Re: [compost_tea] Vegetable quality

From: ron poitras <ronp_at_acadia.net>
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 2002 20:21:13 -0500

Regarding BRIX and Compost tea applications - time of day and weather condi=
tions when the reading is taken are very important to interpreting the num=
bers. These comments Hugh Lovel made about a year ago on the BD Now site ma=
y help:

"Brix can be very revealing. But it is a bit more complex than just high br=
ix
equals high sugar and good taste with insect and disease resistance."

"Brix is a measure of dissolved solids, not all of which are sugars by any=
 
means. Salts and amino acids enter the picture for starters.

"High brix in the morning generally indicates the plant has not translocate=
d
its sugars to its roots and shed them to the soil overnight, feeding the so=
il
food web.

"This feeding of (mostly micro) organisms in the rhizosphere believe it or =
not,
is highly desirable. If the plant does this it gets the soil food web stoke=
d up
and cranking out highly elaborated nutrients. Probably the most important o=
f
these are complex amino acids. If the plant gets its nitrogen as amino acid=
s
instead of nitrogen salts, the assembly into proteins in the cells becomes =
rich
and full blown as there are no nitrogen salts to interfere. Then one gets
plenty of long chain aminos. That's mostly where the great flavour comes in=
 for
people. But for insects with their more rudimentary digestion they greatly=
 
prefer short chain aminos and can't digest the long chain stuff. So they le=
ave
such plants alone.

"If you have (relatively) high brix in the morning, then this is undesirabl=
e.
Almost surely it means boron deficiency, as the plant would otherwise respo=
nd,
with adequate boron, by translocating its carbon fixings (mostly sugars) to=
 the
roots at night--what Elaine Ingam calls carbon shedding.

"When a plant sheds carbon compounds abundantly, at its roots, it really gr=
ows
like gangbusters. If you can get this going well enough you can grow corn a=
s a
soil improvement crop without fertilizer while getting superior (in every w=
ay)
yields. With a BD program this is nearly a cinch. Horn clay is a must thoug=
h,
as it optimizes the ebb and flow of sap between the root and the growing ti=
p.

"High brix in the afternoon means your plant has been building an abundant=
 
inventory of sugars during its daytime photosynthesis. That's great stuff, =
of
course. But take care to consider what time of day you take your reading.

"Also, sometimes plants will send their sugars to the roots in the afternoo=
n if
the barometer drops enough, anticipating a severe thunderstorm. If you take=
 
your reading just before such an event and get low brix, you have a healthy=
,
with-the-program plant that has adequate boron despite the low reading in t=
he
afternoon.

"So use your refractometers intelligently. They are great tools, and probab=
ly
the quickest way to evaluate low boron (which may be occurring in more than=
 70%
of crops in the US)."

In response to the question, "Does this rhythm, release of dissolve solids=
 
(sugars & amino acids) apply to all families of plants? i.e. do broccoli o=
r
potatoes, say, shed carbon from their roots?"

Hugh replied, "In general I would say yes. Definitely broccoli and potatoes=
 
shed carbon. Different plants shed a different mix. Corn, for example, shed=
s a
clear, jelly-like mix rich in polysaccarides, which are polymer (chain) sug=
ars.
Lettuce, which can be a vigorous carbon shedder, gives off a milky latex.
Buckwheat sheds a mix that really stimulates the microorganisms that make
phosphorous available, while hemp gives off a mix that stimulates those
microbes that make potash available. Potatoes, need plenty of available pot=
ash
but don't give off the rights stuff to make it available in a soil that is =
low
in accessible potash. So potatoes give a much better yield following hemp--=
if
we could only grow it in the US! But from this I guess you'll see some of t=
he
major reasons for crop rotations, cover cropping and the like.

"In general where sugars are being concentrated in fruit the plant is NOT
sending these to the roots. That's only at the end of the growth cycle, and=
 by
then they aren't needed in the root zone anymore anyway."
-----Original Message-----
From: soilfoodweb_at_aol.com <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com <compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, November 27, 2002 7:22 PM
Subject: Re: [compost_tea] Vegetable quality


OK, I have to do a better job of remembering to take the refractometer with=
 me.

Now for a way to test protein levels, or as precursors to protein productio=
n, free amino acids as easily.

But as has been pointed out, if free amino acids get stuck in that form, an=
d don't get moved into protein synthesis, you'll attract pests. So, both K=
apular and Jose can be correct, you have to understand plant physiology. =
 

The question becomes, why are your amino acids getting stuck in that form a=
nd not moving on to protein? You need to be able to tell when too many are=
 not a good thing. Too much protein sitting around doing nothing will kill=
 plants too. Protein has to get moved into structure and function.

In fact, quite soon, as in tomorrow, we'll be doing one of those annual rit=
uals where all the people in the house will be happily vegetating, sitting =
watching a movie or something, too many free amino acids running amok in th=
e digestive system, getting turned into... well, preferably protein and not=
 flab.

I hope all of your loved ones make it to your Thanksgiving Feasts, in thoug=
ht, in memory, in person, or by phone. Enjoy!

Elaine
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com
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Received on Fri Nov 29 2002 - 20:59:17 EST

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