How to Identify NUTRIENT-DENSE Produce - BRIX it!

It seems a long way off to picking vine-ripened, scrumptious, tasty tomatoes, but now is the time to prepare for that event. The taste that you are after is very much dependent on getting the soil organic matter, microbial populations, and all the minerals in the proper amounts and ratios. When you get all the numbers “right,” the result will be tomatoes that are tasty and NUTRIENT DENSE.

A nutrient density index can be measured with a refractometer. It measures the sugar/mineral content in units called “BRIX.” It’s an easy process that involves extracting a few drops of plant juice, from either the leaves or the fruit. When BRIX levels are high, the minerals are abundant, taste is superb, shelf life is extended, insect and disease problems are greatly reduced, and the plants are more winter hardy.

This issue of nutritional quality of produce is not a new concern. USDA alerted the public to the declining quality of produce in 1936. (This is not a typo). It made the news and was actually read into Senate Document 264.

If this subject is new to you, you can get additional information by checking out “high brix gardens,” or www.nutrient-dense.info. In the future, we are likely to see produce marketed on the basis of the BRIX readings. That will benefit the consumer.

The first North American Conference on Nutrient-Dense produce will take place in Wisconsin, Nov

7-8, 2010. High BRIX production goes beyond standard organics. Research has been done, and many farmers and gardeners are on board.

You cannot assume that your produce will have a high brix reading, just because it looks good. Only by doing a BRIX test (or other expensive type of nutrient analysis) will you know the nutrient density value for your produce. Here is an example with green beans of why the nutrient density issue is so critical. It was reported in June, 2007 Acres U.S.A. magazine by Jon Frank.

Rating Sample #1 Sample #2

Brix Rating 4.2 6.1

Dry Matter 8.1% 16.6%

Protein 1.75 g 3.34 g

Calcium 70mg 130 mg

Magnesium 30mg 50mg

Phosphorus 40mg 80 mg

Potassium 190mg 580mg

Copper 0.1 mg 0.4 mg

Iron 1.3 mg 2.1 mg

Zinc 0.7 mg 2.3 mg

Manganese 0.29 mg 0.35 mg

The data speak for themselves. By going from BRIX readings of 4 to 6, dry weight, protein content, and nutrient density essentially doubled. I have tested many vegetables from stores and gardens in the area and many are in the 4 (poor) range. I know from my own garden that by moving up to the 8 and 12 range (Good) the vegetables taste is noticeably improved.

What you do now will determine the taste of that summer tomato. It starts by getting a soil test, and adding appropriate amendments.

Parachutes, Dots, and Biodynamic Gardening

To New Master Gardeners: The 50 previous articles I have written for Garden Thyme cover a wide array of organic gardening topics and are posted on my website www.harmonygardens.blogspot.com If growing your own vegetables and organic gardening interests you, see me for details. I cover a lot of material in the 8-hour course that I teach on organic gardening. For more information, send me an email.

This year I will delve more deeply into topics that I have previously covered. Whatever the topic, I will try to be clear and straight forward. Here are some topics on my list for 2010: the soil food web, mycorrhizae and glomalin, humus and humic acid, diatomaceous earth, soil cation exchange capacity, and soil energy. Stay tuned.

Parachutes and Dots: “The mind is like a parachute. It only works when it is open.” It is easy to pass this saying off as applying to someone other than ourselves. To keep an open and stretched mind, I often look into unfamiliar topics. New knowledge on unfamiliar subjects can help to broaden provide a different perspective. It can also serve to help “connect the dots” on familiar topics. An appropriate topic in this mind-stretching vein is that of Biodynamic Gardening.

Biodynamic Gardening (BG): One common question is, “how does BG differ from organic gardening?” If we think of the original gardening practices, we could call them all “organic.” There were no refined chemicals, pesticides and GMOs. For eons the “organic” practices were the “conventional” practices.

The current, so called “conventional” practices (of the past 75 years), are really in their infancy and we are now seeing many changes away from them. Some say that the conventional gardening/farming of the past 75 years, with emphasis on use of refined chemicals, will go down in history as a short-term fad.

Despite the facts of the long term history in organics, today’s short-term orientation puts “organic gardening” as beginning in the 1940s with Rodale and others. It has never been considered a well-defined, single, procedural practice. It’s holistic and complex. It followed some of the practices of BG. Rudolf Steiner, considered the official originator of BG, gave his first lectures on the topic as early as 1912. In 1924, a group of farmers and others concerned with the depletion of soils, and deterioration in crops and livestock, asked Steiner what might be done. His 8 lectures, often called the Agriculture Course, addressed the uniquely healing, ecological, and spiritual approach to sustainable care of the earth.

BG centers on the garden or farm as a self-contained organism, embedded in the living landscape of the Earth, which itself is embedded in the energies of the cosmos. The BG practices embody integrating plants and animals, recycling nutrients, and working with the stars and seasons, as well as spiritual realities. The central core practices involve nine “homeopathic” preparations to enhance soil quality and stimulate plant life. Another mainstay in the program is the use of the Cosmic calendar, i.e. planting by the signs. I like the one called Stella*Natura, published by Kimberton Hills. Whether you use these techniques or not, you might just find them worthy of study. It might just help you in keeping your parachute open. Think of it as exercise – stretches for the mind.

Agriculture-Nutrition History

Calvin F.Bey CFBey1936@cox.net

 

Agriculture history goes back thousands of years to the time when the hunter-gatherer people began planting seeds and tending their crops. Although archeologists can trace some of the early agriculture history through seeds, it is the written material of the past 100-200 years that gets most of our attention. So what are the standout agriculture "discoveries" of the past 100 years? History books list machines, genetics, fertilizers, pesticides, and some cultural techniques. No doubt there have been some revolutionary changes, but, unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the integration of basic concepts into holistic systems. What has happened along these lines?

We might begin by asking, "What do Drs. William A. Albrecht, Royal Lee, Cary Reams, Weston A. Price, and Sir Albert Howard have in common?" These were holistic scientists, working in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, establishing the relationships between soils, farming practices, and consumer health. They answered many questions of their day, and in "alternative agriculture" circles today, their approaches and conclusions have great value. If you sum up their contributions in one diagram, it is the following:

Healthy Soils Healthy

Plants Healthy Produce (High

Brix) Healthy Consumers

Dr. William A. Albrecht, a distinguished and well respected soil scientist, worked at the University of Missouri. He wrote volumes of papers, including a major summary on organic matter and nitrogen for the 1938 Yearbook of Agriculture. His studies showed that farming with corn, wheat and oats, (without the addition of manure) drastically reduced the soil organic matter. He showed how nitrogen became depleted, how it related to other minerals, and how it could be maintained and restored. His studies also included how mineral depleted soils adversely affected the plants and health of the animals that ate them.

In a similar vein, many other scientists did essentially the same thing -- showed the relationship of the soil to the health of the plants and the consumers. While this is not a foreign concept, it is rarely the emphasis in commercial agriculture today.

So if this information was so valuable, why was it not incorporated into best-management practices? Unfortunately, the answer lies in the fact that promotion of new products (commercial fertilizers and pesticides) actually pushed out the holistic concepts. In some cases, as with Albrecht, holistic scientists were criticized, demoted, and told to curtail their research. Chemical companies grabbed control of the commercial agriculture industry.

My point in this article is that much of the older research is as valid today as when it was published. Ignoring much of it for generations has not been in the best interest of consumers' health. At the root of fixing health care problems today is the remineralization of our soils. It seems to be a difficult lesson for us to learn. I wonder why. Maybe some reflection on and study of agriculture history would be useful.

Biochar - What is it all about?

Biochar is a fine-grained highly porous charcoal. It can be made from any organic material high in carbon, like wood, switch grass, or many others. It is produced by pyrolysis or gasification, essentially baking biomass in the absence of oxygen. Indigenous people often make charcoal by burning wood covered with a layer of soil.

Some time ago I read in National Geographic a very interesting story about the rich black, man-made soils that were discovered in Amazon Basin in Brazil. These 6-foot deep soils were called Terra Preta, meaning "dark earth" in Portuguese. They were unusual in that after several thousand years of heavy rainfall and continuous forest production, the soils were still deep, rich and productive. These soils were in sharp contrast to the soils on adjacent lands where the natural soils were acidic and depleted of minerals. That story left me with a one big question, "How could we recreate soils like that?"

For those keeping up with new agriculture developments, you know that the question has been addressed and the current interest in biochar is high. Although relatively few scientists are addressing associated issues, an international conference is planned for November. Interest has been prompted by those wanting to use biochar to increase soil productivity, and those looking for a way to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the air.

Those studying the original Terra Preta soils believe the indigenous people actually made low-temperature charcoal and added it to the soil. The carbon in biochar resists degradation and thus stays in the soil for centuries. As a rule we think of charcoal coming from wood. In reality, it can come from anything high in carbon, even chicken litter. That is why Tyson is interested in making biochar.

A series of early experiments have demonstrated that biochar does great things for the soil. It provides some nutrients, reduces leaching of nutrients, improves water holding capacity, increases microbial activity, moderates soil acidity, stimulates nitrogen fixation, and in the process increases plant growth. One article talks about it being effective to remove contaminants (heavy metals, pesticides, oil, etc) from the soil. Another dimension, which has not been addressed, is the fact that burned material has an increased paramagnetic value. Because of this, the soil microbes and the plants benefit from increased magnetic energy.

Like variability in compost quality that I wrote about last month, all biochar is not alike. The quality depends on the processes used in manufacture.

In short, I am excited to hear what is happening on this topic. It may or may not turn out to be practical. I have joined an International Biochar study group to keep posted on the subject. I will be looking for a supply of biochar and doing some testing and demonstrations. As this all develops, stay tuned. If you have extensive knowledge about the topic, outside contacts, and /or a keen interest, let me know.

Compost Evaluation and Winter Worms

The Washington County Fair is mentioned elsewhere in this issue, so I won't dwell on it here. It was fun to work with many Master Gardeners, and to meet folks bringing in vegetables. Above all else, the real highlight of the Fair was to see the delight of 5-year old Oliver, who had entered a sunflower seed head. He proudly told me how he had planted it, watered it, and now it had won a ribbon. The color of the ribbon was not important. The beaming smile on his face was proof positive that the fair was a rewarding experience for him. That genuine sense of awe that comes from a youngster partnering with Nature and following through is what I will long remember about this year's Fair.

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Compost Quality—All compost is not alike! Even though it is all derived from organic material, it can be very different in quality. Quality of compost is determined by what goes into the pile and the process itself. High quality compost is microbial diverse, stable, and mature. If you are buying compost, ask for some kind of an analysis that addresses these factors.

Microbial Diversity -- In addition to compost being full of nutrients, you should expect your compost to be high in microbial diversity. These microbes will include bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, and Pseudomonas. These organisms are there to digest the organic matter in the soil, make the minerals available for the plants, and help to detoxify the soil. Compost with high microbial diversity will be more complete and responsive in its role of ameliorating the fluctuating and stress situations in the soil.

Compost stability refers to the degree to which the organic matter has been decomposed into more stable materials. In stable composts, the rate of further decomposition is very low and very little carbon dioxide is being given off. If you buy compost that contains large pieces of organic matter, or if it still heats up, you do not have high stability compost.

Compost maturity is another way of evaluating compost quality. It is a measure of how toxic the compost is when tested on germinating seeds. Immature composts contain more growth inhibiting compounds like salts, phenolic compounds, ammonia, and organic acids. Look for composts that are very fine and granular.

Winter Worms – If you are using red wigglers to eat your garbage, then start to think about how you will help them survive over the winter. If your worm box gets below 40 degrees, you may lose worms and they will not be eating very much garbage. I leave some worms outside for the winter, but I cover them heavily with straw and other materials. I also put many worms into the proper worm medium in 20-gallon containers and bring many in to my furnace room. It is convenient for feeding them the peelings and other kitchen scraps over the winter, and they survive and reproduce very well.

Soil Testing Time

It's a good idea to get a late summer soil test, and apply appropriate fertilizers with the fall/winter cover crops. Over the past 5 years I have looked at hundreds of Arkansas Soil Test Reports for gardens. I am aware that many gardeners, who get the soil test, don't fully understand the report. And further, many gardeners have a still harder time making the necessary calculations to figure out what organic fertilizers to use and how much to apply on their beds. It's not my goal to try to explain all the details in this article, but as some of you move to organics, and are using the Arkansas Soil Test, here are some guidelines.

Taking Soil Samples: First, get some soil boxes from the Extension Service. If your garden is small and fairly uniform, one sample will be sufficient. That pint box should be filled with soil from subsamples taken from 5-10 different places in the garden. Don't include the coarse material on the soil surface. Take those subsamples from the 2-6 inch layer of soil. For larger and/or more variable gardens, include more samples. When submitting the samples, explain specifically that you want a test for Nitrogen. The test results will take 2-3 weeks, so plan ahead.

Interpreting the Soil Test Report: Compared with some other states, I really like the Arkansas test results. They do the analysis of 11 different elements and give the results for each element in actual pounds per acre. I have also checked and the Lab results are consistent, i.e. we get the same results from duplicate samples from the same soil. They also provide the soil pH and the estimated base saturation (i.e. the soil Cation Exchange Capacity). The CEC is a measure of the positive minerals (Ca, Mg, K, and Na) in the soil that are attached to the clay and humus particles. For growing nutrient dense produce, you should have those elements in specific ratios.

The soil pH measures the acidity or the alkalinity (i.e. sweet or basic) of the soil. Soil pH of 7.0 is neutral. Lower numbers are acidic and higher numbers are alkaline. For most vegetables, strive for a pH of 6.4 (slightly acidic). Some plants like blueberries, azaleas, and rhododendrons like a more acid soil. Lime raises the pH. Sulfur, sulfates and acetic acid (vinegar) will lower the pH.

Caution: There are some things in the report that are superfluous: Under the Nutrient Availability Index section you will see concentrations in ppm. That means parts per million, and is the number that the Lab determines from their chemical analysis. If you multiply the ppm by 2 you get the pounds per acre. It is based on the assumption that an acre of soil (7 inches deep) weighs 2 million pounds. As a gardener, you have no need to use the ppm values.

You will also have an Estimated Soil Texture name, which is not a real soil texture measurement. It comes from looking at the CEC, which comes from the amount of clay and humus in the soil. The higher the CEC, the more likely you will get a soil texture classification of "clay." You can get the same classification with highly organic soils without any clay in the soil. Just ignore the soil texture name provided.

Be alert that the recommendations for application of Nitrogen are not specific to your soil. I have 6 recent Soil Reports with corresponding rates for Nitrogen of 0, 54, 62, 214, 262 and 596 pounds per acre, and the recommendation for adding nitrogen is identical in all of them. The fact that you get a recommendation for nitrogen, even when they do not do a nitrogen test, should put you on high alert that this recommendation is not meaningful.

Critical Numbers: More than anything else, I look at the pounds per acre for each of the 11 elements. How do you know what the "right" pounds per acre numbers should be? I have spent a lot of time analyzing that tough question. Because I am most interested in recommendations that are developed for growing nutrient dense produce, I have had to go to another source outside of Arkansas for the answers. Pounds per acre numbers for nutrient dense produce have been developed, originally by Dr. Cary Reams, and subsequently by many others. Unfortunately, the Arkansas soil test methodology (the Mehlich 3 system) is different than the soil tests used by Reams and others (the Morgan soil test system). In essence, a stronger acid is used for extraction of the elements in the Mehlick 3 system.

To figure out the corresponding pounds per acre numbers for nutrient dense produce for the Arkansas test, I have collected soil samples, mixed them very well, split them in two parts, and sent each part of the sample to the Arkansas Soil Laboratory and a private laboratory (International Ag Labs) that does the Morgan test and has the pound per acre numbers for growing nutrient dense produce. With the pounds per acre numbers from 17 split samples from both labs, I have now derived estimates of pounds per acre needed for each element that are most appropriate for the Arkansas test. This project is continuing.

As a rule, the soil tests will reveal 3 to 5 elements that need adjusting. I have seen the test results and there are big differences in pounds per acre for elements among different garden soils. Without the soil test, making fertilizer recommendations is simply a guess. Don't gamble with your garden. Above all, don't start adding fertilizers indiscriminately to new garden areas with native soils. I have seen several examples where the gardener "ruined" the soil by over fertilizing. As a rule, new soils, even if they are low in nutrients, can be easily adjusted. Get the soil test, and if you want help in deciding what organic fertilizers to apply, please contact me.

Fall Gardening - Nutrition Matters

Fall gardens: August is the time to get some vegetables and fruits ready for the Fair, which begins on August 31. It's also the time to get the fall vegetable garden established and plan for a cover crop for the winter. For the cover crops, I use Oats and/or Austrian Winter Peas. You probably won't find them in less than 50 pound bags. I will have oats and peas available in small bags for 100 to 500 square feet areas. If interested in a small amount, let me know. Both of those cover crops should be planted in early September.

For the fall vegetable garden, I plant beets, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, Swiss chard, lettuce, radishes and turnips. Although it will still seem very much like summer, mi to late August is the time to begin fall gardens. Only a few nurseries will have broccoli and cabbage plants available, and they don't last long. If you want to grow your own, start them in early August. I plant seeds of these in the garden and then transplant them later. Because these are cool weather crops, they will benefit from a little afternoon shade.

Nutrition matters: For the majority of the time that I spend helping other organic gardeners, I deal with questions regarding the re-mineralization of the soil (fertilization). Growing vegetables is not the same as growing vegetables with high nutrition, which I advocate. In a good fertilizer regime all the minerals needed for good growth and nutrition are there in their proper amounts. What to apply depends on what is already in the soil. Without a soil test, it's pretty much a guess. Sometimes it is an easy process to get the correct amounts and ratios, but in general the process of getting all the minerals and ratios correct takes several years.

Boron is more than a minor element. It is fortunate that in our Arkansas Soil Test program we get a test for the mineral or element called boron. Like many minerals, boron does not act independent of other minerals. It is closely tied with calcium, and in fact calcium will not provide its many benefits if boron is in short supply. It begins with its role in photosynthesis, i.e. the production of sugar. Next, it plays a critical role in releasing sugar to the root system each night. This sugar exudes from the roots and feeds the microbes in the rhizophere, which in turn helps to fix nitrogen, make phosphorus soluble, recycle minerals from crop residues, remove toxins, produce growth stimulants, and protect the plant from pathogens. All this and more is partially dependent on the correct amount of boron.

Although the Arkansas Soil Test program provides the pounds per acre of boron in the soil, there are no recommendations given for adding boron, even if the values for boron are zero. It is important that you look at this number on your soil test report each year and add boron if needed. Boron is a mineral that is leached from the soil, especially in soils low in organic matter.

You can fix the boron deficiency problem easily by simply adding borax (yes, the Twenty Mule Team product). Four pounds of boron per acre is adequate. Do not over supply, especially in calcium deficient soils. Borax is 12 percent boron, so for each pound per acre that you are deficient in boron, add 1 Tablespoon of borax per 100 square feet. Mix it in water, apply, and water it in. It can also go on as a foliar spray, and is especially helpful if done prior to flowering.

Boron is not just for the welfare of the plants and the soil. Animal and human health nutritionists now know that it serves in a diverse range of functions in animals and humans. A shortage in the diet can lead to health issues. It all begins with having it in the soil. Want to read more about this, check it out on the internet. See nutri-tech.com.au for starters.