Re: Help on buying a Refractometer
- Original Message - From: Moen Creek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 1:52 PM Subject: Re: Help on buying a Refractometer Hi Markess & Merla The first part of Markess' post is probably good advice - need to talk the same language as these bureaucratic types sometimes. I have a pair of Gemplers stress detection glasses and while they're useful and would be ideal to identify highly stressed plants (water stress, salt damage etc) from my usage so far there would be no chance of identifying plants with a few points higher brix - in healthy growth. (as you would want to do with nutritional treatments or even to see the early effect of BD peppers) Make a pair of vicegrip squeezers and you can get juice out of just about anything (I can fax a drawing if you like or Allan has it and may be able to scan it onto email) I think I agree with Allan's post about learning this stuff in your own yard first - once you have it sorted and can get a result and know what to show these guys it might get easier. Cheers Lloyd Charles > > > Merla, > Call Gempler's for their catalogue. The Super can ogle all the rubber > gloves, tyvac, respirators, measuring cups, boots & all. Then the > refractometer will not seem so foreign. The product "coach" at Gempler's may > be of help to give you the type of language that will cut through his poor > hazy consciousness. They may even have a pamphlet to recommend. > The call is free and they're friendly folks. > They also have "Plant stress detection glasses" developed by NASA which may > give you the information you want/need with a lot less work. > Squeezing enough juice from roadside weeds to get readings will be difficult > if not a lost cause. > The glasses are $50 and he can see the changes too! > > > best of Luck > In Love & Light > Markess > > > Hi all, > > I am trying to get the Weed Supervisor to O.K. the purchase of a > refractometer on the Rapid Lightning cost/share grant. He never heard > of one and wants me to find someone in our county who has before he will > O.K. it. I have called Bob Wilson, the Extension Agent, but he hasn't > returned my call. Called again. Surely he or someone can help, but > failing that I will just have to try and convince the Weed Supervisor of > the value of being able to test plants for their vigor 30 minutes after > various applications. > > > >
Re: Help on buying a Refractometer
Title: Re: Help on buying a Refractometer True a must have even for garden plants aside from fruit. >Squeezing enough juice from roadside weeds to get readings will be >difficult if not a lost cause. But a pair of those modified vise-grips from Pike Labs will keep it from being impossible! -Allan
Re: Help on buying a Refractometer
>Squeezing enough juice from roadside weeds to get readings will be >difficult if not a lost cause. But a pair of those modified vise-grips from Pike Labs will keep it from being impossible! -Allan
Re: Help on buying a Refractometer
Title: Re: Help on buying a Refractometer Merla, Call Gempler's for their catalogue. The Super can ogle all the rubber gloves, tyvac, respirators, measuring cups, boots & all. Then the refractometer will not seem so foreign. The product "coach" at Gempler's may be of help to give you the type of language that will cut through his poor hazy consciousness. They may even have a pamphlet to recommend. The call is free and they're friendly folks. They also have "Plant stress detection glasses" developed by NASA which may give you the information you want/need with a lot less work. Squeezing enough juice from roadside weeds to get readings will be difficult if not a lost cause. The glasses are $50 and he can see the changes too! best of Luck In Love & Light Markess Hi all, I am trying to get the Weed Supervisor to O.K. the purchase of a refractometer on the Rapid Lightning cost/share grant. He never heard of one and wants me to find someone in our county who has before he will O.K. it. I have called Bob Wilson, the Extension Agent, but he hasn't returned my call. Called again. Surely he or someone can help, but failing that I will just have to try and convince the Weed Supervisor of the value of being able to test plants for their vigor 30 minutes after various applications.
Re: Help on buying a Refractometer
Merla - Thanks for your good compendium of brix information!! I bought my refractometer through ebay for about $50. In many ways it is a piece of crap, but you'd pay Mr. Pike about $125 for an equivalent refractometer and Brixman has assured me that mine is about as good as I need. (Just check ebay. There are a couple of guys who are retailing asian refractometers through the auction method. Do a search. They have multiple auctions going on.) Just my two cents: I think you're in a pearls before swine situation. I know that I'd choke really badly if I had to 'prove' what I'm doing to the sort of people you have to 'prove' stuff to. I think you're enthusiasm for the tools offered through this list may not be enough for you to attain the results you want/need in the face of the adversity around you. I admire what you want to do and what you have been doing but I would really encourage you to learn these techniques in the privacy of your own garden and not in the face of politicians, bureaucrats and public roadways. Blessings on you, Merla. -Allans
Re: Help on buying a Refractometer
- Original Message - From: Merla Barberie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: BD Now <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 6:10 AM Subject: Help on buying a Refractometer Hi Merla > I have questions. Do I want ATC or not? Yes - it saves having to calibrate the thing repeatedly > > What is the significance of .02 and .05 accuracy? Most of us (unless you are an eagle eyed teenager) won't be able to read it accurately enough in the field to tell the difference > > What is the significance of the great cost difference among > refractometers? a: retailer margin b: instrument quality (brand name) > How good a one do I need? a decent middle of the road one will do fine - our meter man sells for $225 aussie - shoud be about US$110 to $140 for a ATC > What are people's experiences with their refractometers and which ones > do you recommend and why? There must be more brands than I have named. the real cheapest (of anything) has always got to be suspect for quality and lifespan. I bet if Herb was buying a rifle scope he would go without rather than buy the absolute cheapest one? If you get going with this take time to re read Hugh Lovel's post that you refer to here. You need to be aware that plant brix is a very mobile thing. The most value is in the comparison measurements that you make in the same place and at the same time . Even in half an hour the brix readings will change so that if you are measuring the effect of a test treatment you need to again measure the untreated at the same time. Your state of mind and thought patterns as you do it can effect the readings !! Cheers Lloyd Charles > I went over my old BD Now emails on the subject and came up with the > following below > Thank you, > > Merla > > Rex Harrill P.O. Box 6, Keedysville, MD 21756 (301) 432-2979 > Westover RHB-32ATC (automatic temperature control) > $135 + $4.00 shipping by priority mail [probably out of date] > > Pike Instruments, Agri-Lab Supplies Inc., RR2, Box 710 Strong, ME 04983 > (207) 684-5131 $125 (Acres USA) > > Gemplers, www.gemplers.com 1-800-382-8437 > Economy Vista $164 +-.05 accuracy > Atago N-la $189 +-.02 accuracy > Atago ATC-1E $330 > > Char Downer, National Industrial Supply, 392 S. Miraleste Drive, #492, > San Pedro,CA 90732 > RHB-32 $59.99 > RHB-32 ATC 65.99 >
Help on buying a Refractometer
Hi all, I am trying to get the Weed Supervisor to O.K. the purchase of a refractometer on the Rapid Lightning cost/share grant. He never heard of one and wants me to find someone in our county who has before he will O.K. it. I have called Bob Wilson, the Extension Agent, but he hasn't returned my call. Called again. Surely he or someone can help, but failing that I will just have to try and convince the Weed Supervisor of the value of being able to test plants for their vigor 30 minutes after various applications. I have questions. Do I want ATC or not? What is the significance of .02 and .05 accuracy? What is the significance of the great cost difference among refractometers? How good a one do I need? What are people's experiences with their refractometers and which ones do you recommend and why? There must be more brands than I have named. I went over my old BD Now emails on the subject and came up with the following below. Thank you, Merla Rex Harrill P.O. Box 6, Keedysville, MD 21756 (301) 432-2979 Westover RHB-32ATC (automatic temperature control) $135 + $4.00 shipping by priority mail [probably out of date] Pike Instruments, Agri-Lab Supplies Inc., RR2, Box 710 Strong, ME 04983 (207) 684-5131 $125 (Acres USA) Gemplers, www.gemplers.com 1-800-382-8437 Economy Vista $164 +-.05 accuracy Atago N-la $189 +-.02 accuracy Atago ATC-1E $330 Char Downer, National Industrial Supply, 392 S. Miraleste Drive, #492, San Pedro,CA 90732 RHB-32 $59.99 RHB-32 ATC 65.99 www.brixpage.com www.crossroads.ws/brixbook/BBook.htm (Rex Harrill's booklet) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Brix Talk On list awhile ago... Lloyd Charles I know that (but dont understand why) a lot of organic and BD certified producers are philosophicaly opposed to foliar nutrient applications. When farmers are in the situation where we dont have our soils in balance yet, or something else is wrong that has put our system off the track for a while and we are suffering insect or disease attack, or poor plant growth due to some nutritional disorder then is when we can make a major improvement in quality of produce by using the brix meter to monitor the crops response to a range of available foliar nutrients. And there are plenty of nice things to use this includes the BD preps, fish emulsion, kelp, worm juice, compost teas, manure teas, molasses, sugar, vinegar, etc etc as well as the host of proprietary brand stuff, and the so called nasties from the chemical companies ( we often use small quantities of say calcium nitrate -1/2 to 1 kg per hectare -combined with molasses and fish emulsion or 300 to 500 ml of food grade phosphoric acid with a molasses - kelp - fish - homebrew tea ) I use four small pump spray bottles from the supermarket to test for crop response - mix the different brews in the exact proportion that will be put out with the field sprayer, spray a meter square plot of each and measure the brix response half an hour later, you will often get a down response from a perfectly good material that is just not appropriate at the time - whichever bottle mix gives the best crop response (increased brix of crop and decreased brix of any weeds) is the one to use and less quantity is usually better than more The crop response (yield and quality ) that can be achieved at low cost using this method can be truly amazing. We have had several times where brews that ran around a dollar an acre material cost have given several bushels per acre more wheat as well as lessening the vigour of weeds in the crop. This is not rocket science and its not new either I read the brix mans online book this morning and would recommend it to all - and while it seems written more for the consumer than the producer - its good information - as also the book by Arden Andersen that is referred to there * * * * * Tony Robinson There is a method called Brix testing that a farmer can do himself. It uses a refractometer to measure suger levels in plants and fruit. When suger levels get above a certain level for each group of plants then you have reached a balanced soil energy level. A figure between 9-15 is my understanding. This is also subject that I would like to study this coming year. It is one of the means which Dan Skow uses in his book Mainline farming for the 21st Century to get his soil nutrient levels to balance and you can do it your self. * * * * * * Hugh Lovel Brix can be very revealing. But it is a bit more complex than just "High brix 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 translocated its sugars to its roots and shed them to the soil overnight, feeding the soil food web. This, believe it or not, is highly desirable. If the plant does this it
