diff --git a/internal/bootstrap/bootstrap_plain_git.go b/internal/bootstrap/bootstrap_plain_git.go
index 19fbae18ddb709031d8dfe44a9c81f26cdad9ff6..c932375d488f41144aba5488dcb44705b190fa2a 100644
--- a/internal/bootstrap/bootstrap_plain_git.go
+++ b/internal/bootstrap/bootstrap_plain_git.go
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ package bootstrap
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -29,6 +31,7 @@ import (
 	"sigs.k8s.io/cli-utils/pkg/object"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/api/filesys"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/api/konfig"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
 
 	kustomizev1 "github.com/fluxcd/kustomize-controller/api/v1beta1"
@@ -152,10 +155,48 @@ func (b *PlainGitBootstrapper) ReconcileComponents(ctx context.Context, manifest
 
 	// Conditionally install manifests
 	if mustInstallManifests(ctx, b.kube, options.Namespace) {
-		b.logger.Actionf("installing components in %q namespace", options.Namespace)
-		kubectlArgs := []string{"apply", "-f", filepath.Join(b.git.Path(), manifests.Path)}
-		if _, err = utils.ExecKubectlCommand(ctx, utils.ModeStderrOS, b.kubeconfig, b.kubecontext, kubectlArgs...); err != nil {
-			return err
+		componentsYAML := filepath.Join(b.git.Path(), manifests.Path)
+
+		// Apply components using any existing customisations
+		kfile := filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(componentsYAML), konfig.DefaultKustomizationFileName())
+		if _, err := os.Stat(kfile); err == nil {
+			tmpDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "gotk-crds")
+			defer os.RemoveAll(tmpDir)
+
+			// Extract the CRDs from the components manifest
+			crdsYAML := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "gotk-crds.yaml")
+			if err := utils.ExtractCRDs(componentsYAML, crdsYAML); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			// Apply the CRDs
+			b.logger.Actionf("installing toolkit.fluxcd.io CRDs")
+			kubectlArgs := []string{"apply", "-f", crdsYAML}
+			if _, err = utils.ExecKubectlCommand(ctx, utils.ModeStderrOS, b.kubeconfig, b.kubecontext, kubectlArgs...); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			// Wait for CRDs to be established
+			b.logger.Waitingf("waiting for CRDs to be reconciled")
+			kubectlArgs = []string{"wait", "--for", "condition=established", "-f", crdsYAML}
+			if _, err = utils.ExecKubectlCommand(ctx, utils.ModeStderrOS, b.kubeconfig, b.kubecontext, kubectlArgs...); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			b.logger.Successf("CRDs reconciled successfully")
+
+			// Apply the components and their patches
+			b.logger.Actionf("installing components in %q namespace", options.Namespace)
+			kubectlArgs = []string{"apply", "-k", filepath.Dir(componentsYAML)}
+			if _, err = utils.ExecKubectlCommand(ctx, utils.ModeStderrOS, b.kubeconfig, b.kubecontext, kubectlArgs...); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		} else {
+			// Apply the CRDs and controllers
+			b.logger.Actionf("installing components in %q namespace", options.Namespace)
+			kubectlArgs := []string{"apply", "-f", componentsYAML}
+			if _, err = utils.ExecKubectlCommand(ctx, utils.ModeStderrOS, b.kubeconfig, b.kubecontext, kubectlArgs...); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 		}
 		b.logger.Successf("installed components")
 	}
diff --git a/internal/utils/utils.go b/internal/utils/utils.go
index 5cefc4c42cb9712b2a2477b107a63416a26fcbc6..1229d7921c913266c42b1c79a3d56794539708b5 100644
--- a/internal/utils/utils.go
+++ b/internal/utils/utils.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -47,6 +48,16 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/clientcmd"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
+
+	helmv2 "github.com/fluxcd/helm-controller/api/v2beta1"
+	imageautov1 "github.com/fluxcd/image-automation-controller/api/v1alpha1"
+	imagereflectv1 "github.com/fluxcd/image-reflector-controller/api/v1alpha1"
+	kustomizev1 "github.com/fluxcd/kustomize-controller/api/v1beta1"
+	notificationv1 "github.com/fluxcd/notification-controller/api/v1beta1"
+	"github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/dependency"
+	"github.com/fluxcd/pkg/version"
+	sourcev1 "github.com/fluxcd/source-controller/api/v1beta1"
 
 	"github.com/fluxcd/flux2/pkg/manifestgen/install"
 )
@@ -313,3 +324,41 @@ func CompatibleVersion(binary, target string) bool {
 	}
 	return binSv.Major() == targetSv.Major() && binSv.Minor() == targetSv.Minor()
 }
+
+func ExtractCRDs(inManifestPath, outManifestPath string) error {
+	manifests, err := ioutil.ReadFile(inManifestPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	crds := ""
+	reader := sigyaml.NewYAMLOrJSONDecoder(bytes.NewReader(manifests), 2048)
+
+	for {
+		var obj unstructured.Unstructured
+		err := reader.Decode(&obj)
+		if err == io.EOF {
+			break
+		} else if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if obj.GetKind() == "CustomResourceDefinition" {
+			b, err := obj.MarshalJSON()
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			y, err := yaml.JSONToYAML(b)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			crds += "---\n" + string(y)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if crds == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("no CRDs found in %s", inManifestPath)
+	}
+
+	return ioutil.WriteFile(outManifestPath, []byte(crds), os.ModePerm)
+}