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Re: [compost_tea] Vegetable quality



> >to confuse the issue - your Intent when you are testing can have a
definite
> >effect on the brix reading you get (not kidding!) - kinda the wrong list
for
> >statements like that eh, but we'll see if anybody's awake.
>
> You better talk about this some more, Lloyd. Your making a
> refractometer sound like a pendelum! -Allan
>
Hi Allan
This should sit quite ok with BD folks (its nothing more complex than us all
praying for your foot) but it might cause some of the CT people to choke on
their lunch
I'll describe what happens then leave you to ponder
 My testing proceedure as follows
1. spray several different test bottle brews (usually four) on a square
meter of crop about 5 meters apart so no crossover effect - always spray in
line with the seeder travel so no distortion due to seeding rate, depth, or
fertiliser quantity (still using a little non acid starter down the tube)
2. 30 to 45 minutes later come back to test results with refractometer
3.  I do one untreated test at one end then test each plot then another
untreated at the other end of the plots, if the untreated readings are not
reasonably consistent with one another I would probably abandon that set and
start again. Hey I'm trying to do this properly you know!
4 . Usually there would be one or sometimes two brews with nicely elevated
brix on the first test, so, ever sceptical,  I got into the habit of going
back to remeasure these - just checking to see that I didnt read the
instrument wrong etc.
5 .  Invariably this retest would be "flat" - brix about inline with the
untreated control plot - and the more I did this the more consistently that
was so - I got the poops with this in the end and still have in my field
notebook where I circled the results and wrote in big angry letters " what
is going on here???" . I rang John Pannan shortly after and described it -
like I have here - his reply, quite bemused was " what did you ring me up
for ? you just answered the question" - this was three years ago and I was
quite anxious about what I was doing - it wouldnt happen now. But I pay
attention to my mental state when I am doing these things and if you hear me
chatting quietly to no one in particular as I do the refractometer tests
dont laugh ! there's a good reason for it.
So thats my bit of madness for the week !. I leave you with the best wishes
of a fellow saggitarian for a speedy recovery of your foot.
Cheers
Lloyd Charles



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