When preparing soil, use more dirt than perlite. This helps create an environment more suitable for microbial activity and helps with water retention.

Add a healthy amount of worm castings, ancient rock dust and lime to your soil. You can also look for organic products that have a variety of ingredients.

Use additives like fish enzymes and humic acid.

Foliar-feed plants with seaweed. Also, add lots of seaweed along the way with each watering. Seaweed contains growth hormones and amino acids, and helps support that organic edge in your garden.

Provide your microbes with a carbohydrate such as molasses. This proliferates their population and also provides trace elements. Hydroponic growers are advised to use more refined sources of carbohydrates.

Don’t let your soil dry out completely, even the top layer. This helps bacteria stay active in the upper layer. Just be careful not to overwater, or insects and diseases may surface.

Skip chemical feeds occasionally, while still watering with organic additives.

Use humate products that can help to create the optimal pH range rather than commercial pH Up. Most concentrated humate extracts tend to promote a balanced pH and can be effective in raising your pH levels.

Properly formulated microbial products engineered for hydroponics rather than field agriculture also help to ensure a more stable and balanced pH in your indoor garden because they promote balanced populations of the right kinds of microbes.

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