Use The Brix Scale Below
to Measure Vegetable Quality

A brix scale helps you to identify quality food. It measures solids in the sap, which includes sugars AND valuable minerals and trace minerals.

Once you learn how to test brix your fruits and vegetables with a Refractometer, you have the tool you need to see if produce is of inferior, average, good, or excellent quality.

The Importance of Brix Testing

Brix testing is important for a number of reasons. A higher brix means better flavor and better nutrient value. If you grow your own produce, brixing your vegetables and fruits will let you compare your garden produce to what you can buy in the store.

The brix of what you grow is directly related to the health of the soil, so checking the brix of your plants against the brix scale below will give you an idea of how healthy your soil is. Healthier soil means better, more nutritious crops, which means a healthier you.

For guidelines on improving your soil using organic fertilizers, click here.

THE BRIX SCALE

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Brixing at the Produce Stand

Some people actually take their Refractometer to where the produce market. Some items are quite easy to get a sample to brix, like cherries or grapes. For others, you might have to purchase one (like an apple or potato) to brix it.

Using the brix scale as a reference at a Farmer’s Market, you can decide who you want to buy from. This will send a strong message to venders that quality is important to you, and with your Refractometer, you can tell just how good the produce is.

Raising brix readings in your garden

To help raise the brix in my garden, I apply a soil conditioner that contains concentrated sea minerals. The foliar version of this product can produce even higher brix. Brixing measures the solids in the sap, including sugars and minerals, and sea minerals are the best way I know to increase the amount of trace minerals.

Another great way to raise brix levels long-term in your garden is to restore complete balance to the soil food web. MyCorrPlus is the perfect way to do this.

Conclusion

I hope that the above brix scale will help you in evaluating the quality of vegetables and fruit. If you are interested in gardening, make sure and visit my home page, Healthy Vegetable Gardening. If you want to find locally grown organic food, click here.

(Return from Brix Scale to Organic Vegetable Garden)

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