Factor in nutes cal mag etc vs just water and well it is cheaper I can do 5 plants with 2 bags using 2 pounds per pot and with shipping 10 pounds of kind soil is less then 50 bucks so that is less then 10 bucks per plant.. It's a steal actually..yes and no. Making super soil isn't cheap so when compared to that, and the fact you only use a pound per gallon, its not too bad. Yes, still a bit expensive but not unreasonable. And look how much people blow on bottled nutes!!