Precision Nutrition for Cannabis: Inside Sostanza’s Custom Fertilizer Recipe

An interview with Deron Caplan, PhD

Deron Caplan, PhD, is a cannabis cultivation scientist and Senior Consultant at Sostanza. With a research background in horticulture and more than a decade of experience optimizing cannabis production systems worldwide, Deron has developed data-driven nutrition programs for facilities across Canada, Europe, Australia, and Latin America. His work bridges academic research and commercial cultivation, legal support—turning years of trial data into practical, high-performance fertilizer strategies tailored to cannabis.

Can you tell us how this fertilizer recipe came to be? Was there a specific problem or moment that got Sostanza to develop a custom formula?

Deron: Back when we were working at commercial facilities in Canada, we ran into the same fertilizer problems most growers still face. What was available at the time were either liquid formulations, complex, expensive, and full of unnecessary components or general horticultural blends that weren’t designed for cannabis. The first type was too costly for large-scale production; the second didn’t deliver the quality we needed.

We saw one clear solution: create our own custom cannabis fertilizer recipe that combined the efficiency of horticultural salts with the precision cannabis requires—pure inputs, clean burn, strong yield, and consistent cannabinoid and terpene profiles.

"We built our own fertilizers to bridge efficiency and precision. Clean, affordable, and proven for cannabis.”

What were the guiding principles behind the recipe?

Deron: We started with plant health. Healthy plants are naturally more resistant to disease, produce higher yields, and create more uniform, higher-quality flower. Once we achieved consistent plant health, we shifted focus toward the product itself through looking at smokability, cannabinoid and terpene content, visual quality, and bag appeal.

It’s a gradual process. You first need a strong foundation and then you can refine the nutrition to bring out the best expression of the flower.

Cannabis is very different from traditional horticultural crops. How did that affect the formulation?

Deron: Cannabis is unique because the end product is smoked. That changes everything about fertilizer formulation. Safety and purity are critical, you have to be extremely careful about heavy metals and contaminants. We use pharmaceutical-grade inputs that exceed standard horticultural quality.

We also consider what ends up in the flower itself. That means adjusting nutrition late in flower to make sure the finished product is clean and safe. Another factor is that cannabis is a fast-growing, nutrient-demanding crop. It has specific mineral requirements at different growth stages, so our recipe is designed to meet those precise needs in real time.

What techniques were used to refine and validate the recipe?

Deron: This is where our background in research and consulting really comes in. The process was entirely data-driven. We grew cannabis crops across different systems, indoor, greenhouse, and outdoor, and ran weekly tests: measuring runoff, analyzing leaf tissue, and tracking nutrient uptake. By comparing what went into the system with what plants actually absorbed, we refined the balance crop by crop. Over more than ten years and dozens of facilities, from Canada to Costa Rica to Australia, we collected thousands of data points to fine-tune the recipe for different substrates, climates, and cultivars.

Every “best batch” became a new benchmark. We’d look at what worked from plant health, yield, cannabinoid and terpene content to bag appeal and build from there. That continuous improvement cycle is what makes the Sostanza formulations so reliable.

“Every best batch became a new benchmark. Continuous data-driven refinement is how the formula evolved.”

How does Sostanza’s fertilizer program differ from commercial pre-mixed brands?

Deron: Most commercial brands aim for one-size-fits-all. It’s convenient from a manufacturing perspective, but not from a grower’s. Cannabis facilities vary in system type, automation, substrate, and local water quality.

Our approach is the opposite, we customize. We offer strong starting points proven to perform in most systems, then refine the program with the grower based on their data. That flexibility, transparency, and cost-efficiency are what make our fertilizers different.

If a grower wants to simply plug in a high-performing recipe, we have that. But if they want to go deeper by collecting leaf tissue data, analyzing runoff, and tweaking ratios, we work alongside them to get that last 5–10% of improvement.

What does a grower actually receive when they implement the Sostanza fertilizer program?

Deron: We start with a full audit of their current fertilization setup: what they’re using, how they’re mixing, system capabilities, automation level, stock tanks, acid or base injection, and so on. Then we guide them through input selection. We go through choosing high-quality raw materials that are locally available and cost-effective. We provide SOPs and training for mixing and stock tank management, set fertigation targets like leaching fraction and irrigation frequency, and help design a data collection process.

Growers learn how to gather, send, and interpret data, and we help them make adjustments over time. The goal is to make them fully confident managing and optimizing their own feeding programs.

Who is the program designed for?

Deron: Originally, it was built for large commercial growers, especially those in the medical and export markets, because small nutritional improvements can have massive financial impact at scale. But now, we’re working to make it accessible to everyone.

We’ve developed base formulations that get any grower about 90–95% of the way there, even without lab testing. It’s affordable, effective, and easy to implement. When they’re ready, they can take that next step into data collection and fine-tuning.

What results have you seen in facilities using the Sostanza recipe?

Deron: Consistent yields, better flower uniformity, higher cannabinoid and terpene levels, and improved smoke quality. More importantly, growers gain control, less guesswork, more repeatability.

What’s next for the Sostanza recipe? Are there ongoing adaptations in the works?

Deron: Yes, absolutely. We’re working with our partners at Plant Mechanics in Australia, who have an advanced fertilizer blending and manufacturing facility. Together we’re producing these custom formulations for broader distribution, liquid and dry formats available in Australia, Thailand, Europe, and soon Brazil.

It’s exciting because it means more growers will have access to the same quality and science that went into our consulting projects. And we’ll continue offering support through Plant Mechanics and the Sostanza team. Our goal has always been to help growers succeed. This just lets us do it at a much larger scale.

“Our goal has always been to help growers succeed. Now, more people can access the same science-backed formulations.”