diff --git a/release/tools/gce.conf b/release/tools/gce.conf
index 749574e58736..29d1faf66bd9 100644
--- a/release/tools/gce.conf
+++ b/release/tools/gce.conf
@@ -5,11 +5,10 @@
 
 # Set to a list of packages to install.
 export VM_EXTRA_PACKAGES="firstboot-freebsd-update firstboot-pkgs \
-	google-cloud-sdk panicmail sudo firstboot-growfs \
-	sysutils/py-google-compute-engine"
+	google-cloud-sdk panicmail sudo sysutils/py-google-compute-engine"
 
 # Set to a list of third-party software to enable in rc.conf(5).
-export VM_RC_LIST="ntpd sshd firstboot_growfs \
+export VM_RC_LIST="ntpd sshd growfs\
 	firstboot_pkgs firstboot_freebsd_update google_startup \
 	google_accounts_daemon google_clock_skew_daemon \
 	google_instance_setup google_network_daemon"
@@ -21,6 +20,10 @@ vm_extra_install_base() {
 }
 
 vm_extra_pre_umount() {
+	# Enable growfs on every boot, not only the first, as as instance's disk can
+	# be enlarged post-creation
+	sed -i -e '/KEYWORD: firstboot/d' /etc/rc.d/growfs
+
 	cat << EOF >> ${DESTDIR}/etc/rc.conf
 dumpdev="AUTO"
 ifconfig_DEFAULT="SYNCDHCP mtu 1460"