Hy-pro - Generator

A highly concentrated additive with a mix of trace elements, silicon among them. 0.16 ml per litre per Hy-pro's schedule, dosed evenly from growth through flowering, on any substrate.

First, to place it properly: this is a trace-element additive

We shelve it among the silicon products, and there is silicon in it, but Hy-pro themselves describe Generator first and foremost as a mix of trace elements. The silicon is a part of that, not a heading above it.

Worth saying, because it decides what you compare this with. Set beside a bottle that supplies only silicon, this is a different thing: here you are buying the small elements a plant needs very little of and which go missing from a feeding schedule first. Hy-pro give the effect as steadier growth, protection against stress factors and a stronger immune system.

They publish no analysis. There is no element list and no content figure, so we print none.

Silicon is deposited, not consumed

Of the elements in this bottle, silicon is the one whose behaviour least resembles the rest, and that is the interesting part.

The plant takes it up as silicic acid, dissolved in soil water, through transport proteins in the root. Then something happens that does not happen with an ordinary nutrient: the silicon is not converted and not built into a metabolic process, but precipitated as solid, amorphous silicon dioxide in and between the cell walls. Those deposits are called phytoliths.

Which explains why silicon's effects sound like construction rather than biology: firmer stems, a harder outer layer, more resistance to heat and drought. It is literally material laid down in the tissue.

It also explains two things you notice. You see nothing in the first week, because a deposit builds up. And it cannot be reversed or moved: what the plant did not build in last month cannot be added now. So a silicon feed is a steady habit rather than an after-the-fact correction.

Hy-pro further note that those phytoliths return to the soil with the plant material after the crop, where the cycle begins again.

The only product in the schedule with a fixed dose

In Hy-pro's grow schedule almost every row climbs as the cycle progresses: the base feed, the boosters, the root stimulator. Generator does not. It sits at 0.16 ml per litre and stays there, from the first week of growth to the last week of flowering.

That fits what it is. Trace elements are not taken up in larger amounts as the plant grows in the sense that you would need to raise their concentration in solution; what you want above all is for them to be constantly present.

Hy-pro do warn that overdosing is possible. With a product dosed at 0.16 ml per litre the margin between the recommended amount and substantially too much is not large, so measure with a syringe.

In use

Mix 0.16 ml per litre of water and give it through the growth and flowering phases. Suitable for hydro systems, soil and coco: Hy-pro state the recipe suits any substrate and leaves no residue, which in a drip system is the point.

Always measure your EC and pH before adding this additive, as Hy-pro advise, and use it preferably alongside the rest of the Hy-pro line.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: concentrated trace-element additive, silicon among them
• Manufacturer: Hy-pro
• Dose: 0.16 ml per litre of water per Hy-pro's schedule
• Progression: dosed evenly from the first week of growth to the last week of flowering
• Substrate: hydro systems, soil and coco
• Residue: leaves none, per Hy-pro
• Note: overdosing is possible
• Analysis: not published by Hy-pro

Frequently asked questions

Is this a silicon product?
There is silicon in it, but Hy-pro describe it first as a mix of trace elements. If you want silicon alone, look at a product aimed at that.

Why does the dose not change through the cycle?
Trace elements you mostly want constantly present. In Hy-pro's schedule Generator is the only row that stays on the same figure the whole way.

Why do I not see anything straight away?
Silicon is deposited as solid material in the cell walls and that builds up. It is a steady habit, not an after-the-fact correction.

Can I give too much?
Yes, Hy-pro explicitly warn that overdosing is possible. Measure 0.16 ml per litre with a syringe.

Can it go in a drip system?
Yes. Hy-pro state it leaves no residue, which with drippers and nutrient computers is the point.