Superthrive: Mystery Ingredients, Regulatory Gaps, and Vitamin B Myths

Superthrive is marketed as a vitamin/hormone supplement—not a fertilizer—to avoid registration requirements. Its secrecy raises red flags.

What We Know

• Labeled as "vitamins and hormones" (Harold Garrett, Dirt Doctor)
• Explicitly not a fertilizer (avoids state registration laws)
• Indiana law: fertilizers must register, show N-P-K%, be tested by state chemist
• No public patent, no EPA registration found
• Company uses ~10 names at one N. Hollywood address, same phone

The Vitamin B Myth

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott (WSU) debunks vitamin B-1 (thiamine) as a root stimulant:

• 1949 study: "Transplantone" (auxin + thiamine) improved roots—but auxin did the work
• Decades of research: auxins (IBA, NAA) stimulate roots; thiamine alone does not
• Thiamine is ubiquitous in environment; produced by fungi/bacteria
• Supplement unnecessary if soil biology is healthy

Likely Composition

Best guess: dilute vitamin/hormone cocktail (possibly including auxins) in a base similar to blackstrap molasses—cheap, effective, unpatented. Marketing inflates price; "trade secret" avoids disclosure.

Better Alternatives

• Blackstrap molasses (unsulphured): known micronutrients, microbe food
• Willow water (natural auxin source): steep willow cuttings
• Compost tea: full biology + nutrients
• Registered rooting hormones (IBA/NAA): proven, labeled, legal

Bottom Line

If you don't know what's in it, don't put it on your plants. Transparency > marketing. Healthy soil biology makes Superthrive redundant.