Anyone have a recipe for a substitute for Brix Mix? There is lots of stuff marketed to raise brix levels, but I'm having trouble finding anything organic, so I considered making my own...
There may be a lot of things marketed for brix (sugar measurement) but brix in plants is a result of healthy plants. Sweet, carbo this or that, raw sugars, molasses are all sugars and AFAIK none raise brix levels, but they marketed as doing so, along with taste, with zero science behind it. Just make a healthy plant and it will be full of sugars (helpful in photosynthesis). If you don't crap it up with salts, it will taste as well as it's genetics allow it to. The magic is not in a bottle, it's allowing the plant to grow naturally with diverse choices....MIW
[quote name='"MI Wolverine"']There may be a lot of things marketed for brix (sugar measurement) but brix in plants is a result of healthy plants. Sweet, carbo this or that, raw sugars, molasses are all sugars and AFAIK none raise brix levels, but they marketed as doing so, along with taste, with zero science behind it. Just make a healthy plant and it will be full of sugars (helpful in photosynthesis). If you don't crap it up with salts, it will taste as well as it's genetics allow it to. The magic is not in a bottle, it's allowing the plant to grow naturally with diverse choices....MIW[/quote] I've never felt that I needed it, but so many better growers than I swear by these products... (Upon investigating, even Tom Hill swore by Brix mix)..... What really didn't make sense to me is how is there no organic products that I could find claiming to raise Brix.... Since "raising brix" is supposedly benificial to the microbes that exist only in organic soil! Why would someone work so hard to create the perfect "food web" in their organic soil, and then dump something non organic on the plant to feed this cycle??? My head is spinning
Borophyl, you said it all in your first post when you mentioned a lot of stuff marketed for brix. This growing ganja pastime is riddled with misinformation, and forums directed at science like this one, can definitely help. If your ever in doubt about any product's claims ask them directly exactly how their claims work. If they hide behind catch phases, but can not provide any real science, it's simply time to move on. Brix is a good example of that. There is science to show healthy plants have a higher brix reading. But AFAIK there is no science on a magic bullet to raise brix, other than to grow a healthy plant. Photosynthesis will raise brix levels, does sugar help photosynthesis? No, sugars are not taken up by plants, it would be impossible. Will adding sugar help a living soil? Maybe, but it is certainly not needed. Look to real farms, would farmers that depend on their crops for a livelihood spray sugar? Here is another example. What food would be better for our children? Sugar or complex carbohydrates? The meals we use on soil are full of complex carbs, proteins, minerals, elements and so on. The basics of organic growing always seem to stay the same. Make a rich nutritious living soil, give plants lots of light, good water, fresh air and so on. The hydro companies business plan is to market to 14 year old boys, flashy names sexy bottles, pics of crazy big buds. Think about it, we can accept that or act like adults.....MIW
Well thanks for your help MIW, sifting through this stuff looking for gems of knowledge is often overwhelming and all too often some people would rather criticize a lack of knowledge than extend q helping hand... Where about a in MI are you from? My family is originally from New Buffalo (SW) and I visit every year, Lake MI is one of my favorite vacation spots.
Your very welcome. I agree this can get overwhelming, but after a while it all falls into place. I live in NE MI on the shores of lake Huron.....MIW