I was reading an old Steemit post saying that articles are no follow until they reach a certain amount.

If this is true, only higher paying posts even have a shot at ranking on Google. I looked you up on Google using the standard site:steemit.com/@abh12345. You do have a few posts ranked by Google.
That catch on the tool is a helpful way to asses reader interest. Post payouts is another obvious area to look at. :)