All you ever wanted to know about SUPERthrive

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by SirDufus, Aug 17, 2011.

  1. I've been around these parts for a long time and figured it was time to stop sandbagging, sign-up for an account and make my first post something useful to the community.

    SUPERthrive®.
    Vitamin Institute, founded in 1936 in North Hollywood, CA is a private company categorized under Vitamin Products Manufacturers and the makers of SUPERThrive. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $5 to 10 million and employs a staff of approximately 10 to 19.


    You've probably seen that bottle on the shelf at your favourite supplier. The tacky yet retro label promising all sorts of great things that nobody can actually figure out!?! Going to their website confuses you even more... read the label for the big jug for example, the amount of propaganda on there alone is something else. If you have never seen it, I've attached a pic of the label in this post. If you've also searched the forums looking for real information on this product you probably found lots of anecdotal stories and failed, uncontrolled experiments like I did. It really seems to be split between the believers and the truth seekers and sometimes large debates go on and on and on about the topic. Here are some results of my search so it can save you time when trying to check some of the claimed facts made by ST:



    • Some say the smell is strong of Vitamin B. It smells bad and lingers on your hands if touched.
    • Research has shown over and over again that Vitamins do not show any sign of being beneficial to plants. ST is mainly vitamin B1.
    • In the US, the sale of ST is prohibited in Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Oregon as an unregistered pesticide because it contains NAA.
    • Apparently the product is now banned in Australia but I have not checked this fact since I don't live there.
    • Rumours that the product has been banned in Canada for years are unfounded and no proof can be found. A search of various Canadian government websites yielded absolutely no results. I was at my local hydro store yesterday and saw it on the shelf behind the counter (that's what made me start this whole mess in the first place). If you can't find this product locally, maybe you haven't looked at the hydroponic stores.
    • Myth busters on Discovery channel do not review product so that's out as a source of information.
    • A search of the Consumer Reports websites gets no results on this topic. I would be interested in knowing why they don't deem this product important enough to review since it's been sold for 71 years now!
    • Lots of flashy money offers if you don't like the product. Here's what one user who contacted the company had to say:
    • Apparently some companies have claimed to have reverse engineered the product since the ST patent has now expired (could not find facts to back this up).
    • It seems to be agreed that ST has some beneficial effect during cloning and germination and should not be used for flowering cannabis as the flowers will be lighter and growers always prefer dense flowers.


    After several long hours of searching I finally found what I was looking for! Real scientific information about SUPERthrive® and you can read the PDF here:
    http://www.sarracenia.com/pubs/cpn38-24-27.pdf


    In case this link goes dead in the future, here is the first paragraph from the results section:
    If you want more information about the inventor who's in his late 90's now, a good read is here:
    Dr. John Thomson - Vitamin Institute


    Could it be the fantastic marketing that is the packaging that's made this product so enduring all these years?
    Product Packaging: The Secret to Selling a Commodity Product


    Conclusion: I've spent several hours searching and reading all I could find about the product. If you want to skip all the details and just get the facts based on what I found well I would say save your money if you are on a budget. If you have some extra change and want to give it a try with new cuttings what can it hurt? A small bottle is about $12 and should last a year for most home users. If it works for you then please don't stop what you are doing. I'm done my research and am going to use my money on other products.


    I'm now off to research seaweed as the new magic potion, wish me luck.
     

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  2. Here's an interesting article that adds to the discussion:

    The thing is no matter how much searching I do, cannot find any reference to Las Vegas hotels using this stuff, nor Disney nor any of the other claims made. You'd think these people would be talking about it if it were that good, and that a person would be able to find reference articles that mention SUPERthrive saving them lots and lots of money, but I can't.

    Things that make you go hmmm...
     
  3. Never trust a genie in a bottle. Like all the additives that you can buy for your car..all genies in a bottle. Save your money.
     
  4. Well, I think it is fair to say that ST remains unproven. But the fact that it remains unproven is not proof that it is in fact useless:


    • A single scientific study that did not show ST to have substantial effects on carnivorous pitcher plants (nepenthes) says nothing about what ST may or may not do for other kinds of plants, MJ included.


    • The fact that Disney has not come out and said that they use it is not proof that they don't (I haven't seen Disney talking openly about what kind of toilet paper they use or what kind of pencils they use, either).


    • There are many products that Consumer Reports has not reviewed, and the lack of a review does not in and of itself somehow constitute a negative review.

    There is scientific evidence that vitamins can be beneficial to plants. It isn't conclusive, but it isn't lacking either.

    The bottom line is that there is no bottom line -- no one has shown one way or the other that ST is or is not beneficial to MJ plants. To use ST is a personal choice. Do you believe it contains vitamins that can help the plant or don't you? Have you used it before and seen results or did it do nothing for you?

    I believe ST can help with sick plants, I believe I have seen it in my own grows. But none of us conducts scientifically-controlled studies that can prove anything one way or the other.
     
  5. Was just trying to share what I found and no I have not used it, thought that was clear?

    The fact remains that none of the claims seem to be verifiable and I'm not the first to mention this fact. Bottom line? I don't recall making such a claim, I clearly said if it works for you then you should continue using it.

    toastybiz, not sure why you felt the need to criticize my first post they way you did, but I'm sure you had your reasons. I can't compete with 12k posts, I don't have that much knowledge and frankly don't have that much to say. English is my second language so it takes me much longer to compose anything. The picking apart of my post in your reply makes me wonder if I should have just stayed in the background and chosen to not share as I'm sure many others do because of replies like yours.
     

  6. Good point but thats not a reason to buy. I could use that logic on anything. Would you like some water that I put basil in and since there is no study I can claim that its a wonder drink. It will cure everything. Of course not

    Take a look at POM wonderful. The FDA issued them a letter stating just that. None of there claims could be substantiated by third party studies other then theirs. A lack of evidence does not allow them to promote it as anything other then a fruit drink. To do otherwise is false advertising. They are currently fighting the FDA on it. I would to if I had a billion dollar a year company that hinges on consumption on its supposedly miracle properties.
     
  7. SirDufus, I think you're being overly-sensitive. I didn't "criticize" your post, but I did address some implications being put forth, not necessarily by you but elsewhere in this thread, about ST, those implications basically being that if it can't be proven to be beneficial/effective then it must be proven to be worthless. I know you didn't say that, but that is the overall tone from what you wrote. And you are entitled to that bias. I was revealing the other side of the same coin, and I'm sure you would agree that I am likewise entitled to that viewpoint.

    Glad to see you putting good info out, I did feel it was not "balanced" and have shown my take on the other side of the coin, that's all.

    And similar point to Rhapsody, I am not putting forth reasons to buy ST, I am simply examining the reasons implied for not buying it. I am not aware of the FDA taking any action against ST for false claims, so again there is an implication being put forth that ST's claims are bogus. They are unproven, that is not the same thing as proven to be bogus.

    So, should someone use ST? The true essence of this discussion is that there is little hard evidence either way, that it is beneficial or not, so there isn't much data or evidence to go on one way or the other. A grower needs to examine other things to decide if he should use ST, such as what "feels right" or what he deep-down believes, what his own experience with it has been, what stories he hears from growers he trusts, and so on. If you are looking for actual evidence you won't find much. That in and of itself is not an objective reason to steer clear, but it certainly could be a subjective one.
     
  8. I agree toasty. For myself I am just weary of anything like fuel additives that you can put in cars that claim so much. Like my nutrients might not do as advertised but they do not make bold claims. Usually anything that does falls way short.
     
  9. I think looking at something and effectively saying, "I wont' use it unless I have proof it works" is a perfectly acceptable way to do things. I do that plenty myself. But it is a subjective way of looking at things, it isn't the same as finding objective evidence against using it, that's all.
     
  10. its not just vitamin b1 actually its a patented molecule hormone called napthyl acetic acid here is the wiki on it pretty amazing stuff this genie in a bottle actually comes out to play na mean ;)
    SUPERthrive - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  11. a friend poured 20 litres of superthrive on another friends sapling plum tree just before moving out of his house. it has grown 30+ feet in 5 years, in a planter box. roots are tearing up the paving and everything, plums the size of a fist.
     
    superthrive is like plant roids. it does work.
     
  12. Sounds like anecdotal evidence rather than actual evidence. Many many things could have caused that other than the ST without examining the whole process and doing it more controlled than dumping a ton onto a tree. I tend to agree that it may help some species of plants but not others.
     
  13. I grow exclusively in soil and have found that Superthrive is fantastic when it comes to avoiding shock when it comes time to transplant to larger pots.  Before I used it the leaves would get all droopy and the plants would need a few days to recover, even if transplanting into the same soil mix.  With Superthrive they make the move happily, even if transplanting into a completely different medium (which I've had to do at times when the one I selected wasn't working out so well).  I can't attest to how good it is as a nutrient additive but it's great for transplanting.
     
  14. is it possible that superthrive is a soil amendment? something to help correct a deficiency. i just discovered a gardener (brightgreenthumb) on youtube using a controlled grow. three containers, three identical plants, three different feed schedules. first just plant and water, second plant water and fertilizer, third plant water fertilizer and superthrive. the difference is noticeable between the first plant(just water) and the second and third plants. but between the second and third plants the difference is not noticeable. my conclusion is. superthrive does no harm, which is always good. but maybe its more effective at solving deficiencies then at creating a "superplant". mho. i will purchase my own bottle of superthrive and see for myself. i have found that the most important factors in growing are starting out with a balanced PH, maintaining temperature control (75-80 f), good air circulation, a moderate feeding schedule. over feeding, over watering, over heating, maybe this is what superthrive fixes. turbo charging your grow cycle is expensive. i get the same results without the expensive products and equipment, it just takes another month or two. developing good observation routines and patience these are the tools growers need the most. check your PH every time you feed, that includes the water run off. it really is in the details, folks.
     
  15. Superthrive is snake oil.  The original study done decades ago showed that plant tissue cultured in a lab benefited from B-1 and thiamine, but later field studies showed that the effect on actual plants was negligable. Fact, not opinions, just the facts, but people who are fans of Superthrive will continue to believe what they want to ;?D
     

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