Alien OG: Autopot vs Fabric pot

soysauce First time ordering seeds. So far so good. Going to do one in a fabric pot and the other in a Autopot.

soysauce So far so good. First time using a tds meter. Increased ppm from 330 to 535. Noticed a little yellowing on the tip of one leaf. My guess a bit too hot on the nutes. I haven't been watering very much at all since the substrate has been staying fairly wet. Because of this, when I do water, I pour the Solution in the tray and kind of let the plants drink from the bottom. Plus this helps with maintaining a higher humidity.

soysauce Typically I like to up pot in different stages but since I'm using a autopot I decided to go straight into the final pots. So far so good, noticed the one in the autopot appeared slightly yellow then the one in the air pot. Both are getting the exact same nutrients, ph and amount of water. I plan on scrogging so I topped both plants.

soysauce Started the autopot system with a 25L reservoir. First time attempting this method, so it'll be interesting to see how well it performs and what problems arise. I defoliated and tied down both plants. I like the manifold/mainline techniques but decided on trying something a little different. I'm going to top occasionally and move branches when necessary. I believe doing this will give me a better bade for scrog. I am thoroughly impressed with how well this strain takes to manipulation! Almost like it was designed for it. I noticed that some holes have developed on the leaves, not sure if it's a bug or nute deficiency... if it is a bug not sure where I would have gotten it. I only use cana coco

soysauce I discovered what was causing the holes in my leaves.... Thrips.... Don't know how I got them, must have been a bad batch of coco. So I dropped a nuke on them in the form of Dr. Doom. So far no leafs missing from new growth. Crossing my fingers I got them all and caught it early enough. The autpot vs fabric pot The autpot is starting to move ahead of the fabric pot. I've noticed the stems and leaves are larger and it's growing wider. I did notice a smell from my reservoir. I cleaned it out and added new batch of nutes, a air stone and enzymes komplete. Couldn't find hydrogaurd but was told from my local store it works the same. Alien OG is one odd strain. Never had a plant that seems to naturally grow flat, not complaining considering my height restrictions. All in all a decent week.

soysauce Nothing major this week. So far I'm liking the auto pot! Not sure how it will hold up in flower but damn in veg I'm impressed. Not as good as dwc but better than drain to waste. Started the net, might need to get a second one. Hopefully I can push veg for another couple of weeks, would like to flip in September when temps start to get a little cooler. But not sure if I will have enough room. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

soysauce Theres no doubt that the autopot has surpassed the one in the fabric pot. I will be using two on my next grow. I did a lot of defoliation this week. I'm hoping she bounces back well. Started to add additives to the feed schedule. I really want some weight this round. Always struggle with having a good amount on the scales. Quality has always been there. I hope Scrog helps with that and the fact I'm veging for min of 8 weeks Turns out, quite a few of advanced nutrients line up have been pulled by Canada Health, who new? Luckily I have the emerald harvest line up from a previous grow and according to my local hydro store I can mix and match.

soysauce Not much happened this week. I ran into a bit of a ph issue, where it spiked to 8.4 but I think I caught it early enough. Lesson learnt check ph daily. I will be flipping this weekend, looking forward to see how she does! I did download a free light app called photone, seems legit. Here are some specs I recorded PPFD: 843 DLI: 35.2 LUX: 30000 Any suggestions if I should be increasing or decreasing these values let me know.

soysauce I decided to flip them a bit earlier than I originally thought. Was a little worried I may not have enough space. I did 36 hours of darkness and then started the 12 on 12 off. I finally got around to fixing my 100w qb from hlg so decided to add it to the tent... I didn't account for the extra heat but have been able to keep it relatively in range. I have also ran into humidity issues either too high, which I can fix easily but by doing so drops it too low so I have ordered a humidifier. Maintaining a proper ph in the reservoir has been a struggle as well. It swings up and I have to adjust almost daily. To help manage this I am allowing for the water to sit for 24hrs before adding nutrients. All in all not too bad, I have been defoliating a little bit. Not much just fan leaves that are blocking bud sites. Week 3 I'll do more. DLI: 55.7 PPFD:1289 LUX: 72000

soysauce Everything is coming along nicely. Defoliated more then I have ever done, hoping it helps with increasing yeilds. The Scrogging and extra veg time I think is going to pay off. No real smell, at least I don't smell it yet. Think I will up the nutes next week, consider it "mid flower". I'm following the guidelines off the bottles. Hard to say which is going to be the winner out of the autopot vs fabric pot. They look even all things considered. Although the fabric pot has a thicker stalk. Humidity hasn't been much of an issue this week. I did get a humidifier just in case and will probably get a dehumidifier eventually. I have learnt how to spot ph problems from the color of leaves yellow seems to indicate a higher ph then normal.

soysauce Not a whole lot has gone on this week. I did have a issue with the auto pot where the tiny hole that allows water to flow into the pot got clogged. Plant hasn't seem to care, must have caught it early enough. Might have defoliated too soon, a lot of the leaves have regrown. The one in the fabric pot appears to have bigger or longer buds, less leaf than the one in the auto pot. So far, I'm preferring the fabric pot. But it's way too early to tell. Upped the nutes to "midflower" That's all for this week.

soysauce Not much to report, things are going smoothly. Fluctuations in ph have began to smooth out. No major spikes just a gradual increase. The girl on the autopot is definitely more leafy than the one in the fabric pot. Not sure if it's just a variation in phenotype or if there is a direct correlation with the different methods. Definite frost on both and the one in the fabric pot is stacking exceptionally well.

soysauce Everything is going great! No known issues, been maintaining around 45 % humidity. I think that has played a major roll in how chunky these girls are getting or it's the genetics. Can't be too sure, either way this is one of my best looking flowers to date and I still have 4 more weeks! The autopot is starting to stack. Seems to be maturing slower than the fabric pot. Till next week

soysauce Getting close to the end now. If wasn't for the leaves browning/dieing on the girl in the autopot, everything would be great. Majority of the pistils on the girl in the fabric pot have turned red and the buds are feeling plump. Will be checking the trichomes once my loupe arrives. The autopot girl is growing well, a little behind the other one. Have ran into a problem that I can't seem to figure out😕 looks like severe root burn but instead of the tips it's the edges and creeps inward. No real smell but if you get close enough you get a hint of lemon/pine and a bit of sweet. They're both real sticky.

soysauce I was able to get a decent loupe and check out the trichomes. I was surprised to see that there were some amber already. I thought at this point the majority would have been clear. So due to this revelation and with what was going on with the dieing leaves, I decided to start flushing. Both plants look good, the autopot girl seems to have really enjoyed straight tap water. No ph down. I figure play it by ear but hopefully chop them down next week.

soysauce It's time! Finally harvesting these girls! They're looking supper frosty. The smell is sweet, lemon, skunk with a bit of grape... lol or something completely different it's hard to distinguish what it is. As soon as I got rid of the net the one in the fabric pot couldn't keep upright, hope that means these buds are gonna be heavy. Just can't decide if I should do a dry trim or wet 🤔

soysauce Finally the results are in! It's been a long time coming, the battle between autopots vs fabric has finally been decided.. Dry weights Autopot: 2.8 Oz Fabric pot: 4.7 Oz Weight wise the fabric pot wins! But I think the autopot has way more than content, I haven't tested it, from a purely visual standpoint the autopot looks to have a heavier frost. Don't know if I'll do autopot again. It wasn't as hands off as I thought it would be. Probably just me being naive. Still lacking the density that I was aiming for... kinda disappointing to be honest. But live and learn and try again. All in all I loved growing this strain, it was soo easy to manipulate and no huge issues that weren't my fault. Definitely recommend Alien OG by sonoma. Not sure what I'll grow next. Thanks for all the support from this great community. Till next time, stay safe and happy growing!