Germination -> Planting.

I have recently germinated my seeds and was just wondering if the length of the tap root makes any difference when planting?

Is there an 'ideal' length or as long as the tap root has cracked out of the shell?

Thanks for any help in advance.

It doesn't matter how long, as long as the tap roots is out, plant.

doesn't matter as long as it's pointing down.fyi I just did a grow of 3 plants and i just made a small hole with the tip of a pen ,the depth of the metal tip of the pen and dropped seeds in and lightly covered and had 100 percent germ .. it's natures way

Alright thanks guys. Good to know. Gonna plant them now then.

Wrong! you always plant with the tap root up.

What the shit? I've always been told to plant them down. With the shell facing up.

DeeTee said:

Wrong! you always plant with the tap root up.

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lmao are you serious dude? plant up? hahaha.... yes because we all know roots grow upwards. Plant it downwards into the soil.

RC7 said:

lmao are you serious dude? plant up? hahaha.... yes because we all know roots grow upwards. Plant it downwards into the soil.

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DeeTee is correct to plant upwards as the taproot will come up then turn and bury downwards.

regards,

RC7 said:

lmao are you serious dude? plant up? hahaha.... yes because we all know roots grow upwards. Plant it downwards into the soil.

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He's probably just trying to fuck up my grow.

Thanks for clarifying that for me.

i always plant it down where is the logic in planting upwards? i know it can work i have tried it before but i see no logic in it.

It makes not a shit of difference. If you do it upside down, the plant will sort it out. Seeds aren't guaranteed to fall root down in nature.

sometimes it is hard enough for the seedling just to break out of the shell. WHY would i want to bury it even deeper to make it struggle more?

RC7 said:

sometimes it is hard enough for the seedling just to break out of the shell. WHY would i want to bury it even deeper to make it struggle more?

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1/16" is not a difference of a meaningful sort. If your seedling can't manage that bit of diversity, you paid for shit gear.

Ok so it sounds smart to you to bury the seedling upside down, deep enough so the root isn't exposed to light/air, when you could just plant it Right side up. lol people never fail to amaze me. I know it can work obviously nature isn't perfect but people like you who want to argue a position yet you can't even give me one logical reason as to why you believe it's better. Do you then lmao

RC7 said:

Ok so it sounds smart to you to bury the seedling upside down, deep enough so the root isn't exposed to light/air, when you could just plant it Right side up. lol people never fail to amaze me. I know it can work obviously nature isn't perfect but people like you who want to argue a position yet you can't even give me one logical reason as to why you believe it's better. Do you then lmao

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I didn't say it was in any way better. You misunderstand me. I was stating that it makes no difference really, provided your seeds are decent. You're more likely to cause damage mishandling the seed worrying about which way it's flipped, than planting it upside down. Honestly, applying time to sweating seed orientation would be better applied elsewhere. Now, if you want to sweat it, go ahead. I'm just saying you could watch tv instead, and it would be equally effective most times.

lol alright. Well it seems to me many people believe its better for some reason yet i have never heard why. I say do whatever works for you but honestly like i said i see no logic in it really.

RC7 said:

lol alright. Well it seems to me many people believe its better for some reason yet i have never heard why. I say do whatever works for you but honestly like i said i see no logic in it really.

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I have never seen a compelling reason to declare it better. The best I can say is that root down seems like the more reasonable one to shoot for. I mostly feel that you should minimize handling after the seeds germ though. The extra handling to make sure every seed is oriented that way is going to be hazardous for the unpracticed. As you said though, if it's not broken, don't fix it.

I think the general idea behind planting seeds upside down is you get a 'stronger' root system or a longer root in general lol well 3mm longer root, that's not a fact or scientific truth, just some stuff I've read a few times in the past XD

But either way it makes no difference to me, I just drop my seed straight in the dirt whichever way up... less margin for error, instead of handling seeds that already have a tap root XD

And it doesn't matter how long the tap root is, the consensus seems to be what 1/4" or something, the germing in a paper towel was brought about just to kind of see if seeds are viable before wasting 3 weeks looking at some dirt to find out its a dud. So long as it has a tap root full stop the seed should be viable

Thanks Matchbox. Your answer makes the most sense to me lol

My understanding of planting them "upside down" is that the root will curl over and the seed casing will bend up towards light but this process helps shed the seed casing naturally. I've had a seed casing not come off by itself and if you don't help it off eventually, the seedling will die. With this said, it's not like mother nature has a bunch of garden gnomes out there making sure seeds are placed "the right way" in the dirt (although that would explain the purpose of garden gnomes wouldn't it?).

Personally, I've tried germination several ways and the best way (and least risky) so far is to drop the seed very shallow in the soil, water, put in warm dark place for 4 days then just put the thing under your light. In a few days you've got a seedling pushing through the soil. No risk in breaking off the tap root. But hey...everyone has their favorite ways. Just don't over think it....we don't give Nature enough credit.