Our Secret for Producing "The Sweetest Berries"
Strawberry plants need a balanced diet of soil nutrients in order produce a superior tasting fruit. It's very simple and yet quite complex. For example, the plant needs calcium and phosphorus - at the right times and in the right amounts. Putting these critical nutrients in the soil is relatively easy, but getting the plant to utilize them depends on many factors, such as having enough sunlight or getting water at the right times.
Quite possibly the most important consideration, however, is having a full array of soil life - tiny microbes that work beneath the soil to take nutrients (food) to the plant. As the plant takes up these nutrients, it is healthy and able to transfer those nutrients to its berries. The strawberries are more healthful and definitely sweeter.
A refractomenter.Using a tool called a refractometer, we can actually
measure the nutrient density in the ripened berry. A refractometer measures the
amount of nutrients and sugars in the berry juice in units called Brix. The higher
the Brix reading, the higher the nutrient content and the sweeter the berry.
Our berries generally test between 10-12, which indicates that the strawberries
are sweet and flavorful. They have a taste that is unforgettable. (Read a recent
news article about our farm by Dale Finseth of the Kennebec County Soil & Water
Conservation District.)
If you are interested in knowing the Brix of the strawberries you pick, just ask and we will test them before you leave the farm. For more information on nutrition and Brix, visit www.highbrixgardens.com.
View looking south from top of French Mountain.
