In the growth phase, plants depend mostly on nutrients to prepare for the flowering phase. The substrate must contain nutrients that stimulate growth(most out of 16 essential nutrients) to facilitate better root development. And make wise choices while choosing necessary nutrients according to plant type and surroundings conditions.
It is also advisable to use hummus and algae extract to increase the richness of the substrate. You can also make use of a mixture of beneficial fungi (mycorrhizae and trichoderma). The hand made combined mixture of coco peat, worm hummus, perlite and neem extract serves best for finer pest protection and good yield.