Seedling shell not falling off
- Thread starter slaboosh
- Start date
slaboosh
Member
I popped it open with some tweezers and this is how it looks now. There appears to be a brown spot on one of the leafs. Does everything look in tact?
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SouthCross
Well-Known Member
Mist it with water. The shell will soften up and falls off. I wouldn't go to yanking on the sprout. Keep it moist and it'll come off naturally.
slaboosh
Member
Kinda already yanked on it to get the seed off. I tried to be as careful as possible. The seedlings came out of the soil a bit but i pushed them back in and put some soil around the base. Should they be alright?
SouthCross
Well-Known Member
Only time will tell. One to three days.
SouthCross
Well-Known Member
There's a membrane inside the shell. If it gets dry, the seed pod halves will stick to the sprout. Usually misting softens the membrane and the pod falls off in a day or two.
SouthCross
Well-Known Member
I believe it's a protective measure. If it's not upwards to 80-90% humidity when the sprout emerges. The pod halves will stay on longer until a moisture level is reached or the sprout pushes it off.
SouthCross
Well-Known Member
On a drenched pot, soil. It won't need water for another 7-10 days. It'll be three to four times it's size before it needs to be watered. Then it's a light water.
Example, Two gallon pot should need about 4-6 cups water per pot. Don't drench to runoff until the plant can handle it. That's around 4 weeks old. You should only be watering in veg around 4-5 times. Sprout to 12" tall. 5 times...
slaboosh
Member
So just continue with the dry soil and keep adding small amounts of water around the seedling until it gets bigger?
SouthCross
Well-Known Member
If you didn't drench it first then yes. Be extremely light with the amount. Cover the entire soil top. You can use a spray bottle. That's enough. Spray about a cup of water in the soil. Think of it as a baby. It can't drink that much water so the soil stays wet. If you use a watering pot. Water towards the outsides of the pot. Let the water soak towards the sprout.
Two ways to approach this problem --
If you are using the paper towel method for germinating make sure you have removed both halves of the seed cap before removing from the paper towels. It is easiest to manipulate the seed cap pieces while the seedling is still lying mostly flat in the paper towels.
To separate the seed cap parts when she is already in dirt - use 2 toothpicks to separate and remove the seed cap halves.
Good luck, BigSteve.
If you are using the paper towel method for germinating make sure you have removed both halves of the seed cap before removing from the paper towels. It is easiest to manipulate the seed cap pieces while the seedling is still lying mostly flat in the paper towels.
To separate the seed cap parts when she is already in dirt - use 2 toothpicks to separate and remove the seed cap halves.
Good luck, BigSteve.
