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Metrc: Additives, Recipes, and Application

Additives are essential for tracking the nutrients, pesticides, and other substances applied to your plants. This guide covers the end-to-end process of creating additives, building recipes, and applying additives.

Written by Cassidy Austin
Updated this week

Creating Additives

Individual additives serve as the ingredients for your feeding profiles. Metrc does not allow the application of singular additives; they must be part of a recipe. Once individual additives are created, you can move on to Creating Additive Recipes.

1. Head to Grow > Additives > Additives > Click ➕ Add.

2. Fill in the details:

  • Name (Required): Enter the product name (e.g., Brand Name Bloom A).

  • BarCode/External ID (Optional): Enter the Product SKU.

  • Type: is not defined for singular additives.

  • Notes (Optional): Internal descriptions.

  • Click Save.

Note: The Type of additive is not defined for singular additives because Metrc does not allow applying a singular additive product to plants; singular additives do not exist in Metrc. Type is defined on the recipe.

Tip: You cannot delete an additive if it is part of an active recipe. You must remove it from all recipes first.

Creating Additive Recipes

Additive Recipes allow you to bundle nutrients, microbes, and conditioners into a single feeding profile. Rather than logging each additive individually, you can apply an entire pre-mixed batch Recipe with a single click.

1. Head to Grow > Additives > Recipes > Click ➕ Add.

2. An editable row appears in the Manage Additives Recipe table in which you will enter the following details:

  • Recipe Name (Required): Enter a nickname for the recipe

  • Product Name (Required): Enter the brand name of the actual additive product(s).

  • Type (Required): Select the additive type from the dropdown. These selections are set by Metrc and vary by state.

  • Notes (Optional): Add any internal handling instructions or context.

  • Supplier (Required): Identify the vendor or source of the additives.

  • Application Device (Required): Select the application device used to apply the additives (e.g., Sprayer, Irrigation System).

Note: At least one Recipe Item must exist to save a recipe. If you attempt to delete all items, the system will display the error: “At least one item must exist in a recipe.”

Adding Recipe Items

Every Recipe needs at least one ingredient to get started. By grouping your additives here, you create a standardized feeding blueprint that helps your team avoid mixing errors and maintain consistent plant health.

1. Locate the Recipe Item section within the editable row. Choose an Additive from the dropdown menu. This list is populated by the singular additives you created in Step 1.

2. Define Concentration % (Required): Enter the percentage of the additive within the total mixture.

  • Validation Rule: Metrc requires this value to be between 0.0001 and 100.

  • Error Handling: If you enter a number outside this range, the system will throw an error and prevent the recipe from saving.

3. Add More Items: To build a complex feeding profile, click ➕ Add Recipe Item to create additional rows.

4. Click Save.

Note: Due to Metrc API limitations, recipes cannot be deleted in GrowFlow. You must Discontinue the template in Metrc and then run an Additives Sync in GrowFlow Admin settings.

Note: New fields have been added to Recipe templates to align with Metrc’s requirements in creating Additive Templates.

Applying Additives

The Apply Additives function turns a physical feeding into a permanent digital record, giving you the data needed to track the success of your feeding schedules. You can initiate an additive application from two primary areas in GrowFlow.

Select your plants from the Grow Overview

Best for applying additives to an entire room or a specific strain.

1. Navigate to Grow > Overview > Locate the Clones, Seeds, Veg, or Flower columns.

2. Select the Plants you would like to apply Additives to from any of the Clones, Seeds, Veg, or Flower columns.

3. Click ➕ Apply Additives.

Select your plants from the Plants Overview

Best for filtering by specific stages, tables, or individual plant selections.

  1. Navigate to Grow > Plants.

  2. Filter the table by Strain, Room, Table, or Stage.

  3. Check the boxes for the applicable plants.

  4. Click the Apply Additive icon.

Complete the Application

Once the Apply Additives icon is selected, the Apply Additives window appears, in which you can enter the following details:

1. Employee (Optional): Select the staff member who performed the application.

2. Select Recipe (Required): Choose the Recipe you wish to apply.

3. Select Unit Rate (Required): Specify the recipe quantity to use. This defines the mixture ratio relative to the coverage area.

4. Total Unit Volume (Required): Value for the base coverage to define how much mixture covers the specific area

5. Gallons of Solution Applied (Required): Enter the total amount of water or solution used for the application.

6. Submit: Click Apply Additive.

Note: Rate and Volume ratio dropdown options are defined by Metrc. Clicking Apply Additives triggers the required reporting data to be pushed to the state traceability system. Always verify your Total Volume before clicking Apply to ensure accurate reporting.

Metrc Compliance and Recipe Migration

Metrc now requires specific fields on Recipes, such as Application Device and Supplier, that were not previously part of GrowFlow. If you have Recipes that were created before February 2026, they must be updated with the new required fields before they can be applied to plants.

Note: If an unsynced recipe is attempted for Plant application, an error will be thrown: Recipe [recipe name] is not persisted in Metrc and can't be applied to plants. To be able to apply it, please go to Recipes and edit it by supplying it with the required information and then save it again.

How to Sync Existing Recipes to Metrc

To migrate legacy recipes and enable them for use:

1. Head to Grow > Additives > Recipes.

2. Locate any recipe created before February 2026 and click Edit.

3. Fill in the newly required Metrc fields: Application Device, Supplier, and Product Name.

4. Click Save.

Note: GrowFlow will automatically sync the recipe to Metrc as an Additive Template. The Recipe is now ready for application.

Application History

Application History shows historical additives applied with the most recent application listed first.

1. Go to Grow > Additives > Application History.

2. Click + to expand the view of the Additive Recipe.

Note: The concentration percentage of the additive within the total mixture will be shown in the table.

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