So supersoil users, who is using brix readings ?

Recently a freind of mine asked me what my brix levels were for my holy grails....i was stumped.....completely ignorant to brix, what is was ,or how it was even relevant to my grow. After a day or so of reasearch i have come to the general understanding that your brix reading is simply the level of sugars and minerals your plant is uptaking(please correct me if i am wrong). From the grows and articles i have read, higher brix readings mean happier plants.I understand to read your brix level you need a refractometer that reads in brix, and then you squeeze a leaf untill you get a couple drops of juice on the refractometers slide close it shut and measure.


So after my reasearch i still have a few questions.
1. do your brix readings vary through the plants life? I mean if i take a leaf at day 20 and day 100 is the plant going to have a similar brix reading, or does it increase with time?
2. If more is better what should be a general brix reading for a healthy plant 5,15,30 ...etc ?
3. has anyone done readings on supersoil plants versus the other mixes out there? how did it match up
4. Does brix vary by genetic potential, or can i expect to see similar readings from a ten pack?
Sorry if this is rambling or if im not even close to fully grasping the concept,i just figured its another way to monitor my plants health and find the best keepers in my packs


heres a link http://highbrixhome.com/what-is-brix.html

great questions I am very curious to know the answers. From what I have heard, if you score 15 brix with your vegetables you are a King and I think anything over 10 you are also a King hehe. I think the brix increased during the plants life, but I thought it was measured using the fruit and not a leaf. What do I know. .. great post!

Interesting, I've heard this term, just never looked into it, only one way too know if it really works right? Intensive testing on plants grown in diffrent environments, and of course mad data. Would be nice to see if anyone ever used one of these?

I am sure someone has done it, it would be a great way to compare soil recipes

[URL="http://www.themarijuanaforum.com/forum/member.php?u=5484" said:

MTheory[/URL] from another forum;8438440]From what I've discovered, the Brix refractometer has been a long-time valuble tool to help diagose general health of a huge variety of plants. perhaps a Brix reading is like taking your temperature. A fever indicates a problem but more investigation is required. There seem to be no really tested values for mj, but there are tables put out periodically under stock commodies about the specific and realtime brix values of sellable veggies and fruits. This list includes plants from pinapple juice to kale ang garlic, and includes individual values placed in different quality groups. In general, the higher the value, the healthier the plant. A value of 12 for mj is healthy, and under 10 means action should be required. (But these values are, I believe, general plant values and could be fine tuned when specific research begins coming in.. From my understanding, the Brix is nothing more than dissolved solids such as sugars, minerals, hormones, and other beneficial stuff.
I would think that the Brix instrument calibration should be the most important step. Measuring the plant daily under the same conditions (time of day, temperature, when last watered/ferted, lighting) should be critical to eliminate as many variables as possible. THis should include ph as well. Two plants (clones hopefully) should be considered - one should have regular brix measurements and steps taken to improve Brix. The second plant should be grown under 'ordinary' practices, Good documentation, and a conclusion with data would help build a database of how to apply a Brix on mj and how high the brix reading can get and how to achieve that value.
Some of the info I've come across conflicts, but some is interesting: One person claimed high Brix value in the morning strongly indicates a lack of Boron? Another person recommended foliar feeding with a Brix reading immediately before, then 1/2 to 1 hour afterward. The value should increase?? This would be another good test, and it potentially would eliminate the 1 week delay in seeing and correcting problems as another member here expressed. One thing I DID hear more then once is the resistance to pests greatly increases with a high Brix reading. For mj we don't know the specific value??????

High Brix to you

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[HR][/HR]resistance to pests greatly increases with a high brix reading

down the rabbit hole...... haha

Maybe your onto something big in the cannabis community. Might be a great tool if it can accurately measure a plants overall health.

"dude....my brix reading is way off...can anyone help???"

Could potentially be really helpful I guess. Especially if people really get good at knowing what low and high readings usually mean, kinda like ph where if your number is climbing, it could mean pythium etc...

I think this is the same method they use to test grapes for wine, so I think you would have to test the bud not the leaf

I just starting testing my brix my last plant was at 11. Anything over 12 is supposed to be disease and pest resistant. I have seen readings up to 22 on another forum where they have been doing high brix gardening. The higher your brix is in the plant the healthier it is and the more likely it will reach its genetic potential. Also you will have tastier bud and a high brix bud will weigh more then a low brix bud of the same size. High brix gardening is a lot about having heavily mineralized soil and foliar feeding. Another thing that is great about brix reading is when you go to use a new product test the brix the day before and the day after if the brix goes up you know the product is helping if the brix goes down you know to discontinue use. Also you want to test your brix at about the same time each time like 2 hours after lights come on because your brix will change a little bit during the day. You can test either a new healthy leaf or a bud, the bud will have higher brix but not by much so most just test the leaves because who wants to cut off a nice bud. High brix gardening has been around for a while but it has not been introduced into marijuana growing until recently. I am just starting to convert my garden over to high brix so most of what I know is from what I have read but I can tell you that my healthiest plants always have a higher brix and I believe it to be the wave of the future for true connoisseur growers.

Here are a few high brix grows on another site
http://www.420magazine.com/forums/journals-progress/176453-icemuds-grow-4-0-high-brix-focus-gas-lamp-routine-v-scrog.html
http://www.420magazine.com/forums/journals-progress/174878-doc-bud-true-high-brix.html
http://www.420magazine.com/forums/journals-progress/180063-cursos-true-high-brix-featuring-docbuds-true-high-brix-kit.html

If anybody starts taking brix tests and converts their grow to high brix and does a journal please post a link here so the people who are interested can follow.
BTW super soil is too heavy on nutrients in my opinion to do high brix gardening.

Robear said:

So after my research i still have a few questions.
1. do your brix readings vary through the plants life? I mean if i take a leaf at day 20 and day 100 is the plant going to have a similar brix reading, or does it increase with time?
2. If more is better what should be a general brix reading for a healthy plant 5,15,30 ...etc ?
3. has anyone done readings on supersoil plants versus the other mixes out there? how did it match up
4. Does brix vary by genetic potential, or can i expect to see similar readings from a ten pack?
Sorry if this is rambling or if im not even close to fully grasping the concept,i just figured its another way to monitor my plants health and find the best keepers in my packs

Click to expand...

1. Yes brix readings do increase through a plants life if it is healthy. At some point though I would imagine it has reached its peak.
2. Really anything over 8 is considered good anything over 12 is considered great and 18+ is superior to what most people have smoked. I would bet that the majority of the best pot out there is between the 8-14
3. I have not done readings on super soil but having done a bunch of research I can pretty much tell you that super soil is too hot.
4. I do not know if you will get different reading from different seeds from the same mother but I think there is a high possibility. I do know that different strains will have higher and lower brix just from my own experiences.

Hope this answered some of your questions.

Here is a link to the brix meter you need to test your brix.
http://www.amazon.com/Refractometer-RF15-Automatic-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B003H7ILCW/

Also just google high brix gardening if you want to know more info on it.

so i was stoned at the hydro store the other day and ive been eyeing the milwakee brix tester and ended up buying it for $80. its been on his shelf forever and he wanted rid of it.
I tried to take a reading but I cant get enough juice out of a leaf to test it.

so how are you actually getting juice? I took a whole fan leaf and smashed it in my fingers trying to get enough juice to drip out onto the eye. nothing.

So I put the machine on the shelf where its been sitting for a few months. Stumbled on this thread and wondered how you guys are getting enough juice?

another great plus of brix reading is checking the effectiveness of your fertigations and foliars. if your brix increases after you foliar then continue. if your brix drops then you know you need to change something.

They have special press for it. You can also use a garlic press or a mortar and pestle or a couple of flat pieces of metal in between a vice grip. Just roll up a newer leaf in to a ball and squeeze with the press you only need a drop or 2.

I use 2 big spoons and a pair of vice grips, roll up a big leaf or a few smaller ones and squish it between the spoons with the vice grips.. I'd like to try a hand lever press like the kind used for capping beer bottles..

after testing the brix I will dab a piece of pH 5.5-8.0 litmus paper onto the sap on the refractometer to test the sap pH

ah great idea. ill try that.