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Originally Posted by COMPOSTER
I started Brix testing last year. I have been working to mineralize my soil to produce more nutrient dense produce for several years. I have been amending with seed meal based fertilizers, chicken manure, lime and my own compost for about 8 years. I started adding basalt dust about 5 years ago. I am up to about 1lb per sq ft of basalt dust during that time.
I just started reading more articles and books from the likes of Carey Reams , Jon Frank , Arden Andersen and William Albrecht lately and decide it was time to get a refractometer and see how I was doing.
Although I was cautioned by a Jon Frank article not to expect to much, I was somewhat dissapointed in my overall results. I had some results that were close to good but most readings tested just above poor to average.
Glenn
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Don't give up! I haven't achieved anything better than average on the brix scale, but I grew some broccoli last year that was so... sweet, and had a sweet broccoli smell while steaming it. It was unbelievably great tasting. The overall health of my garden has also improved considerably. I haven't done a soil test lately, but I know that I'm closing in on the right balance. At least I hope so.
The hardest part for me is getting the available calcium up to where it should be compared to the rest.
I know there is plenty of mineral in the soil, now my focus has been to get the soil biology to digest it.
Thanks for the response Glenn and let me know if I can help in any way!