level where they buy. Don't be surprised if a stranger notices you testing and asks what brix you are seeing as you peer. Discreet brix testing may be going on all around you. GO TO THE GROCERY STORE Ask for the produce manager. Tell him the information you want and what you wish to do. Offer to share the information you obtain. Grocery stores have a satisfaction guarantee. Suggest to them that you are trying to decide your satisfaction at the store instead of waiting until you get home. Do be discreet and not disturb other customers. THE STAGES OF TESTING AS A GARDENER OR FARMER IN THE FIELD Start by testing your finished produce when it is ready for harvest. Recognize that HIGH QUALITY produce comes from HIGH QUALITY plants. Test the leaves of your plants that are not ready for harvest. If they continually test high as the days go by, the harvest will ultimately test high. Start your testing earlier next season. You are no longer operating blindly. Adjust your fertilization to increase leaf brix. The QUALITY of your produce will be far higher.  An excellent step-by-step program using pH & electrical conductivity to adjust leaf brix upwards has been developed by Bob Pike.  This method removes much of the traditional guesswork that formerly dominated the "try this---try that" school of how to increase brix. Chemical control of plant pests is a multi-billion dollar industry. Each year, the chemical companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising