Do you remember the Stanford report that found that organic produce was no healthier than standard produce in terms of nutrition? Well, that made me wonder if there was a way to test the vegetables from my own garden for nutrient density.
Nutrient Measuring Equipment
Testing for nutritional values requires expensive, sophisticated equipment, but I stumbled upon a simple, reliable way to measure brix – and high brix generally means high nutrition. Brix, or technically ‘degrees brix’ is measured with a refractometer, a hand held optical instrument that bends light as it passes through a liquid.
How to Test Nutritional Value of Food at Home
As I understand it, the correlation between high brix numbers and nutrient density is generally quite strong. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, “Brix measures a combination of sugar, amino acids, oils, proteins, flavonoids, minerals and other goodies.”
Being the awesome guy he is, my husband gave me a refractometer for my birthday recently. It’s extremely easy to use. Two drops of juice from a fruit or vegetable is all that is needed to test for brix.
The liquid is spread on the refractometer’s lens; you look through it towards a light source and read the scale to get the brix number. The leaves of garden plants may also be tested. An easy way to extract the juice is by using a garlic press. Brix charts are available which help you to determine if the number you come up with indicates poor, average, or excellent quality of the produce you are testing.
High brix gardeners recommend a weak acid soil test and a microbial test. The lab that tests the soil will then recommend amendments and possibly microbial inoculation. Weekly foliar feeding is also a part of the regimen. I am not against this protocol, per say, but I know that the average gardener can neither afford, nor has the time for this. I’m hoping to learn alternative ways to achieve high brix so that I can recommend this to those I work with as a Master Gardener.
Gardening for Nutrient Density
Gardening for me, has grown from hand-digging to no-dig lasagna gardening. We are now moving into wood-chip gardening, a la Back to Eden gardening. Both lasagna gardening and wood-chip gardening are forms of sheet composting, and both would be considered Back to Eden gardening.
In one part of the Back to Eden film, visitors to Paul Gautschi’s garden are picking produce and eating it. Everything about their reactions say “high brix” to me. The produce is heavy, juicy, and delicious. Although our garden is not yet what Paul Gautschi’s is, I am anxious to test the produce grown in our wood chips to get the brix count.
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Soil is Mineral Deficient
One of the reasons that produce today is tasteless is because our soils are often mineral deficient. Generally, the amendments recommended by high-brix gardeners are minerals. Another avenue I am pursuing in order to achieve a lower cost way to high brix is using plants in the garden which are mineral accumulators.
Comfrey, for example, has long roots which bring minerals from deep in the soil up into its leaves. Its leaves are then used as fertilizer to re-mineralize the soil. This is fairly new to me, and I may be over simplifying it, but my nose will be in the books this winter so that I can learn more.
Can you tell that gardening excites me? There is always something to learn and the rewards are so delicious! Do any of you have experience with high brix gardening? Do you use a refractometer? The one I received for my birthday seems very high quality; according to Amazon, it cost around $100. I see them available for as little as $30. Have you used a less expensive brand? Has it worked well for you?
To learn how to build a garden that builds healthy soil, be sure to check out my eBook The Art of Gardening: Building Your Soil. You really can become a better gardener, and you really can grow healthy, nourishing produce. It’s all about the soil! Click here to buy now.
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Deborah Hamby says
Well, I’m sorry I can’t tell you all about MY refractometer, but I really enjoyed learning about yours! Thank you, once again, for the information and inspiration. You are full of both!
Rachel @ day2dayjoys says
How interesting! I’ve never heard of a refratometer, seems like a very helpful device!
Susan says
My hope is to learn enough that I can make recommendations so that YOU won’t need one!
Kristel from Healthy Frugalista says
That’s very interesting about the comfrey. I’m looking forward to learning more when share what you find out about other high mineral plants.
The only time I’ve heard of measuring brix was in a Junior Master Gardening class that I made my daughter take. A father who was also sitting in on the class, mentioned that he measures brix. He added some type of mineral to his gardens. I think it was gypsum. After reading your post I’m wondering if he was trying to raise the brix level.
Susan says
Hi Kristel, it sounds to me like that’s exactly what that father was trying to do. I post as I learn more.
Thomas N Quasney says
Gypsum is one of the earliest forms of fertilizer used in the United States. It has been applied to agricultural soils for more than 250 years. Gypsum is a moderately soluble source of the essential plant nutrients, calcium and sulfur, and can improve overall plant growth.
Danielle @ More Than Four Walls says
Wow. I never knew such a tool existed! Very interesting. When we get back to gardening (probably not till 2014) I may need to invest in one!
Susan says
Or just keep reading my blog posts! 😉
Jill's Home Remedies says
Would love to have one of these!!
Jill's Home Remedies says
And I shared this! 🙂
Susan says
Thanks, Jill!!
yourthrivingfamily says
I read about that report. It was done on produce in the same soil – but more organic produce would be grown in nutrient dense soil, tended to much more than the lacking soil used. I’m sticking with organic when we can afford it or stuff from the farmer’s market!
Susan says
I completely agree with sticking with organic, although many of the large, organic farms are just using organic fertilizer and not building soil. They are pesticide free, but not nutrient dense. I tested an organic tomato w/ the refractometer and it had a brix reading of 4 – very poor quality. It was likely picked green and was definitely shipped from a distance – the same problems associated w/ standard farming.
Dan says
Sadly, “organic” is not always organic. I know first hand that an organic farm can go to their “organic certifier” and get an exemption, of they are at risk of loosing a crop to pests, and apply CONVENTIONAL PESTICIDES to their labeled “organic” produce. It’s become a money making catch phrase in many instances – not all – but many. As you said, buy local, establish relationships with local farmers, neighbors, friends and family. Show them your refractometer – bring a low Brix and high Brix apple, carrot, strawberry, etc. We all have built in refractometers – our own taste buds. Research what to look for in buying higher quality foods – ie. box shaped pears, thin rind citrus, heavy produce, grains and seeds, etc. Keep asking questions, especially “why” is all this necessary in a nation “of the people, by the people, for the people”. Shouldn’t ALL farmers be taught about building quality soil for more nutritious foods, that taste better, store longer, naturally resist pests and disease, and are more mineral dense?
You may want to review the research of:
Dr. Carey Reams
Dr. Walter Veith
Jeffery M. Smith
Kresha @ Nourishing Joy says
Ha! Now I know what to ask for for my next birthday. This is fantastic! Who would have thought? And you make such a good point about the quality of the soil – sometimes I think that as gardeners, we could see ourselves as “stewards of the soil” even more than “stewards of the plants.”
Thanks so much for sharing this in this week’s Thank Goodness It’s Monday carnival. I’ve pinned it on our “Thank Goodness It’s Monday” Pinterest page, too. 🙂
Blessings!
Kresha from NourishingJoy.com
Susan says
Kresha, when I teach gardening workshops, I always ask people what the first thing they think of when they think of gardening, and the response is always “the harvest”. By the time we are done, they change their answer to “the soil”.
Laura @ Stealthy Mom says
I want one!!!!! In a former life (before kids) I was a lab tech. I gotta say that little gadget is not your grandmother’s refractometer! Thank you for sharing.
Susan says
Hi Laura! Yeah, it’s definitely not a necessity, but sure is fun!
indio says
I’ve been using a refractometer and testing for Brix annually since 2010. When I come across a seed that produces a plant with high Brix, I make sure I save it for the following year. I also use a foliar kelp spray on my veg and supplement with worm casting manure tea. While this is a lot of work, my plants are very hardy, blight resistant and tasty. Year over year, I have fewer weeds in my raised beds too. I think/hope it’s going to take another 2 years before I have the soil “balanced” for Brix.
Susan says
Indio, which refractometer do you have?
Jamil @ High Brix Nutrient Dense Foods says
Hi, it is great to see people going beyond organic/grass fed and looking to improve the health through superior nutrition. Mineral depleted real food is a major problem that has been ignored.
I would say many people have taken brix out of context. People who serve as standard setters in the nutrient dense farming community, including myself and Dan Kittredge, http://bionutrient.org/, remain skeptical of solely relying on brix by itself as a measure of nutrient density. Hence, Dan has been working on a creating photospectrometer, which will be more reliable than a brix meter. “We are engaged in original research to identify relative disparities in nutritive levels in crops. There are numerous means to accomplish this objective, namely flavor, brix, odor, tissue testing, near infrared spectroscopy, raman spectroscopy, and x-ray fluorescence”
Although brix is very important, it cannot be used by itself. If a crop is grown using high brix nutrient dense farming principles, stores significantly better or does not rot, has a measurably higher specific gravity, has close to neutral plant sap pH, and exhibits various characteristics of good plant health on the field, then, yes, it is almost certain it will have substantially higher vitamin and mineral content. Brix also will not tell you if a crop is iodine deficient, or lacking any other trace element. I run lab tests of mineral content of different minerals to make sure the minerals are there.
I am skeptical because I have seen farmers do nutrient dense farming get high brix food that rots and does not taste better than the average organic fare.
Reams never mentioned brix as a sole indicator of nutrient density. Rather, he used many tools to measure the end results, including the above plus soil tests, electrical conductivity meter to measure the ERGS (Energy Released per Gram of Soil). He used brix along with 5 other tests in RBTI as applied to human health, after scrapping other tests that showed redundancy.
I recommend testing for the specific gravity of a food and shelf life as simple and inexpensive ways to test the overall nutrition in addition to brix. Specific gravity= weight of food/volume.
You get the volume by placing the food tested in several cups of water into a large measuring cup and measuring how much the water increases when you put the food into the measuring cup. Suppose 1 orange weighs 1/4 lb. Put orange into 2 cups of water in measuring cup and water level goes to 3 cups when you put orange in. Volume=3-2=1. Specific gravity=1/4/1=1/4. Specific gravity is another way to measure density.
Susan says
Thank you for the great information; I’m as hungry for good info as I am for good food!
Charlie Downs says
Heres a site that has many 0-32 Brix Refractometers for sale.
Check out http://www.RHB-32ATC.com as well!
Happy brixing!
Charlie says
I heard that the brix meter was the way to go. I also agree that soil health above all else
is the most important thing . I was born post WWII in a mill town in New England surrounded by first and second generation immigrants. You very rarely saw lawns. Most of the earth was covered in vegetable gardens circled by a narrow band of flowers. I’m 63 and I plan on getting a plot somewhere and I will begin by nourishing and re-establishing the soil. We can’t wait for the markets or the government to do something. We’re undernourished as it is. Maybe starting to teach our children in our schools proper nutrition might be a good idea.
Huey Reed says
A good story about brix. I own an organic supply company in Florida. We do not offer supplies in packaging for the home gardener. I was actually researching a new refractometer and ran across your article. Although a high brix is a good indicator of nutrition. Getting your brix levels up has many benefits for your plants as well. If your plants have a high brix content the plant itself is healthy, low brix indicates an unhealthy plant. Unhealthy plants are prone to all sorts of plant pathogens and pest problems. In 2010 one of our growers in NC had the brix reading in his wheat at 14% which is very high. His neighbors field was a typical conventionally grown wheat crop. We have no data on the brix readings in the neighbors field. What happened between the two growers during this particular season was astonishing? They experienced a grasshopper invasion, a devastating invasion. The neighbors crop was a total 100% loss. The field with the high brix was untouched by the grasshoppers. Insects will not invade a healthy crop which is high in brix. It’s just too sweet for their taste. A high brix is very important and it makes gardening much easier if you track the brix throughout the season. Taking leaf readings every 2-3 weeks is a practice everyone should employ. Great article! Here is an article that will help you understand brix. http://www.biobased.us/tech1.html – The refractometer you suggest in your article will work as well as the one described on this page and for far less money. There are no links in the article to order from Australia. This is not my website, and you can copy and paste the article if you prefer. – Good luck with your garden!
Susan Vinskofski says
Thanks for stopping by and for the great info, Huey!
Andrea says
These brix refractometers measure only sugar content, not any other content. Therefore they do not measure nutrient density. To measure nutrient density you would need an instrument that can also measure vitamin content, mineral content, protein content, fat content, etc.
CP says
Andrea, that is not correct. Brix measures *all* dissolved nutrients in a juice. Much of that is sugar, but a large part is also minerals and protein. Jamil is correct in that brix is not the final say in nutrient levels. But it can be a useful easy tool for a home gardener.
James Duggan says
Hello,
Another important factor you might look into for plant health, nutrition, soil health etc , not to mention human health is the use of structured water. A good site to go to is Victoria White’s in Arizona, http://structuredwaterandair.com/. Look at her gallery page where she shows the amazing results she gets growing in the desert using structured water and whatever else she uses to build the soil.
Danna says
According to new research, rising carbon-dioxide levels may be increasing the sugar content of plants while diluting other minerals and micronutrients.
So, measuring sugar is probably not the best way to determine nutrient value:
http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/09/13/food-nutrients-carbon-dioxide-000511?lo=ap_a1
Richard Higgins says
Hi,
07983439171
Is it possible to speak on the phone, we have a system that remineralises soil and also adds vitamins and proteins that automatically go back into your food crops.
Richard
Drina says
Thank you Susan! Very interesting article and tip. I am going to forward this to several health care practitioners who can pass the info on to many! (And who will also see your website!) One little tip: The colors *are* the antioxidants. So if a carrot is deeply orange, kale is vividly dark green, etc then you know you have high quality produce. Still, it does not hurt to do a brix test, I am sure! I am going to get one of those and thank you for the tip! All best wishes! Drina
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you for your input, Drina!