Organic Garden Sugar

Did you know that your organic garden contains sugar? You may not be growing sugar cane or sugar beets, but every plant in your organic garden contains a percentage of sugar.

The percentage of sugar in your organic garden can be measured by a simple, hand-held instrument known as a refractometer. A refractometer measures sugar percentage: the “Brix” level.

Example:

Suppose you place a dry leaf of lettuce in a garlic crusher or similar implement. You squeeze out the lettuce juice, placing a drop onto the prism of the refractometer. Hold the instrument to the light, and you can read the percentage of sugar your lettuce leaf contains.

Reasons for Using a Refractometer

here are good reasons for the organic gardener to use a refractometer. Most organic gardeners are growing their own produce in order to have quality. They want to know that their fruits and vegetables are giving them the nutrients they want. But sugar?

*Organic garden produce yields natural, nutritious sugar. It is far different from the super refined sugar most restaurants serve.

* The mineral and protein content of your organic garden produce, and the quality of the protein, are all directly related to the percentage of sugar in each plant’s juice.

* Organic garden plants with higher sugar percentages are more pest resistant, making your pest control work less challenging.

A refractometer is an inexpensive way to test the sugar percentages.

The Best Sugar Percentages

Organic gardeners can rely on standard “Brix” sugar percentages that are provided for most crops. They levels range from “poor” to “excellent” and can tell you whether your organic garden is healthy.

There is insufficient space here to give the full list of refractometer readings, but we offer the following as examples. In each case, the percent given is that of sugar in the plant’s juice (sap).

* Apples: 6 percent is poor; 10 percent is average; 14 percent is good; and 18 percent is excellent.

* Bananas: 8 percent is poor; 10 percent is average; 12 percent is good; and 14 percent is excellent.

* Beets: 6 percent is poor; 8 percent is average; 10 percent is good; and 12 percent is excellent.

* Broccoli: 6 percent is poor; 8 percent is average; 10 percent is good; and 12 percent is excellent.

* Cabbage: 6 percent is poor; 8 percent is average; 10 percent is good; and 12 percent is excellent.

* Corn (Sweet corn): 6 percent is poor; 10 percent is average; 18 percent is good; and 24 percent is excellent.

* Grapes: 8 percent is poor; 12 percent is average; 16 percent is good; and 20 percent is excellent.

* Lettuce: 4 percent is poor; 6 percent is average; 8 percent is good; and 10 percent is excellent.

* Tomatoes: 4 percent is poor; 6 percent is average; 8 percent is good; and 12 percent is excellent.

Test Conventional Market Produce

When you buy your refractometer, you may want to test produce from your local grocery store before that of your organic garden. You may be surprised to find that the big, beautiful heads of lettuce have almost no nutritional value. They rate “poor” or below. Tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli – commercially grown vegetables are so often grown in depleted soil that their sugar percentage – and therefore their protein and mineral values – are far below par.

Good Soil Is the Key

Low sugar percentage readings are a warning that your organic garden’s soil needs help. Feed the soil, and the soil will feed the plants.