans have been practising a similar method for centuries:

part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgTe4GUXzeQ

[veggiechicken]

different stuff ....

the compost tea made by harvard is 'actively aerated compost tea' ....

you take good compost such as worm humis, add rainwater or dechlorinated water, add organic unstrapped molasses, fish hydrolosate and seaweed extract/kelp ....

That Harvard video shows them taking leftover canteen food, chopping it up, presumably composting it, adding it to dechlorinated water with some worm compost and another compost and mixing it up in an IBC.
I don't see much difference between that and chopping up garden weeds and stirring them up in rainwater. My plants are doing very nicely on it, without importing bat guano from half way round the world.

[Alison]

LOL .... then stick with miracle gro

no-one is forcing you to change your prefered method of growing

just telling you what works for me (and many others)including Harvard university who have studied it extensively:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlcX2WpnQWI

I don't use Miracle Gro, I use the likes of comfrey, nettles, home made compost and worm casts amongst other things but am more struggling as to why you keep laughing at people, genuinely confuses me.

[dim]

I don't use Miracle Gro, I use the likes of comfrey, nettles, home made compost and worm casts amongst other things but am more struggling as to why you keep laughing at people, genuinely confuses me.

I laugh because I give all the links to important information pertaining to this thread, yet some people just keep on posting for the sake of arguing .... some of the links have videos that are several minutes long, yet negative responses are posted seconds after I have posted the links

I suppose you cannot teach old dogs new tricks ....

[dim]

I really wouldn't be too proud of that statement.

I grow organic vegetables/fruit for my clients .... they hire and pay me me to grow organically and they are always keen to try new nutrients ...some of my clients have huge vegetable growing areas with raised beds, polytunnels and greenhouses etc

most of my nutrients/fertilizers are bought from hydroponic stores (???????????)they pay for the nutrients and I get to see 1st hand what works well and what does not

I apply what I learn to normal garden plants aswell ... so yea, I am proud as I have learned lots and am still learning

[Alison]

I laugh because I give all the links to important information pertaining to this thread, yet some people just keep on posting for the sake of arguing .... some of the links have videos that are several minutes long, yet negative responses are posted seconds after I have posted the links

That's as may be, you often see people who don't seem to have considered a post but in the case I was commenting on I responded some time later after investigating your links so your comment is not relevant here at all. Discussion and learning is indeed good and challenging a persons perceptions is always important but tone is also critical, especially on a forum like this where we can't see and don't know each other. Most people are far more receptive to alternative views if they don't feel that they're basically being pointed and laughed at.

[Alison]

I grow organic vegetables/fruit for my clients .... they hire and pay me me to grow organically and they are always keen to try new nutrients ...some of my clients have huge vegetable growing areas with raised beds, polytunnels and greenhouses etc

most of my nutrients/fertilizers are bought from hydroponic stores (???????????)they pay for the nutrients and I get to see 1st hand what works well and what does not

I apply what I learn to normal garden plants aswell ... so yea, I am proud as I have learned lots and am still learning

I think it's a choice of word thing, your original post read as you were using your clients money to experiment with new ideas without them knowing it was experimental which is clearly unacceptable. However your second post indicates a more team approach where the client is clearly aware of the potential risk of something not working. The fact you get the results of this open trial is totally different to the first scenario and a much better picture

[Bigmallly]

What Alison said.....↑

[mothhawk]

many top chefs in the USA now take a brix meter to markets to check the quality of the vegetables on offer

I prefer a chef who can tell the quality of the produce he buys by look, feel and taste.