Earth Juice nutrients are just wonderful and easy enough to use. Don't know where this 'learning curve' thing is coming from, but I would say you are much more likely to over-do it and burn your plants with the Fox Farm liquid trio. Earth Juice is very forgiving.
I prefer the Ocean Forest to the Roots Organic soil, but if that is what is available use it. You shouldn't have to add anything to either soil, except for a little more dolomite lime, oyster or eggshell (pulverized) to take care of the pH. Ocean Forest might have more nutrition in it so you wouldn't have to start feeding anything for a couple weeks. I usually start in a soil-less mix and then transplant into the Ocean Forest.
Whenever needed you can start with just the Earth Juice Grow (2-1-1) and the Catalyst. Later on in the veg state you can add in a touch of the Bloom (0-3-1) for added phosphorous, and some blackstrap molasses for additional potash and minerals.Once they are ready to flower you increase the Bloom and eventually decrease the Grow until mid-way through flowering after which you're using miniscule amounts of grow much less frequently. Last two weeks you don't give any grow at all and a final good feeding with the Bloom + molasses and/or kelp, then cut the dose down dramatically with each additional feeding or just use plain water. That's the gist of it, really. Every few weeks you'll want to water in some more dolomite is all.
Some people might tell you that you 'have' to aerate it (because that's what they heard), but this isn't really true. Earth Juice: Grow, Bloom and Catalyst, will do just fine simply mixed into irrigation water. If you want to you can use an aquarium air pump with an airstone to aerate the fertigation solution for 16-36 hours before you apply it. This will help bring the pH of the solution up naturally and stuff, but it isn't a requirement.
