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18 | February 15, 2017 | Malibu surfside news Sound Off
malibusurfsidenews.com
Don’t Panic, It’s Organic
Brix: What is it, and why is it important?
Andy Lopez
Contributing Columnist
Invisible Gardener
Relative density
scale indicates the
percent of sucrose
by weight (grams per 100
milliliters of water) in a
solution or juice of a plant
measured in degrees Brix.
A refractometer is used
for measuring solids dissolved
in water; it corresponds
directly to the
refractive index scale. A
refractometer allows you
to accurately measure the
percentage of sugar or Brix
in any liquid with just two
or three drops.
A refractometer is a
“must have” for anyone
growing their own food.
For most vegetables, flowers,
etc, a good Brix level
to maintain is 18 or higher.
You can use a refractometer
to measure the health
of all plants, vegetables,
flowers, trees and lawn.
The higher the Brix, the
healthier, disease and pest
free is the plant, and the
higher nutritional value the
plant will have.
A low Brix means that
your crop will not grow to
its potential due to some
external limiting factor.
This happens when you
get a low Brix reading in
one part of the plant and
a higher Brix reading in
another part.
A refractometer will also
tell you if your plant has
watery cells. Watery cells
indicate that the plant is
very low in the sugars it
needs to function. You want
your plants to have lots of
dissolved solids like sugar.
Using a refractometer to
keep track of your plants’
health over time will help
you determine problems
before they crop up, as you
can tell if what you are doing
is working or not.
Healthy plants will have
a very high Brix reading.
Brix levels are important to
know if you want to detect
problems early.
It has taken me over
55 years to understand
that low Brix levels usually
mean trouble for your
plants. Living in such
a wonderful year-round climate,
one can see from my
location that I have developed
into a specific niche,
and within that niche grow
only specific plant varieties
and have done so forever.
In Malibu, we do not have
to worry about snow, and
our plants show it.
A good gardener can tell
if a plant is getting all its
minerals or not by how the
plant looks, but sometimes
it is helpful to have a tool
to guide you.
Digital models usually
cost more and are harder
to use; however, they are
worth it once you get good
at using it. You can expect
the cost to range from $50-
$200. If you buy one that
is too cheap, don’t expect
it to last. I’d buy an analog
refractometer around the
$100 mark.
Refractometers and
charts are also available
from: Pike Agri-Lab Supplies
Inc., RR2, Box 710,
Strong, ME 04983; and Rex
Harrill, PO Box 6, Keedysville,
MD 21756.
Once you obtain your refractometer,
here’s how to
get a reading. First, get the
juice from either the fruit,
the leaf, or whatever part
you want to read. You can
also use it for carrots and
other below-ground crops.
This can be done by
placing a small amount of
the juice onto the glass and
then looking through the
eyepiece to read the Brix
level. The Brix level is
the point (line) where the
dark part on top meets the
white solid bottom. Where
the two meet, you read the
Brix number next to it.
That’s it!
Any questions? Email me at
andylopez@invisiblegardener.
com.
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