CannaCountry
New Member
Re: DopyLemontree's DocBud High Brix Soil Blend - Headband OG & Bubblegum Combo Grow
Good Morning Dopy,
I will attempt to keep this brief for the sake of not turning your journal into a point of debate or to turn focus away from what you're doing. I respect all the time you've put into this journal thus far and I don't want to skew that with things that may be better discussed elsewhere. However, I would like to address a few points being so many other members (you included) took time out of their day to share their thoughts on the "High Brix" subject. So without further ado; thank you Dopy, Duggan, Morglie and StoneyMemoirs for the replies and your thoughts. They are greatly appreciated!
Let me start by saying, I understand all the biological concepts that were noted. I understand the relationship between soil and plant, and like all of you, I'm inclined to believe in Organics vs. the other forms of growing. In short I agree with most of what has been discussed at this point. The only thing I don't agree with is the rigidity imposed by (you must do this and you must do that) the process. Plants are adaptive in nature. Different strains grow differently in comparison to other strains, some require more of this, some require less of that. This is most noted in looking at some of the different journals here being grown under the High Brix banner. Some I've seen have looked nice...nice, average plants that one would expect to see from a healthy garden, others I've seen have looked less than stellar and others have looked almost too good to be true, almost plastic looking, as if paraffin wax had been sprayed on the leaves (super shiny). I believe there is always room for improvement, there's always another way to skin the cat, etc; otherwise, we'd all still be rolling around in Model T's. But, but...let's not make this a point of debate; let's move on to Brix.
Brix is a measurement, based on the refractive index of a liquid, stated in degrees, which notes the % of Sucrose in a liquid. In industry, Sucrose is reciprocal with 'Solids' and 'Sugar'. What Brix isn't is a measure of minerals, other substances or a combination of the former. Now, I'm not suggesting that there isn't a relationship between high mineral content (whatever or however that's determined) and high brix, but the measurement on your refract has nothing to do with it. However, again, this isn't something I want to debate per se. We all believe what we believe, based on our experiences, what we're told and what we learn. No worries if you don't agree. Again, if we all agreed, we'd all still be driving Model T's...or Porsches...haha.
Moving forward, I go back to my questions in my earlier post:
"When you state your refract gave you a Brix of let's say 12; what does that number mean to you? What does it represent in terms of what your 'kit' tells you? What is the correlation between Brix value in terms of cannabis leaves and the quality / potency of your flowers?" Aside from doing what the 'kit' instructions say, and doing it blindly, do you know the who, what, where, how and why behind it? I don't...and this is why I'm interested and why I brought this up. Again, I'm not bashing anyone or any growing process, I really just want to learn.
Maybe this will help me understand things a little better, based on my own experience. Please, if ya'll know the answers to my questions below, please share, and if you don't please share your thoughts anyhow; this is how we (I) learn. This is all about learning for me, and not so much about growing Cannabis; I have a pretty solid growing process in place. It's more about taking something I've studied and dealt with on a daily basis for years and applying it, or not, to Cannabis in whatever form that may take.
So here are a few additional questions to get started:
What is the process of taking your sample, whether it be leaves or flowers? Does the 'kit' give you directions on this process? I'm making this up but I would venture to say it might go something like this: "Take 3 fan leaves from the middle of the plant, but only after watering the plant with RO water, and only after the lights have been on for 2 hours. Crush the 3 leaves using a pestle and mortar, for 3 minutes, add 5ml of distilled water, be sure the sample has no air bubbles in it, be sure the sample is Xº Fahrenheit or Celsius, place X amount of sample on the refract, record the number, etc" Any measurement for Brix, I've ever done, has had a process tied to it, otherwise, consistency is lost and your readings are basically meaningless. FYI, Temperature, sample dilution, air bubbles, and a myriad of other variables all influence the refractive index of the sample and thus the Brix value.
Does your kit tell you what refract to use? Can any of you note which refract you're using? Do you calibrate your refracts and if so, what is the process?
So let's say you run a sample, however the process, and you get a Brix reading of 10º, does the kit tell you how to interpret this number? In other words what does it mean in terms of the kit?
More importantly if you do get a reading of 10º, is it noted in the kit on what to do to get the plant up to let's say a 14º Brix? I know how to influence Brix in a solution, up or down using mathematics (yes, there is a formula), but I don't know how that applies to this situation, which is why I pose the question.
Ok, enough of the learning process at this point. I'm very interested in knowing all your thoughts, but at the same time I don't want to de-rail Mr. Dopy's journal. With that being said I'm still learning this forum and how things work (like only being able to send PM's after 50 posts or whatever it is), so if there is a better way to further our discussion without affecting DL's journal, I'm all for it. Of course if DL doesn't care, then this is as good as place as any to discuss these things, but he needs to make that call.
Thanks a lot gang; I do appreciate everyone's input and insight thus far. Feel free to express your thoughts and ideas; I would enjoy knowing what each of you has to share. Again, I'm not criticizing any of your processes or ideas; it's evident, just based on DL's journal, that the process works...I simply want to know more of the 'who, what, when, why and where' behind it, especially as it pertains to Brix. Based on what you guys have said so far, I'm going to run a few little experiments myself and see what I come up with; it may prove to be a learning experience for all of us.
Thanks again; everyone have a fantastic Friday and a great weekend!
Good Morning Dopy,
I will attempt to keep this brief for the sake of not turning your journal into a point of debate or to turn focus away from what you're doing. I respect all the time you've put into this journal thus far and I don't want to skew that with things that may be better discussed elsewhere. However, I would like to address a few points being so many other members (you included) took time out of their day to share their thoughts on the "High Brix" subject. So without further ado; thank you Dopy, Duggan, Morglie and StoneyMemoirs for the replies and your thoughts. They are greatly appreciated!
Let me start by saying, I understand all the biological concepts that were noted. I understand the relationship between soil and plant, and like all of you, I'm inclined to believe in Organics vs. the other forms of growing. In short I agree with most of what has been discussed at this point. The only thing I don't agree with is the rigidity imposed by (you must do this and you must do that) the process. Plants are adaptive in nature. Different strains grow differently in comparison to other strains, some require more of this, some require less of that. This is most noted in looking at some of the different journals here being grown under the High Brix banner. Some I've seen have looked nice...nice, average plants that one would expect to see from a healthy garden, others I've seen have looked less than stellar and others have looked almost too good to be true, almost plastic looking, as if paraffin wax had been sprayed on the leaves (super shiny). I believe there is always room for improvement, there's always another way to skin the cat, etc; otherwise, we'd all still be rolling around in Model T's. But, but...let's not make this a point of debate; let's move on to Brix.
Brix is a measurement, based on the refractive index of a liquid, stated in degrees, which notes the % of Sucrose in a liquid. In industry, Sucrose is reciprocal with 'Solids' and 'Sugar'. What Brix isn't is a measure of minerals, other substances or a combination of the former. Now, I'm not suggesting that there isn't a relationship between high mineral content (whatever or however that's determined) and high brix, but the measurement on your refract has nothing to do with it. However, again, this isn't something I want to debate per se. We all believe what we believe, based on our experiences, what we're told and what we learn. No worries if you don't agree. Again, if we all agreed, we'd all still be driving Model T's...or Porsches...haha.
Moving forward, I go back to my questions in my earlier post:
"When you state your refract gave you a Brix of let's say 12; what does that number mean to you? What does it represent in terms of what your 'kit' tells you? What is the correlation between Brix value in terms of cannabis leaves and the quality / potency of your flowers?" Aside from doing what the 'kit' instructions say, and doing it blindly, do you know the who, what, where, how and why behind it? I don't...and this is why I'm interested and why I brought this up. Again, I'm not bashing anyone or any growing process, I really just want to learn.
Maybe this will help me understand things a little better, based on my own experience. Please, if ya'll know the answers to my questions below, please share, and if you don't please share your thoughts anyhow; this is how we (I) learn. This is all about learning for me, and not so much about growing Cannabis; I have a pretty solid growing process in place. It's more about taking something I've studied and dealt with on a daily basis for years and applying it, or not, to Cannabis in whatever form that may take.
So here are a few additional questions to get started:
What is the process of taking your sample, whether it be leaves or flowers? Does the 'kit' give you directions on this process? I'm making this up but I would venture to say it might go something like this: "Take 3 fan leaves from the middle of the plant, but only after watering the plant with RO water, and only after the lights have been on for 2 hours. Crush the 3 leaves using a pestle and mortar, for 3 minutes, add 5ml of distilled water, be sure the sample has no air bubbles in it, be sure the sample is Xº Fahrenheit or Celsius, place X amount of sample on the refract, record the number, etc" Any measurement for Brix, I've ever done, has had a process tied to it, otherwise, consistency is lost and your readings are basically meaningless. FYI, Temperature, sample dilution, air bubbles, and a myriad of other variables all influence the refractive index of the sample and thus the Brix value.
Does your kit tell you what refract to use? Can any of you note which refract you're using? Do you calibrate your refracts and if so, what is the process?
So let's say you run a sample, however the process, and you get a Brix reading of 10º, does the kit tell you how to interpret this number? In other words what does it mean in terms of the kit?
More importantly if you do get a reading of 10º, is it noted in the kit on what to do to get the plant up to let's say a 14º Brix? I know how to influence Brix in a solution, up or down using mathematics (yes, there is a formula), but I don't know how that applies to this situation, which is why I pose the question.
Ok, enough of the learning process at this point. I'm very interested in knowing all your thoughts, but at the same time I don't want to de-rail Mr. Dopy's journal. With that being said I'm still learning this forum and how things work (like only being able to send PM's after 50 posts or whatever it is), so if there is a better way to further our discussion without affecting DL's journal, I'm all for it. Of course if DL doesn't care, then this is as good as place as any to discuss these things, but he needs to make that call.
Thanks a lot gang; I do appreciate everyone's input and insight thus far. Feel free to express your thoughts and ideas; I would enjoy knowing what each of you has to share. Again, I'm not criticizing any of your processes or ideas; it's evident, just based on DL's journal, that the process works...I simply want to know more of the 'who, what, when, why and where' behind it, especially as it pertains to Brix. Based on what you guys have said so far, I'm going to run a few little experiments myself and see what I come up with; it may prove to be a learning experience for all of us.
Thanks again; everyone have a fantastic Friday and a great weekend!
There is still plenty of testing that needs to be done, but doing that as an outpatient, is so much better than living at the hospital. Things are starting to feel a bit more normal again.
