Humic acid (and its usually accompanying fulvic acid) are most often used as an amendment to improve the quality of clay soils, sandy soils, and/or other soils organically deficient. The primary value of adding humic acid to clay or other compacted soils comes from the resulting structural break-up (increase in friability) of these soils. Obviously, this should not be an issue in the soils you are using. In sandy soils, humic acid's value is in its addition of organic material to soils, which would also in the end improved water retention and root function, neither of which are anything you would be lacking in the soils you use. In some soils, humic acid can also play another role in facilitating a plant's ability to assimilate nutrients. Humic acid can lower pH and help unlock otherwise bound nutrients in the soil that might not be unavailable under conditions of higher pH. Again, this should not be an issue for you, given the fertilizer regimen you use and a known favorable pH. Finally, humic acid can stimulate soil micro-biology in some soils, increasing the numbers and activity levels of soil micro-populations, the primary function of which are to make available minerals and nutrients which could be stored within the humic acid complex and hopefully available on an 'as needed' basis. Again, not much of a benefit when you consider you're supplying a full compliment of nutrients in a readily available form on a regular and 'as needed' basis. I suppose if I was to sum it up, I would say that a build-up or adequate measures of humic acid in garden soils is to be desired & most effectively accomplished by the regular addition of organic materials to the soil. How valuable wholesale applications of humic acid are to garden soils is probably highly variable by soil type, soil composition, and the intrinsic quality/value of the individual product at hand. It's value in containers would probably be marginal at best or go completely unnoticed, but there's nothing to stop you from trying it. I think if you ARE to see any value in its use, it's more likely that you would see it in the gritty mix you are using, rather than the highly organic bark:peat:perlite mix (if you use that at all). Take care. Al

if you have been organic gardening a million years you probably don't need to use humates and humic acid...we here in america have depleted most of our soil...by disturbing soil, plowing, tilling, roads, building etc....also compaction, also pesticides etc..roundup...if i was starting a small garden, i would begin by using the ruth stout method, start in fall...learn to make your own compost, learn how to use humic acid to soften soil (deep)....build back minerals using volcanic rock dust...the dirtdocter says you may have to till once in beginning....also add biochar (once)...the indian

One thing you all need to learn is that humic substances have the most amount of misinformation spread about them in the agricultural industry and even more in the hydroponic industry. To answer a couple of questions. 95% of fulvic products, usually potassium fulvate are not what you think they are. Anyone who talks about a super concentrate is a salesman. Pure fulvic will read ppm the only thing that won't is pure water. Humic acid and fulvic acid are the two main organic acids extracted from humic substances. Humin is another but is of no use in hydroponics as it is completely insoluble. When people talk about solubility of humic and fulvic this is not actually correct. they form what are called colloidal suspensions. Commercially they are extracted from brown coal also called low grade coal or lignite, preferably from a brown coal called leonardite which is more soluble because it is more oxidised and the average oxygen and functional group content is higher. They are also extracted from peat, leonardite is high in humic and low in fulvic generally and peat in comparison has a higher fulvic content and lower humic content. I won't go into the details of extraction and isolation but basically potassium hydroxide is used to get the soluble humic substances into solution and then the humic acid is precipitated to separate it from the soluble fulvic. An array of different additives are used to increase the effiancy of extraction and are usually dependant on the source material of the humic matter. I have worked on humic substances for 15 years consulting all over the world inc. Europe, Russia and China. If you want to make your own home made fulvic the easiest way is to buy some peat, and add about 1.5 litres of vinegar to 500g of peat. Mix well and leave for a couple of days or more. Strain out the peat and your done. If you have a highly decomposed compost this will work as well especially if you have added microbes to your compost.

did the acid do that? probably not. ENHANCED IN VITRO PROPAGATION OF MUSA ACCUMINATA INDUCED BY HUMIC ACID FROM COAL EXTRACT AS COMPARED WITH COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE HUMIC ACID PRODUCTS - ResearchGate - ENHANCED IN VITRO PROPAGATION OF MUSA ACCUMINATA INDUCED BY HUMIC ACID FROM COAL EXTRACT AS COMPARED WITH COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE HUMIC ACID PRODUCTS