[wildgrow]

Originally Posted by mack 10

I plant my seeds into soil and never get this problem. only if its a really light soil, I've heard people say to add extra clay to your soil to prevent this from happening. do you all germ into root riot cubes or something?

I pop in towels and then stick em in root plugs. Don't know what brand they are. Locally made and Ive got an inside connection.

[yortbogey]

bump

[John Deere]

Originally Posted by rasputin

It's from not planting them deep enough, usually. A light misting helps.

[nachoconqueso]

I agree with it being from not planting deep enough. A word of warning here, it is better to be patient and let the seedling work the shell off on its own. I have recently used tweezers on two seedlings of SS bubblegum and both were stunted and mutant looking. Apparently it happens often.

[VenturaHwy]

As long as the stem is getting light then the seedling is getting stronger and the shell does not have to come off right away. A drop of water on a finger applied to the shell will soften it so it will come off by itself... I rotate the cup so the water drop moistens all parts of the shell, I do this a couple of times a day till the shell falls off.

[Chemovar]

I noticed this too. Try soaking your seeds in water for 24 hours before you plant them I think some seeds just have thiker shells and they need a little help. if you squeeze the sides the continue to split and just slough off the first leaves make sure you also get the little sac of skin that can also cling onto the leaves.

[wildgrow]

As far as not planting deep enough, couldn't that also be a moisture factor? After all, soil hold moisture better than air does. So Im clear for myself, the shell softens in the moist medium.

Does anyone pack their soil down? I don't think airy soils are rough enough to muscle a shell off.

[noyd666]

when put into seedling cup, of coco I top off with a small mound of seedling gravel =sand, it pushes the shell off as it emerges, if not I spray and prick the hat off with a sharp small nail.

[Tony Aroma]

It's not just not planting deep enough. It's also planting with the root pointing down. If you germinate in a paper towel, you should put the seed in the soil with the root pointing slightly up or to the side. I've seen a time lapse somewhere showing what happens when the root starts out pointing upward. As the root starts out upward then bends down, it gets leverage that sort of rotates the seed up. That twisting through the soil helps get the seed shell off. If the root starts out pointing down, it just pushes the seed straight up, making it more likely for the shell to stay on. Of course you also need to have enough soil for the seed to push through, so planting too shallow is also a problem.

A picture is worth a 1000 words:

[kanehbosmshaman]

Originally Posted by VenturaHwy

As long as the stem is getting light then the seedling is getting stronger and the shell does not have to come off right away. A drop of water on a finger applied to the shell will soften it so it will come off by itself... I rotate the cup so the water drop moistens all parts of the shell, I do this a couple of times a day till the shell falls off.

LOL getting stronger as it quickly turns into a foot long thread of stem. Maybe the shell will eventually release but by then you have to cut the stem and try to get the stunted thing to root again, give a couple months to veg and maybe you'll get a six inch plant to flower