GROWERS CHOICE PLANT GUARD
Grower's Essential Reference Guide
How To Use It. How To Store It. How To Get Results.
1. What Plant Guard Actually Is
Growers Choice Plant Guard is our proprietary potassium-based hypochlorous acid formula for plants โ produced fresh every weekday and shipped the same day it is made.
HOCl is not a conventional chemical. It penetrates pathogen cell walls, eliminates the infection, and breaks down into a trace of water and salt. Nothing harmful stays behind โ on your plant, in your product, or in your soil.
Important: neem oil, sulfur, and essential oil sprays work by coating plant surfaces. Trichomes live on those surfaces, and those coatings physically damage trichome structure โ degrading the terpenes your plants produce. Plant Guard oxidizes on contact and leaves nothing behind. Your trichomes are not touched.
2. Active Outbreak? Start Here โ Full Strength First
This is the most important section in this guide. Read it before you look at any dilution numbers.
ACTIVE OUTBREAK PROTOCOL โ THREE STEPS, IN ORDER
Step 1: Apply Plant Guard full strength โ do not dilute. Apply daily for several days until the outbreak is visibly under control.
Step 2: Once it is clearly clearing, mix 16 oz per gallon (8:1) and continue applying daily until the infection is completely gone.
Step 3: Once the infection is eliminated, return to the prevention rate of 8 oz per gallon (16:1) twice weekly to keep it from coming back.
Never start at Step 2 or Step 3 when you have an active problem. Full strength first. Always.
The single most common reason Plant Guard does not work is a grower with an active outbreak who reaches for a diluted rate instead of full strength. Prevention rates are for healthy plants. They are not designed to fight an established infection.
Once the infection is gone โ keep going. Return to the prevention rate and apply twice weekly. A clean environment stays clean when you maintain it.
3. Complete Dilution Reference
All rates below are sourced directly from the PlantGuard application guidelines. Every rate assumes fresh product stored properly. See Section 4 for storage rules.
| Situation | Plant Guard | Water | Ratio | When / How Often |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Outbreak โ Step 1 | Full Strength โ do not dilute | None | Undiluted | Apply daily for several days until outbreak is visibly under control |
| Active Outbreak โ Step 2 | 16 oz (2 cups) | 1 gallon | 8:1 | Once visibly clearing โ continue daily until fully eliminated, then return to prevention rate |
| Foliar Prevention โ Healthy Plants | 8 oz (1 cup) | 1 gallon | 16:1 | Twice weekly on plants with no active outbreak |
| Tools, Equipment & Surfaces | 32 oz (1 quart) | 1 gallon | 4:1 | Daily โ scissors, trimmers, benches, walls, grow rooms. Air dry, no rinse needed. |
| Irrigation Lines & Water Systems | 1 oz | 1 gallon | 128:1 | Ongoing โ prevents biofilm, keeps lines clear, eliminates waterborne pathogens |
USE IT FOR EVERYTHING โ EVERY DAY
Plant Guard will never hurt your plants. It can only help.
Most growers use it only for powdery mildew. The ones who get the most out of it run it across their entire operation โ tools, surfaces, irrigation lines, and foliar spray every cycle, every week.
The more consistently you use it, the less you will ever need to treat an active outbreak.
4. How to Store and Handle Your Product
Plant Guard is a live, active formula. HOCl is a gas in liquid form โ it off-gasses over time. How you store it determines how well it works when you need it.
The 90-Day Rule
Once you open the bottle, you have approximately 90 days of full potency. After that, potency drops. If your bottle has been open for 60 to 90 days and you have an active problem, lean toward less dilution โ or full strength โ to compensate.
Storage: Cool, Dark, Sealed
- โขSeal the cap tightly after every single use โ HOCl off-gasses through a loose lid
- โขKeep away from heat and direct sunlight โ both degrade the formula
- โขStore in the original container โ it is designed for this product
- โขDo not store in a hot vehicle, in the sun, or in an uncontrolled environment
Mixed Solution: Use It The Same Day
Once you dilute Plant Guard, the clock moves fast. HOCl off-gasses immediately from a diluted solution โ especially in a warm environment or a loosely sealed sprayer.
MIX ONLY WHAT YOU WILL USE TODAY
Do not mix a batch and save the rest for tomorrow.
Do not leave diluted solution sitting in an open or loosely-capped sprayer.
The sealed original bottle is stable. Once you dilute it, use it that day.
Yesterday's mix is not the same product you made yesterday.
5. Every Place It Belongs in Your Operation
Plant Guard works across your entire grow โ not just on plants. Here is where it belongs:
Foliar Spray on Plants
From vegetative stage through harvest day. Follow the three-step outbreak protocol when you have a problem. Use the 16:1 prevention rate twice weekly on healthy plants. Safe to apply through harvest โ no residue, no pre-harvest interval.
Tools and Scissors
Sterilize between every plant and every cut. Hop Latent Viroid (HLVd) spreads through contaminated cutting tools and has no cure. Use the 4:1 rate (32 oz per gallon), apply to tools, and air dry. No rinsing needed.
Surfaces and Grow Room
Benches, floors, walls, trays, pots, propagation domes โ anywhere spores survive between cycles. Apply daily during a run. Deep clean between cycles. Spores do not need much to establish.
Irrigation Lines and Reservoirs
Biofilm in water lines and algae in reservoirs are pathogen highways into your root zone. Use the 128:1 rate (1 oz per gallon) in your water supply on an ongoing basis to keep lines clear.
HVAC and Humidifiers
Your air system circulates whatever is living in it throughout your entire grow. Treat humidifier reservoirs and HVAC surfaces to stop airborne contamination at the source.
Bud Wash
Use Plant Guard as part of a post-harvest wash. It removes surface contaminants before drying, breaks down completely, and leaves nothing behind on the plant material.
6. If It Is Not Working โ Check These First
- You used a diluted rate on an active outbreak. Go to full strength. Apply daily until visibly clearing, then step down.
- The bottle has been open more than 90 days. Potency has dropped. Restock fresh, or significantly reduce your dilution ratio.
- You stored mixed solution overnight. Diluted product loses potency fast in warm conditions. Mix fresh every application.
- The bottle was stored in heat or sunlight. Heat and UV degrade HOCl before you ever open it. Store cool, dark, and sealed.
- You applied it once and stopped. One application does not build a clean environment. The protocol works because it is a system โ consistent, repeated application.
7. Quick Reference
- โขActive outbreak โ Step 1: Full strength, undiluted. Daily until visibly clearing.
- โขActive outbreak โ Step 2: 16 oz per gallon (8:1). Daily until fully gone.
- โขPrevention on healthy plants: 8 oz per gallon (16:1). Twice weekly.
- โขTools, equipment, surfaces: 32 oz per gallon (4:1). Daily. Air dry, no rinse.
- โขIrrigation and water systems: 1 oz per gallon (128:1). Ongoing.
- โขPre-harvest interval: None. Apply through harvest and as a bud wash.
- โขBottle open over 90 days: Reduce dilution or restock fresh.
- โขMixed solution left overnight: Discard it. Mix only what you use that day.
