Instructions
How to use this information
The information below is used to determine what the Brix level of your plant is. You use a refractomer.
this is a analog refractometer
A refractometer is a tool you can use to measure how healthy are your plants. Often used to measure the dissolved sucrose in a liquid; gives you the Brix reading. A refractometer was invented by a cook ( Ernst Abbe: Invented the first refractometer, and many other devices) who wanted to know how sweet his fruit was such as an apple. Gardeners soon found out that you cn not only measure the "sugar" levels of wine and beer (it is used mainly for beer or wine making) but also fruit, vegetables, lawns, flowers, but you can also measure the plants levels of minerals, carbohydrates.
For gardeners a refractometer will tell you if your plant has watery cells. Watery cells means the plant is very low in the sugars it needs to function.
You want your plants to have lots of dissolved solids like sugar.
Usig a refractometer on a regular bases to keep track of your plants health over a period of time, will help you to determine problems before they crop up as well as you can tell if what you are doing is working or not.
If you test your tomato plants with a refractometer and you notice a declining Brix reading then you can correct it by either foliar applications or soil applications to raise it, before it translates into a serious problem.
This is a digital refractometer --Note the drop
The Charts below provide you guidance in detemining the health of your plants.
Here is more Brix and Refractomer info
Brix see Low Brix Alert
A plant with a high Brix reading means a few things to me:
1. The higher the Brix the higher the carbohydrates
2. The higher the Brix the higher the minerals.
3. The higher the Brix the higher disolved solids.
4. The higher the Brix the less the pests
5. The higher the Brix the less diseases it will have.
Brix Charts
Poor Average Good Excellent
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