seed coats stuck

11 years ago

The leaves have not even started to come out its been almost 2 weeks. If I give it a pull I know it will kill the peppers. There is even one stuck on the roots? Any advice?

Featured Answer

woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a

11 years ago

You can TRY to dislodge it with a spray bottle and a sewing needle. But, like you said, it may kill it. After 2 weeks, it's most likely rotted inside.

Couple things that will help with future seeds---

Scarification - Take a pill bottle and line it with medium grit sandpaper, put seeds in and give a shake for about 30 seconds... this will scuff the surface which allows moisture to penetrate more easily.

Presoak - put seeds in a cup with about an inch of water, put on seed mat for 24 hours before sowing.

Deeper sowing -- Yes, we all worry about sowing too deep, but too shallow and you'll get what you got. Shoot for about 3/8"-1/2"(but no more). I noticed a tad deeper than the 1/4" I USED TO sow at and no more problems with the wretched "helmet heads."

Good luck.

Kevin

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Comments (13)

capsicummaximum
11 years ago
Are the cotyledons (seed leaves) visible at all? or, is it just a hypocotyl (trunk) with a seed at the end sticking straight up with both cotyledons stuck completely inside?
T S thanked capsicummaximum
T S
Original Author
11 years ago
Completely stuck! Lol
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T S
Original Author
11 years ago
Will do the scarfication next time. These were my own hybrids but only second generation though. I did work one off it was dead.
capsicummaximum
11 years ago
"Helmet head" is a great description. If you've got steady hands you can probably get it with two sowing needles. If the hypocotyl is thick and healthy the cotyledons might not be dead yet. It's for this reason I've never been fond of the germinating in a plastic bag and a wet napkin method.
T S thanked capsicummaximum
T S
Original Author
11 years ago
What if I bagged them overnight. Those seeds are hard and dry. Also first ever on the roots but that's just one seed.
capsicummaximum
11 years ago
It's worth a try, but could be a lot of work for a seed that's ultimately not savable. It's not too late to just re-sow.
T S thanked capsicummaximum
T S
Original Author
11 years ago
These are hybrids I was working on. No more seeds but it just the second generation so not a huge loss. Just got to restart the mix.
SoCarRob (Zone 7)
11 years ago
I had a few helmet heads. One in particular was stuck pretty good. I ended up breaking both cots off except maybe a 1/16 of an inch on both sides. I left it to see if it would grow expecting it to wither and die. It grew with that little tiny bit of green on each side into a full plant. So if you can get the seed coat off and still have a little bit of the cotyledon left there is still hope!
T S thanked SoCarRob (Zone 7)
ryang23
11 years ago
I have sharp tiny scissors that are made for clipping finger nails that I've been using for helmet heads. I got one now that I need to clip off. I can post some pics when I do it as a tutorial if you're interested
T S thanked ryang23
Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
11 years ago
I would not worry about Helmet Heads. You can lightly mist them now and then. But believe me those leaves know how to get out of it. Actually need just one to do it. I can just give a squeeze with two finger tips as you do wit your teeth to crack a sunflower seed. But you have to be gentle.

Seysonn
T S thanked Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
MikeUSMC
11 years ago
I do the same exact thing as Seysonn, but with tweezers. Just like a sunflower seed. Good call. I couldn't figure out how to put it into words.
T S thanked MikeUSMC
T S
Original Author
11 years ago
Last night I took a small piece of a paper towel and wet it with hot water. Then I gently wrapped each helmet head. Then covered it with a baggy to trap the steam. It worked at least a tiny part of the cotyledon is now showing on each plant.