Hy-pro - Epic Blast Coco

Epic Blast is the bloom booster from the Hy-pro Coco line. Of the three Epic bottles it is the only one Hy-pro place explicitly on late bloom: it comes in as flowering progresses, and it is meant to keep nutrients moving into the flower once the plant is already loaded.

The late bottle of the three

Epic Boost and Epic Bloom are simply placed in the flowering phase. For Epic Blast, Hy-pro write it differently. Their catalogue says, under the Coco A&B feed, that you add Epic Blast as the flowering phase progresses, and on the product itself that it gives extra power for the ripening phase by keeping nutrient transport into the flower optimal. They add that it firms up the buds.

That shifts the centre of gravity to the second half of bloom. In practice it means you are not switching it on to get flowering started, but to finish it. By then the plant has set its flowers and is filling them, which is the phase where demand for phosphorus and potassium peaks while the root system is past its best.

Our own page used to say something else, namely to use it in the last three to four weeks of flowering. That is not what Hy-pro say. They begin in the fourth week of flowering and continue until the flush. On a seven-week bloom those come to roughly the same thing; on a longer-flowering variety they do not.

Coco extracts, and why coco runs empty quickly

Hy-pro describe Epic Blast as a mix of minerals and trace elements based on chelates and coco extracts. That last part is the only substrate-derived component in the entire Epic range: neither the hydro nor the terra version lists anything of the kind. What the extract actually does, Hy-pro do not say, and we are not going to invent our way around that.

What they are clear about is why a coco grower needs a booster that is kept topped up. Coco supplies almost no nutrition of its own, holds little, and is watered often, sometimes several times a day. Hy-pro write that in flower a plant can strip the elements from the root zone remarkably fast, on occasion inside 72 hours. Potting soil has a buffer that absorbs this. Coco does not.

That also explains why their advice is about frequency and not only about dose. At least once a week, for as long as the plant is flowering. In a substrate that is flushed through daily, how often you top up matters at least as much as how much you add each time.

What else is in it

Hy-pro name superphosphates for more energy and cell building, and write that Epic Blast accelerates photosynthesis and has a strongly stimulating effect on the flowering process. Their Dutch catalogue states that the product stimulates the plant's own production of proteins, phytohormones and vitamins.

An analysis is missing. Hy-pro publish no NPK and no percentages for the whole Epic range. That is a pity, but it can be said plainly, and it beats repeating a figure that came from nowhere.

When and how much

From the fourth week of flowering until the flush. The label says 1 ml per litre, and in Hy-pro's grow schedule the Epic row runs from 0.5 to 1.5 ml per litre, with the highest value at the end. So the dose rises along with the bloom.

Add it after mixing Coco A&B, and measure EC and pH only once everything is in. Hy-pro hold 5.5 to 6.0 for the nutrient solution. On coco that is worth checking every time, because you feed often and a small deviation stacks up quickly.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: bloom booster, matched to the Hy-pro Coco line
• Manufacturer: Hy-pro
• Suitable for: coco substrates, indoors and outdoors
• Stated components: minerals and trace elements based on chelates and coco extracts, plus superphosphates
• Analysis: not published by Hy-pro
• Label dose: 1 ml per litre
• In Hy-pro's schedule: 0.5 to 1.5 ml per litre, rising
• Period: from the fourth week of flowering until the flush
• Emphasis according to Hy-pro: the ripening phase
• Frequency: at least weekly for as long as the plant is flowering
• Recommended solution pH: 5.5 to 6.0
• Pairs with: Hy-pro Coco A&B

Frequently asked questions

When do I start with Epic Blast?
Hy-pro start it in the fourth week of flowering and continue until you flush, with the emphasis on the ripening phase.

What is the difference with Epic Boost and Epic Bloom?
This is the coco version and the only one listing coco extracts. Epic Boost names sulphur, Epic Bloom names amino acids and organic stimulants. Beyond that the choice follows your base feed: growing on coco with Coco A&B, this is the matching bottle.

How often should I give it?
At least once a week for as long as the plant is flowering. On coco, where you water often and generously, the root zone empties faster than it does in soil.

What do those coco extracts do?
Hy-pro name the component but do not explain what it does, so we leave it at the mention.

What is the NPK?
Hy-pro publish no analysis for the Epic range, so it is not on this page.