The Basics of Doc Bud's High Brix Blend Kit w/ Instructions

"Insects and disease are the symptoms of a failing crop, not the cause of it."
- Dr. William Albrecht​

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Doc Bud;1672515 said:

Brix is a unit of measurement that tells us how much sugar, minerals and other dissolved solids that are in a liquid. In our case, the liquid is leaf juice and occasionally a small bud. Average brix for a solid organic grow is going to be 7 to 10. Moderate brix levels clock in at 10-12. Once you get over 12 brix you're in High Brix territory. The highest I've measured to date is 17.

Once brix gets over 12, pests aren't a problem and it is very unlikely any diseases will ruin your crop. The higher the brix, the healthier the plant.

The high changes a bit as well. It's still strong, but its also softer and fuller. I've tried to describe it many times but tonite I'll say it like this:

Let's say you're cold and want to get warm. If you smoke organic or hydro weed, and electric blanket appears and you soon warm up. However, if you had smoked High Brix weed, a thick down comforter appears instead and you soon warm up. If I could get brix over 23, a naked nymph appears with the blanket. So, I've got some work to do.

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Doc Bud said:

There are four bases to achieving high brix soil:

1.)Foundational minerals. These are your rock powders, Limestone, Soft Rock Phosphate, Gypsum. Other things could conceivably be used as well, but those are cheap, reliable and available. The single most important mineral for High Brix is Calcium, followed by Phosphorus.

2.)Soil Energy. ERGS (Energy Released per Gram per Second). No energy in the soil, no growth of the plant. Fertilizers, organic material, salts....all increase ERGS.

3.)Soil Biology. These are the microbes, nematodes and fungi that inhabit the root zone and break down all the organic material and present it to the plant. We accomplish proper soil biology with humus and we boost it with microbial teas and root inoculates.

4.)Trace Elements. The "micro's." Magnesium, zinc, boron, iron, manganese, copper, molybdenum, sulfur, etc.

We don't put these things in the soil in the typical NPK ratio's that you see on plant food bottles. These things go into the soil in order to make the soil biology happy. For example, most of the phosphorus isn't available to the plant at all. Same with the calcium. But the microbes love it.

The plants, courtesy of the soil life, get anything they want, as much as they want. They never burn, they never lack.

That's the soil.

You supercharge the Brix in the plant tissue via Foliar Feeding. Phosphorus is the "shipping specialist" in the plant. Most things the plant needs come piggy backed as a phosphate, so increasing the phosphorus and calcium levels in the plant increases the sugar content in the leaves, which the plant sends down to the roots in the form of "root exudates." These root exudates feed and signal microbes and fungi that live on the roots, and they take the sugar and use it to form humic/fulvic acids so they can digest minerals and organic matter and feed the plant.

The foliar sprays act like a supercharger, while the soil acts like a gas tank. The microbes are the engine.....and the plants are the passengers who enjoy the ride.

That's High Brix.

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• Brix - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Welcome to High Brix Gardens | HighBrix Gardens
• Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures
• Brix/Specific Gravity Refractometer w/ATC : Northern Brewer

Doc Bud;2383881 said:

SweetSue;2383401 said:

I'd still like to know what's in that High Brix kit.

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All you have to do is ask!

First of all, I'm not in any way, nor are my products in any way affiliated with "HiBrix" from Australia. I use no chelating agents of any kind, all of my products are GMO free, all the way down the food chain.

So, here's what's in the kit:

Amendment: Carbonized Limestone, Soft Rock Phosphate, Organic fertilizer ( yeast based), bio-char, mycorhyzae, ammonium phosphate, copper sulfate, iron sulfate, kelp meal, some salt of molybdenum, zinc and 20 mule team borax.

Recharge: very similar to the Amendment but with a tad of magnesium added.

Tea: Liquid Humic acid with beneficials

Roots!: various rock powders, mainly limestone, gypsum and soft rock phosphate, with biochar, trace minerals a mycorhyzae that have been born and bred on the rock powders.

Growth Energy: Liquid calcium nitrate derived from naturally occuring chilean nitrate. Trace minerals.
Transplant: Cold water fish hydrolysate, chilean nitrate.
Cat Drench: fish hydrolysate from cold water fish, ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulfate
Brix foliar: fish hydrolysate, calcium phosphate, phosphoric acid, dextrose, kelp based natural plant growth regulators (PGR's...auxins, kinens, etc.)
DeStress Foliar: Kelp, phosphoric acid, PGR's, dextrose.

I think I got every ingredient. Essentially, it's just rocks, naturally occuring salts, fish juice, microbes, small amount of carbon and organic matter.

The soil is very much alive....which is the entire point of High Brix growing.

My system is designed with a post-prohibition mentality and all of these products are good to go right out of the bag/bottle with sprayers, broadcast spreaders, fertigation and all manner of greenhouse Dosatrons and related products.

But they can also be adapted to small hobby grows, just as easily.

So, you LOS/TLO folks are like our favorite cousins. We're about the same things, we just have a different style and understanding. I'd like to grow by the Hectare....but I'd also like quality to be BETTER than what I now grow AND I can't spend all day brewing AACT in a swimming pool to food everything!

So, products designed for farming and market gardens appeal to me. No bugs, high quality every time, flexibility, consistency.

But please don't say I'm using chemicals or chelation! That's not me, that's someone else from Australia!

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Doc Bud;2597551 said:

Updated Instructions: August 24th, 2015

The Kit:

The End User will need the following:

3.8 cu ft bale of ProMix HP myco, or Sunshine #4 or Promix BX myco. Perlite can be added to the BX in order increase porosity for indoor growing.

20-40 pounds of organic worm castings that show an NPK of zero K. (1-1-0)

A proper growing environment, basic gardening skills, 7 gallon pots and a sprayer capable of putting out a fine spray.

The Products:

Drenches

Growth Energy: This product increases soil energy and provides vegetative growth energy and bulking of fruit and flowers once formed.

Transplant: This product, being organic, slightly favors reproductive growth of seeds, flowers and fruit. It is used to feed the microbial colony in the soil mostly, but it also boosts reproductive growth to some extent.

Cat Drench: This product increases soil energy, highly favors reproductive growth and provides cations and the ammonia form of nitrogen, which strongly stimulate fruiting and flowering, as well as seed production.

All drenches are mixed at 1/2 to 1 1/2 ounce per 6 plants(30 sq. feet of garden space for those in raised beds) Applications up to 2.5 oz can be applied without harm, but very few plants require this much. Heavy feeders might try 1 oz before mixing stronger.

Another practice some container growers are finding helpful is to include 1/4 strength Transplant with every watering.


Foliar Sprays:

Brix: Sprayed every week to 10 days, this product encourages reproductive growth and essential oil and resin production. Brix foliar should not be skipped, even if the plants look perfect.

De-Stress: This product helps plants heal, deal with stress and provides a broad spectrum of trace minerals. This can be sprayed 1-2 times per week when there are signs of plant stress. If the plants look "perfect" there is no reason to spray with De-Stress. Also, mixed at 50% strength it helps high brix clones root much faster.

DeStress is mixed at .5oz per quart while Brix is mixed at 1oz per quart of RO. Use Brix immediately after mixing. De-stress can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Soil Amendments

Amendment: this product is mixed into the bale of Promix, watered, and allowed to "cook" in a barrel for a minimum of 30 days in order to get the soil ready for planting. Please note that the most recent version of amendment has the old "conditioner" added to it already!

Re-Charge: This product is similar to Amendment, but has a few additions and ommisions. It is designed to be top dressed during the 3rd week of the bloom cycle. Outdoors, apply re-charge when buds have set. It's best to scratch it into the top layer of soil and gently water it in to avoid soil compaction.

Roots!: This is a microbial inoculate. A light dusting on rootballs during transplanting and a small amount at the bottom of the hole where seeds are planted is the proper use for this product. 1 Tablespoon per transplanted cutting sprinkled in and around the hole is perfect. More can be used when transplanting from the Veg area to the Bloom containers. Water with 1/4 Transplant for the first application of Roots!.

Tea: This is a liquid humate product loaded with beneficials. It is mixed with each feeding at the rate of 2.5 mil per 6 plants (30 square feet)


So, how does all this work together?

Upon acquiring the Promix HP myco, the worm castings and enough plastic barrels to contain 60 gallons of soil:

Carefully and thoroughly mix the following:

Amendment
Promix
Worm castings.

Place the above dry mix into barrels and water with 3-5 gallons of water. Stir it, mix it, turn it over....and let it sit covered for one month. Temps must be no lower than 62 degrees and no higher than 85 degrees. Lower temps can take another week to "cook" while higher temps might be ready sooner. 1 month is usually spot on.

Once the soil has cooked, it's now time to plant!

Seeds:

Using a gallon sized container of newly cooked High Brix soil, make sure the soil is still slightly moist from the barrel. Not soaking wet....but moist.

Using a pencil, or chopstick or a non-functioning vape pen, make a divet in the soil about 1/4 inch deep. Add a small amount of ROOTS! in and around this hole, in which you deposit the seed and lightly cover with surrounding dirt. Gently water with 1/4 strength Transplant if needed to keep the soil moist, but not wet.

Clones:

Pretty much the same as seeds, but use enough ROOTS! to completely dust the roots and put a small amount at the bottom of the hole. Water with 1 pint of water, or 1/4 strength Transplant drench.

Watering Tech for Vegetative Growth

Try to let the containers go completely dry between waterings. What I mean by completely dry is that the first physical signs of "wilting" are present. Droopy leaves, loss of turgor, etc. When the containers are bone dry, do this:

Prepare a tub/bucket of water such that when you submerge a dry container from above, the water level is 3/4ths up to the level of the soil. If using a drench, mix it TWICE AS STRONG AS NORMAL.

Submerge the containers and let them soak and wick up the drench for 5 minutes or so. When removing the containers from the soaking bucket/tub, tilt them this way and that in order to drain as much liquid out as possible.

The draining will draw air in from above which the plants absolutely love. This method will result in stronger stems, much better roots, shorter internodal spacing and better leaf to calyx ratio.

Upcanning of larger plants:

Vertically score the roots, dust all roots with ROOTS!, place some in the bottom of the hole, gently position rootball and soak the medium with water and 1/4 strength Transplant.

Water All seeds, all newly transplanted clones and newly tranplanted vegging plants with 1/4 strength Tranpslant

Use of Foliar Sprays:

Spray Brix and De-Stress 1 time weekly, not on the same day! De-Stress can be sprayed twice a week if the plants continue to exhibit signs of stress.

Mix DeStress at 1/2 oz per quart of RO and Brix at 1 oz per quart of RO, using a fine mist try to get the underside of the leaves.

Using Drenches:

Tea: All drenches are "served" with 2.5 mils of Tea, with two exceptions.

In High Brix growing, drenches do far more than feed the plant. They signal the plant to grow or re-produce, and they keep the biology in the soil happy and productive. This is where the magic happens! Water with straight water plus 1/4 strength Transplant between drenches with one exception.*

Growth Energy: used nearly exclusively in veg. This is where strong stems and healthy leaves come from. It is also used during the latter half of the bloom cycle to bulk up fruit and flowers. Mix at 1/2 to 1 1/2 oz per 6 plants. Stronger doses can be used if needed, but generally you'll just waste product. Finishing the growing cycle on Growth Energy results in a sweeter produce.

Transplant Should be used during the bloom phase alternating with Growth Energy. It is used at 1/2 to 2 oz per 6 plants (30 square feet.) Some growers have found that essential oil and resin production can be increased by using 1/4 oz of Transplant evenly distributed to every plant with each and every watering....whether with a drench or with just plain water. Please note, this does not mean 1/4 TO EVERY PLANT, but 1/4 oz divided equally to all plants.

**Cat Drench: This is used right when buds set. It is strongly reproductive in effect and if used at the wrong time will result in stunted growth and lower yields. Used at the proper time, unprecedented resin formation takes place. It is used twice in a row (no water in between applications). Using Cat Drench late in bloom may increase certain flavors and smells, but it also results in a more "gamey" flavor in produce.

These are the basic instructions for using the kit! A few pointers:

When in doubt about which drench to use, use Growth Energy.

If the plants seem weak and need a boost---almost never happens unless you made a mistake or there has been some environmental issue or circumstances beyond your control---try this:

1 oz. Transplant per gallon of water with 6 mils of Tea. Feed a solution with this composition to all the plants. It will re-colonize the roots and get things back on track. Do not do this if you aren't having any problems.

For certain plants a Super Drench is beneficial in the middle part of the bloom cycle:

1 Cup (yes 8 oz) of Transplant plus 10 mils Tea per 5 gallons of water. Give each plant 1 gallon of this.

There is also the "OG Drench" for certain strains:

1 oz OG Drench plus 1 oz Transplant plus 2 tblspn Epsom salts plus 10 mil Tea per 5 gallons of water.


Recycling Soil

After the first crop is harvested, put the soil, including the roots, mixed with fresh EWC, perhaps 20 lbs worth along with another bag of amendment back into the barrel and cook it for another month, then use as always.

After the second crop is harvested, take that soil, and add the 3rd Run Amendment to this soil, along with some leaf scraps from recently harvested healthy plants and a light sprinkling of Roots! on the leaves. Let this cook for a month and then use as always.

After the 3rd crop has been harvested from the soil, add fresh, unused Promix along with leaves and a light dusting of roots and re-cook.

I personally do not use soil after the 4th run. Others do so with good success and I suggest seeking them out and seeing if their methods work in your garden. I get my best results with the 3rd run of soil.

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Doc Bud;2516743 said:

Of course, as people become familiar with the kit they start to do things their own way. This feeding schedule is a great "baseline" if you will.

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MaxYields;2505643 said:

- HIGH BRIX FEEDING SCHEDULE -​

Alright everyone, using several different posts from "DocBuds High Brix Q&A" as well as his "In The Lab" threads I have put together a precise feeding chart that can applied to any number of pots. I took Major PITA's Foliar Spray ratio and expanded on it, those are my best estimates based on how much of the Foliar Spray I have used in the past.

This schedule assumes that you are following DocBuds recommendation of Solo Cup (not necessary) > 1 Gallon Pot > 7 Gallon Pot transplanting. I also made the assumption everyone with the kit has basic horticulture experience... I did not take into account any of DocBud's specialty products (OG Drench / Fungicide), or heavy feeding plants. This entire schedule is adjustable, so if you have a heavy feeder feel free to bump up the ratios a little.

Also keep in mind I did not give recommended water ratios, that is because we are feeding the soil. Mix the amounts of Drenches and Teas I have given with as much water as you need to get about 20% run off.

Anything written in RED has to do with Transplanting and Soil maintenance. Anything in BLACK has to do with feeding.

DRENCH & TEA RATIOS (Compliments of Graytail)

1 GALLON POT >> 0.5 - 1.0 mL DRENCH >> 0.05 - 0.1 mL TEA

7 GALLON POT >> 3.0 - 7.0 mL DRENCH >> 0.3 - 0.7 mL TEA

10 GALLON POT >> 5.0 - 10 mL DRENCH >> 0.5 - 1.0 mL TEA​

FOLIAR SPRAY RATIOS (Compliments of Major PITA)​

SMALL PLANT >> 1 mL Foliar Spray per 30 mL R.O. Water.

MEDIUM PLANT >> 2 mL Foliar Spray per 60 mL R.O. Water.

LARGE PLANT >> 4 mL Foliar Spray per 120 mL R.O. Water.​

THE ENTIRE PROCESS​

- CLONES & SEEDS -​

Fill Solo Cup with H.B. Soil >> Dig hole for Seed or Clone >> Dust hole with "Roots!" >> Plant Seed or Clone >> Cover and lightly water.

Water >> Water >> Water >> Water >> Water.

De-Stress Tuesdays & Thursdays // Brix Fridays -- @ 1 to 30 mL ratio.

- 1 GALLON: VEG -​

Fill 1-gal pot with H.B. Soil >> Dig hole for transplant & dust it with "Roots!" >> Score rootball vertically >> Dust rootball with "Roots!" >> Transplant and cover rootball with soil >> Water (+ 0.5 mL Transplant Drench).

Growth Energy (0.5 mL + 0.1 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 0.25 mL Transplant Drench) >> Growth Energy (0.5 mL + 0.1 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 0.25 mL Transplant Drench) >> repeat.

De-Stress Tuesdays & Thursdays // Brix Fridays -- @ 1 to 30 mL ratio.

NOTE: At this point you should be watering ONLY when leaves begin to show slight signs of under-watering.

- 7 GALLON: VEG -​

Fill 7-gal pot with H.B. Soil >> Dig hole for transplant & dust it generously with "Roots!" >> Score rootball vertically >> Dust rootball with "Roots!" >> Transplant and cover rootball with soil >> Water (+ 2.5 mL Transplant Drench).

Growth Energy (5.0 mL + 0.5 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 1.25 mL Transplant Drench) >> Growth Energy (5.0 mL + 0.5 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 1.25 mL Transplant Drench) >> repeat.

De-Stress Tuesdays & Thursdays // Brix Fridays -- @ 2 to 60 mL ratio.

NOTE: At this point you should be watering ONLY when leaves begin to show slight signs of under-watering.

- 7 GALLON: EARLY-BLOOM STRETCH -​

Growth Energy (7.0 mL + 0.7 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 1.75 mL Transplant Drench) >> Growth Energy (7.0 mL + 0.7 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 1.75 mL Transplant Drench) >> repeat.

De-Stress Tuesdays & Thursdays // Brix Fridays -- @ 4 to 120 mL ratio.

NOTE: At this point you should be watering ONLY when leaves begin to show slight signs of under-watering.

- 7 GALLON: BUD SETTING -​

Cationic Root Drench (7.0 mL + 0.5 mL Tea) >> Cationic Root Drench (7.0 mL + 0.5 mL Tea) >> Growth Energy (7.0 mL + 0.5 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 1.75 mL Transplant Drench) >> Growth Energy (7.0 mL + 0.5 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 1.75 mL Transplant Drench) >> repeat.

De-Stress Tuesdays // Brix Fridays -- @ 4 to 120 mL ratio.

NOTE: At this point you should be watering when the pot is light but the soil is still damp. Do not let it dry out for the rest of Bloom.

- 7 GALLON: FLOWER & BUD SWELL -​

Top dress each pot with 1/6 (weight wise) of DocBud's Re-Charge >> Scratch lightly into surface of soil >> Water until run off.

Growth Energy ( 5.0 mL + 0.5 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 1.25 mL Transplant Drench) >> Growth Energy (5.0 mL + 0.5 mL Tea) >> Water (+ 1.25 mL Transplant Drench) >> repeat.

De-Stress Tuesdays // Brix Fridays -- @ 2 to 60 mL ratio.

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Doc Bud;2555845 said:

I like to use first run soil with nothing more than the kit, second run soil with nothing more than the kit and the root balls from the first run, and then I start adding leaves, Roots!, EWC and 3rd run amendment. 4th round must be cut with fresh Promix.

At the same time as above, I sometimes have another barrel of soil to which I add lots of leaves and Roots! and really get a super rich humus soil. I call it "Rescue Soil" and I top dress with it with later rounds of soil.

But my preferred soil is usually 3rd run.

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"Within a given species of plant, the crop with the higher refractive index will have a higher sugar content, higher mineral content, higher protein content and a greater specific gravity or density. This add up to a sweeter tasting, more minerally nutritious food with lower nitrate and water content, lower freezing point, and better storage attributes."

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