H Folks: As a long time organic gardener and a new subscriber to the list - and also new (it seems) to your terminology - I would appreciate a definition of BRIX! Also what does NUX refer to? I'm all too familiar with MCS, but NUX???
Looks like we are close neighbors Evelyn, as I am also in the Sierra Foothills. Best solution to star thistle is to keep pulling it. I also have hellish scotch broom (encroaching from the neighbors) to deal with, not to mention cedar seedlings by the millions - and berries and PI! But then I don't farm acres - it is just hand work. I wouldn't dream of spraying roundup!!! Looking forward to learning what your BD solutions are! Happy New Year everyone! Geneva Pepper Allan Balliett wrote: > > Inspired by Rex Teague, I've asked long time friend and neighbor Rex > Harrill to join BD Now! for a little while. Rex was a very strong > contributer to this list in its early days and has become a very > strong voice for food quality on his own. One would do well to > investigate the links Mr Teague listed below. > > Here's a quote from Rex: > > >Dr. Arden Andersen's treatise on ecological agriculture suggested > >obtaining a refractometer to test one's output. I did, and > >small-scale farming has never been the same for me since. The > >mystery of that earlier bug-proof garden with its scrumptious fruits > >was soon revealed. It's so simple: when the brix is low, the taste > >is poor, and the insects come. When the brix is high, the taste is > >superb and the insects seem to busy themselves elsewhere. The > >farmer's job is simply to remineralize and fertilize in such a way > >that the plants, properly fed, can develop higher brix. > > As a person who came into biodynamics "recovering" from multiple > chemical sensitivities and one who is diagnosed by his homeopath as a > "NUX," I've had the fortune of being sort of a walking quality tester > for some time. Whatever it is that will allow my body to react > negatively to the plastic molecules in a jug of spring water reacts > just as strongly in the presence of strong 'chi.' I'm convinced that > the BRIX meter is an external measurement for these qualities. > > I also very strongly believe that they only way that we small > biological farmers are going to make it in the market place is by > ceasing to talk about how much better our food is because of our > practices and by starting to knock people's sox off when they taste > (or smell!) the food we grow. Take Hugh Lovel's remarkable produce as > an example of bringing this sort of quality to market and having your > neighbors beat a path to your door. > > I do believe that a farmer can do this with biodynamic compost and > the BD preps, but I've come to believe that making good compost from > poor inputs (be they plant or manure) is almost impossible and that > even the most devout beginning BD practitioner will have much to gain > - - and time to save - - by reading what Rex Harrill has written > (links below) and by listening to what he has to say. >
