Hy-pro - Epic Boost Hydro

Epic Boost is the bloom booster from the Hy-pro Hydro line. You add it to Hydro A&B from the fourth week of flowering, and it is the only one of the three Epic bottles that Hy-pro also name for aeroponics.

Sulphur: the element the other two do not list

For Epic Boost, Hy-pro name extra phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and a blend of micronutrients. For Epic Bloom and Epic Blast they name phosphorus and potassium but not sulphur. It is the one real difference the manufacturer writes down between these three bottles, and it is worth knowing about.

Sulphur is a macronutrient. A plant needs it on the same order as magnesium, so far more than it needs iron, zinc or manganese. It is a building block of proteins and of some of the sulphur-bearing compounds that shape how a harvest smells. It is also the element most often missing from a booster label, because a bloom booster is in practice sold as a bottle of phosphorus and potassium.

The point is not that you run short of sulphur without this bottle. Your base feed usually supplies it, often as magnesium sulphate. The point is the ratio. When you add phosphorus and potassium in bloom, your EC rises while everything else stays where it was. A booster carrying only P and K skews that balance; one that brings sulphur along skews it less.

Why this matters in hydro and aeroponics

Potting soil contains organic material, and over a cycle all sorts of things are released from it. Rockwool, clay pebbles and an aeroponic chamber contain nothing. What is in the tank is what the plant gets, and there is no reserve to fall back on.

That makes an inert system stricter than soil: any element you do not supply simply is not there. It also makes it more predictable, because nothing muddies your readings either. Your EC really is what you mixed.

Hy-pro name Epic Boost for aeroponics, which they do for neither of the others. That fits a second property they stress across their whole range: their liquids dissolve completely and leave no residue. In an aeroponic chamber that is not a detail. The misting nozzles have openings a fraction of a millimetre across, and a deposit you would never notice in a watering can will block one.

What else Hy-pro say about it

Hy-pro state that Epic Boost accelerates photosynthesis, so that sugar production and the firmness of flowers and buds increase. They add that the product stimulates the plant's own production of proteins, phytohormones and vitamins, and that it contains superphosphates.

What does not exist is an analysis. Hy-pro publish no NPK and no percentages for the entire Epic range, so we do not add any. You are buying a stated composition without figures behind it, and saying so is more honest than copying a number from a shop that got it from somewhere itself.

When and how much

Hy-pro start Epic Boost in the fourth week of flowering and keep it running until you flush. The label says 1 ml per litre.

Their own grow schedule gives no single figure: the Epic row runs from 0.5 to 1.5 ml per litre there, and 1.5 is the highest value and sits at the end. So the dose rises with the bloom rather than staying flat through it. Hy-pro advise feeding it at least once a week for as long as the plant is making flowers.

Mix the booster into your feed water after you have added Hydro A&B, and measure EC and pH only once everything is in. Hy-pro hold a solution pH of 5.5 to 6.0. Overdosing is possible, so measure once more rather than once less.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: bloom booster, matched to the Hy-pro Hydro line
• Manufacturer: Hy-pro
• Suitable for: hydroponic and aeroponic systems
• Stated components: extra phosphorus, potassium and sulphur, plus a blend of micronutrients
• 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
• Frequency: at least weekly for as long as the plant is flowering
• Recommended solution pH: 5.5 to 6.0
• Pairs with: Hy-pro Hydro A&B

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference with Epic Bloom and Epic Blast?
Hy-pro give each version its own component list. This one names sulphur, Epic Bloom names amino acids and organic stimulants, and Epic Blast names coco extracts. Beyond that the choice follows your base feed: if you use Hydro A&B, this is the matching bottle.

How much do I actually give?
The label says 1 ml per litre. Hy-pro's schedule runs from 0.5 to 1.5 ml per litre and rises as flowering progresses, so 1 ml is the middle of it rather than the whole story.

When do I start?
In the fourth week of flowering, and you continue until you flush.

What is the NPK?
Hy-pro publish no analysis for the Epic range, so we put no figures on it.

Can I run it through a drip system?
Yes. Hy-pro make a point of their liquids dissolving completely and leaving no residue, precisely with drippers and dosing computers in mind.