Nope, I reused soil that I had in pots from past balcony gardens, which is ECO brand organic potting soil and compost, plus it still had visible eggshells in it (I crush eggshells and add them to soil; I also add coffee grinds and other natural things that sometimes squick people out). I used to feed Buffaloam compost tea, but haven't had any in a while. I have a new composting setup on the balcony this year, and it seems to be going well but I haven't gotten any tea out of it yet (it's set up to catch some though, as things break down).