the soil may not be as important as picking a good quality fert. having said that, I'm not a botanist or soil chemist or anything like that. But I've learned that methods of the past, meaning 5-10 years ago, tended to be no good because people were buying liquid ferts and not using them properly. Picking a fert like Dr. Earth means that you have to give more time to the growing, but it's less worrisome for the grower. There will be no more questions about pH and you shouldn't have much in the way of deficiencies. If you do just a quick shot of an additive should solve the problem. The companies that make liquid ferts have come out with feeding schedules in an attempt to help growers know how much to feed, but even then people can screw things up. There are many Dr. Earth ferts and you'll only need one. It might be smart to get a fert with micro nutes as well, like boron, sulphur, etc. as I don't think the Dr. Earth ferts contain everything. Perhaps the best thing to do is contact the company and see what they say, if micro nutes are something that needs to be purchased separately. the value to dr. earth is that it mimics natural fert processes, using bacteria and fungi, and once in the soil you don't have to guess as to how to fert anymore. I've noticed that over the last six months or so, not very many people come to this forum looking for help. It used to be that there were at least 5 new posters every day with problems coming here wanting help only to be put on a circle-jerk. One rule to follow in investing is not to through good money after bad, meaning if your investment isn't working, throwing more money into it is probably a waste. Same things can said about plants. If the fert method you're using isn't right, pumping in more fert will just make it worse.