And So It Begins

It’s hard to believe but High Brix Gardens is a teenager! 13 years ago, High Brix Gardens was started in a dilapidated machine shed in southern Minnesota.

The ideas and influence from its humble beginnings have gone around the world. And many new garden programs have been started copying the pattern of High Brix Gardens: test the soil, blend a custom mix of minerals, provide full-spectrum nutrition to the soil, and reap the reward in the form of more flavorful foods. It’s common sense simplicity has helped thousands of gardeners enjoy nutritious produce.

What started as a trickle soil test once in a while has become a steady stream accounting for nearly half of all samples coming into International Ag Labs. The demand by more and more people to grow their own food and ultimately nutrition, continues to increase year after year.

I confess that I feel a sense of pride, almost as a parent would in a child, when I look back on High Brix Gardens. And that metaphor ties into the purpose of this article. A new “child” has been born! High Brix Gardens has a newborn “sister” so to speak. I am pleased to formally introduce you to Grow Your Own Nutrition.

Just in case you are curious High Brix Gardens is doing well and will continue to offer its services well into the future.

For a long time, I have been mulling over an upgrade to the High Brix Gardens program and even had a precursor as Mineralized Gardens. But in the last 2 years everything came together. With this article I want to explain why.

Believe it or not one of my biggest inspirations to make the change came from something I carried around in my pocket every day. Yep—I’m talking about an iPhone. Everybody I know can easily use an iPhone. Two-Year-Olds are amazingly proficient at using them. Its level of intuitive simplicity is remarkable. All its simplicity faces the front for an easy-to-use experience. Maps, Email, Text, Apps absolutely easy to use. But in reality, an iPhone is incredibly complex.

I don’t know of one person who has popped the hood open, dug into all the circuits and software to create their own version of an iPhone. Only 1 company comes to mind: Samsung. Even behemoths like Amazon and Google can’t compete.

The extreme simplicity on the front sides masks such an immense complexity on the inside it is mind boggling. The iPhone perfectly illustrates the world we live in today. People want absolute simplicity of use but demand performance that takes an incredible amount of complexity to achieve. And since we live in a highly technological era it is feasible to accomplish these twin demands, though not easy to set up.

5 Years in Development

The iPhone story is the backdrop that led to the Grow Your Own Nutrition garden program. I spent a lot of time asking myself; How can I create a garden program that is so easy to follow anybody could do it and yet still achieve outstanding food quality?

The very first Grow Your Own Nutrition garden was my pilot garden last year. I made raised beds last spring and planted a number of crops. We were surprised at the flavor and potency of the foods. We tasted and tested Cilantro at 11.9 brix, Peppermint leaves at 16.9 brix and a hybrid Roma Tomato at 8.2 brix. This tomato was a Heinze H1301 and is not known for getting beyond 5.5 brix.

Heinze H1301 Tomato

I have to tell you about the peppermint. We would pick a fresh leaf and chew it. It almost felt like it contained a drop of essential oil; it was that potent.

Peppermint

Notice the gloss on the cilantro leaves. This glossiness is a sign of very high quality and reflects a greater oil content internally. When Rebecca would cook chicken curry using our own tomatoes and cilantro the flavor in the curry would really pop. Needless to say, we are expanding our garden with more beds and can’t wait for spring!

Cilantro

Simplification

The Grow Your Own Nutrition Program is a complete fertility program that only has two actions.

1. Broadcast Dry Minerals 1X per Year
2. Drench Liquid Nutrients Every 3 Weeks During the Growing Season

This program is especially designed for new growers who have no gardening experience and for experienced gardeners who want to get the highest output with the easiest effort.

The new program has eliminated foliar sprays and the external use of Transplant Formula. Instead Transplant Formula is incorporated into the blend of minerals. We have also upgraded the blend of minerals. We now include multiple carbon sources to further enhance the soil environment and microbial health. To find out more about the carbon sources sign up here.

One addition to the program is the 5-page Executive Summary. This is where I walk through the soil test and give a birds’ eye view of your soil pattern and what nutrients were included in the broadcast.

Another difference is the option of 5 sizes starting with the smallest at 64 square feet. Each larger size doubles from the previous. The GYON garden program is best suited for gardens 1,024 square feet or smaller while the High Brix Gardens program is best suited for 1,000 square feet or larger.

The GYON garden program has one more simplification. It only needs a single point of purchase once a year. This single purchase is the entire cost of the fertility program. With it comes the soil test, the executive summary, the dry blend of minerals and carbons, instructions, and the liquid drenches. Even the return postage for the soil sample is prepaid.

Executive Summary

High Brix Gardens works through a dealer who custom blends the minerals and fulfills all other packaged products. GYON does not work through dealers. Instead it is fulfilled by our family business; Eden’s Secret LLC. And we are soon to be offering an affiliate program to those who would like to partner with us in promoting GYON. If that interests you please sign up here.

If you would like to see a sample of the completely redesigned Soil Test Report and the accompanying  Executive Summary please Meet Lynn Hoag.

Wishing you a fabulous garden, the best tasting food, and health that keeps getting better,

Jon Frank