Tip for stuck seedshells.....

[sunnydog]

I am pretty sure many of us have had a seedshell get stuck on a seedling.
This mostly happens when the seedshell dries out, and glues it and the embryonic skin (sure there is a term for this) to the baby plant.
Just using tweezers or ripping it off presents the danger of mutilating the baby plant.

So... Put a drop of water on the crack of the seed shell, let it penetrate into it, give it some time.
The water re-hydrates the lubricating slime of the inner seedcoat, making it easier for the plant to shed, or safer to be manually removed.

Hopes this helps some one.

SD

 

[bonjourbonjour]

Plant the seedling slightly lower in the soil then you do; this will help the plant shed the shell by itself. Plants that are too close to the top of the soil this willt help with friction to remove the shell. Just my 2 cents

 

[SOTF420]

spraying with water works like a magic trick, good post!

 

[sunnydog]

Plant the seedling slightly lower then you do that will help the plant shed the shell by itself. Plants to close to the top their is not help with friction to remove the shell. Just my 2 cents

Agreed.
Sometimes it just doesn't work out.

 

[Tropic]

I spray with water in this case too, however a drop works fine too, as long as you rehydrate that thing!

 

[007.]

I don't get people that say not to disturb a stuck seedshell. I had about 50 seedlings all planted too close to the surface and I removed almost 50 shells with no harm to the plant.

That water trick is a good idea though. I could have used that on some peppers I popped last week.

 

[Tilt]

Thanks for the tip I will remember next time I germ any seeds.

 

[Tropic]

I don't get people that say not to disturb a stuck seedshell. I had about 50 seedlings all planted too close to the surface and I removed almost 50 shells with no harm to the plant.

That water trick is a good idea though. I could have used that on some peppers I popped last week.

Sometimes while trying to remove the seedshell the seedling gets uprooted. That's why I don't bother removing it by hand anymore. Either the seedling loses it by itself, or I spray some water on it to help the process, but now I leave it alone, they eventually grow fine.

 

[sunnydog]

bump

bump


because lots of peeps liked it!

 

[Graham Purwatt]

i keep teriyaki sticks around to clean my pipe with and whenever i get a stuck seed cap i very gently use the pointy end of a clean one to move each side a little and they always come off easily.

 

[Tilt]

Used this sunny's trick recently. It effing worked. Thank you. I don't like decapitating babies

 

[luvtogrow]

Sometimes while trying to remove the seedshell the seedling gets uprooted. That's why I don't bother removing it by hand anymore. Either the seedling loses it by itself, or I spray some water on it to help the process, but now I leave it alone, they eventually grow fine.

IMO it's important to get that shell off as soon as possible for that plant to develop to it's utmost potential. Rehydrating first and if it doesn't come off soon by itself: In order to not uproot the sprout, place index and middle finger on soil with stem between, holding in place, using fine point eyebrow pluckers in the closed position, place so that point is in crack of shell or between shell halves and open plucker, therby seperating shell. Happens on old seeds i think? good to soak seeds till they crack, before planting to medium.

 

[Tropic]

Luvtogrow, I understand the need to remove the seedshell when it is keeping both cotyledons stuck together and prevents the 1st set of true leaves from growing normally. What I meant was that in the case of the seedshell being stuck to a single cotyledon, I don't bother to remove it. What is important to me is that the plant can grow that 1st set of leaves without resistance/blocked light.
I would never try to remove a seedshell without holding the seedling in place. But I hold it as close as possible to the cotyledons, not the soil, I think there are less chances to damage it this way.
I don't really know if it happens on old seeds or is just random. Lately I've had to remove stuck seedshells on seeds that were made about a year earlier, that doesn't sound old at all to me, but maybe storage conditions (ie. humidity %) or grow room RH during germination play a role too. I would be tempted to think that a coarser medium, or one that opposes more resistance to an emerging seedling, could help get rid of the seedshell early, but that's just theorizing.