House & Garden Nutrients

Three bases, one per substrate

House & Garden does not write one base bottle and then tell you how to use it in every medium. There are three formulas, each built for what the roots actually sit in — and that choice matters more on this page than any additive.

Soil A&B. The potting-mix and living-soil line, bottled in 1L, 5L and 20L.

Cocos A&B. The coco-coir line. Coco holds onto calcium and magnesium and lets nutrients go differently than soil does, so this mix is built around that. Sizes: 1L, 5L, 10L and 20L.

Aqua Flakes A&B. Aimed at recirculating hydroponic systems: DWC, NFT and flood-and-drain. Sold in 1L, 5L, 10L and 20L.

We stock starter kits for Soil, Coco and Aqua. Each one pairs the matching base with the additives that belong next to it, which is the honest way into the brand if you would rather not pick bottles one at a time.

Additives in this range

Roots Excelurator. The product the brand is known for, and the dearest bottle here, from 100mL through to 5L. It goes in early, at a low dose.

Top Shooter and Top Booster. Two flowering bottles that run as a pair — Top Shooter in 100mL to 5L, Top Booster in 250mL to 5L.

Shooting Powder. Comes as one sachet or a five-sachet box, mixed per litre once you are in late flower.

Bud-XL, Amino Treatment, Multizyme. Bud-XL and Amino Treatment scale from the small bottles up to 20L commercial sizes. Multizyme is the enzyme that clears spent root matter between cycles.

Drip Clean and Tap Ov 61. Drip Clean stops irrigation lines and drippers furring up — worth running on any recirculating system — and Tap Ov 61 conditions tap water before you mix.

Getting the dose right

1. Use the brand's own chart. There is a House & Garden feed schedule for each substrate. Stay on the conservative side it is written for — these additives are potent, and extra volume does not help.
2. Keep the additive with its base. The usual error is Cocos A&B on a soil schedule, and the first sign is a calcium deficiency.
3. Read EC after the tank is mixed, not before. Because the concentrates are strong, you only know the real strength once you measure the finished solution.

Check that finished mix with an EC meter and bring it into range with pH up and down — the small habits that make a dear nutrient line earn its keep.