Stefan Joest wrote:
>  it's just MN (mother nature, term taken from Rex - hopefully not con-
> sidered plagiarized! ;-))

Thank you, sir.  One of my secret hopes has been that I would one day say
something that someone, somewhere, would care to plagiarize.  Who would have
thought it might be the letters "MN"?

> Rex,  welcome to this list. Interesting to have a farmer here!  Does the "Brix"
>detect how fresh a fruit/vegetable is? What stands "NPK" for?

Brix is simply a measure of the total soluble solids in the sap of a fresh fruit
or vegetable.  It is a combination of sugar, minerals, vitamins, amino acids,
proteins, taste factors, and other essences of life.  Yes, sugar is a component of
Brix, but Brix is not sugar.  It was originally used for grapes as a means of
sorting out those fruits so that the vintner could predict which would produce
sour, sorry, superior, and, for the very best fruit, sublime wines.

NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) is a derogatory term as I use it signifying
simplistic fertilization as practiced by mainstream farming.  By its very nature
it tends to produce watery, often bitter, low Brix fruits and vegetables.  In
turn, watery production is savagely attacked by insects and disease---hardly the
food you would want to put in your mouth even if they rescue it with toxic
chemicals.  Sadly, that's what is in the stores.

Regards,
Rex Harrill