Bees are not patient gatherers. They don't just fly to the next flower they see. They choose. They compare. And they opt for the flower that offers the best deal.
This deal is called nectar. And the quality of the nectar—its density, sugar content, mineral composition—depends directly on how well the plant is nourished. How intensely it performs photosynthesis. How rich the soil is from which it draws its nutrients.
In other words: the bee chooses—and it chooses the higher Brix value.
What nectar is—and where it comes from
Nectar is not a random product. It is the carefully composed incentive a plant offers a bee—in exchange for pollination.
The composition of nectar largely corresponds to the plant sap. Nectar is concentrated plant sap—with everything it contains. Sugars, minerals, amino acids, secondary plant compounds. What is in the plant sap also makes it into the nectar. What is missing from the sap is also missing from the nectar.
This means: A high Brix value in the plant sap—many dissolved solids, a lot of sugar, many minerals—leads to richer, more attractive nectar. And poor plant sap with a low Brix value leads to watery, less attractive nectar.
On warm, dry days, nectar is usually more concentrated and thus has a higher sugar content. This is no coincidence—it's the same effect we know from the Brix value: stress and heat concentrate the plant sap. But the crucial factor is not daily stress—it is the plant's fundamental nutrient supply throughout the entire season.
How bees choose—110 million years of evolution
Bees and flowers have co-evolved since the Cretaceous period. That's about 110 million years now. In this long shared history, bees have developed an exceptionally fine sense for the quality of nectar. They can taste the sugar content of nectar. They can distinguish amino acids. And they remember the flowers that provided particularly good nectar—and revisit them.
Flowers visited by honeybees usually have significantly sweeter nectar than those pollinated by butterflies. This is not an evolutionary coincidence—it is the result of a very long shared development. Bees have learned to prefer the flowers that offer the richest nectar. And plants have learned to produce their best nectar precisely when bees are present.
But here lies the problem of our time: If soils are depleted, if plants are chronically undernourished, if the Brix value is low—then the nectar is also poor. The bee arrives. It finds little. It flies on. The flower remains unpollinated.
The direct connection—Brix value and bee visits
In regenerative agriculture, it's a well-known observation: fields with high Brix values are visited by more bees than fields with low Brix values.
John Kempf—one of the leading figures in regenerative agriculture—has systematically described this connection. From a Brix value of about 7 °Brix, plants begin to become interesting for bees. The higher the Brix value, the more attractive the plant becomes—the richer its nectar, the more intense its fragrance, the more frequent the bee visits.
This has a direct economic consequence: better pollination means more fruit set. More fruit set means higher yields. And this has already been observed many times in practice: fields treated with mineral foliar fertilizers that achieved a higher Brix value were visited more intensely by bees—and at the same time yielded better harvest results.
What nectar really contains—and why it matters for bees
Bees don't just need sugar. They need a complete nutrient package.
Besides sugar, nectar also contains amino acids (essential protein building blocks) which are important for the development of bee brood. It contains minerals and trace elements that are crucial for the bees' immune system. And it contains secondary plant compounds that have antibacterial and antiviral effects—and which give honey its healing properties.
All these substances are produced in a plant that performs intense photosynthesis and is well supplied with minerals. A plant with a high Brix value produces more of them—in the fruit, in the leaf, and also in the nectar.
This means: bees that collect from nutrient-rich fields with high Brix values produce healthier honey. With more secondary plant compounds, more minerals, more intense aroma. The same principle that makes nutrient-rich food for humans—makes nutrient-rich honey from bees.
Why bee mortality and soil depletion are linked
This is a connection almost completely missing from the public discussion about bee mortality—although it is scientifically plausible.
When soils are depleted—through one-sided NPK fertilization (fertilization with only nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), intensive tillage, humus loss—the Brix value of plants decreases. And when the Brix value decreases, the quality of the nectar decreases.
Bees that collect poor nectar are poorly nourished. Their immune system is weakened. They are more susceptible to parasites like the Varroa mite and to diseases like Nosema. They can deal less effectively with pesticides because their bodily detoxification mechanisms rely on nutrients that are lacking in poor nectar.
Bee mortality has many causes—pesticides, Varroa mites, habitat loss. But the creeping deterioration of nectar quality due to soil depletion is a cause that is rarely discussed. And it is one that we can directly address—through better soil health, through regenerative agriculture, through a higher Brix value on our fields.
What this means for the garden
Here, the connection becomes particularly practical.
Anyone who grows plants in their garden that are regularly treated with Grünkraft Calcium—higher Brix value, more intense photosynthesis, more secondary plant compounds—will observe more bees in their garden. Not because they specifically planted bee-friendly varieties. But because their plants produce better nectar.
A tomato with 12 °Brix attracts more bees than one with 6 °Brix. An apple tree that is well supplied with calcium produces richer nectar in its blossoms—and is better pollinated—and yields more fruit.
This is the circle that closes: Healthy soil → vital plant → high Brix value → rich nectar → more bees → better pollination → higher yields → healthier food.
Each step reinforces the next. And the first step—healthy, mineral-rich soil—is in our hands.
An observation anyone can make
There is a simple experiment that anyone can do in their garden.
Take two beds. Treat one with Grünkraft Calcium—every 10 to 14 days, throughout the entire flowering period. The other remains untreated as a comparison.
And then observe. Not with measuring devices—simply with your eyes. Which bed is visited more often? On which flowers do more bees sit?
The answer is always the same in practice. The bees choose. And they choose the higher Brix value.
What the Brix value is and how to measure it yourself—in the Brix article with Reams table and equipment recommendations.
Why soil health determines the nutrient density of all foods—in the article on minerals and depleted soils.
How Grünkraft Calcium increases the Brix value—the complete explanation in the photosynthesis article.
All products for garden and agriculture in our Garden Collection and Agriculture Collection.
Sources: Die Honigmacher, Nectar and Pollination | Pflanzenforschung.de, Nectar Production and Pollination | scinexx.de, Bees and Nectar Quality, MIT Study PNAS 2011 | John Kempf, Plant Vitality and Bee Visits | Dr. Carey Reams, Brix Reference Tables | Vandelook et al., Nectar traits differ between pollination syndromes, Annals of Botany 2019
