I was just using the soil from our outdoor garden. It get's horse/cow/alpaca manure along with other compost tilled in every year so I thought it would've been good. All the other vegetables grown in it (tomatoes, cabbage, kale, green beans, zucchini, spaghetti squash, etc) has always done great. Water I was using comes from our well. But I've never checked the water or soil for PH. I chopped the little bonsai buds and the other I ended. I will start over once I get the tent setup indoors and then try again next year with outdoor.