Seedling question

[SimonSaysSmoke]

Hello :thumbsup:

This is my first grow and i have a few questions.

First off, i am concerned about a seedling i was taking out of the wet paper towel. As i was gently picking the seedling out of the paper towel the very tip of the root broke off. I still planted the seedling into it's pot, but am concerned snapping a tiny piece of the root will kill it. Is there a chance this seedling can still continue into a healthy plant? Or by breaking off a tiny piece of root will it be doomed? Also, if it does end up surviving and growing, will there be any after effects in the later stages? Such as this is a feminized seed, could that result in a Hermi later on?

Also, I am waiting for my badass grow lights to get in, It might be a week or so before they arrive. I will be using MH/HPS cool tube system etc. But until they arrive, what will be the cheapest and most affective lights i can use in the mean time? Don't forget, i already spent big bucks on a 600w MH/HPS system, i just need something to give off good light for a week or so until they arrive.

Thank you guys~ :D :thumbsup: :D

[SimonSaysSmoke]

:jointsmile:

[keeko]

as for the light......go with a couple of 42 watt compact florescent lights, they will be perfect for starting seedlings and getting them ready for your 600watter.

....as for your taproot situation its hard to say without actually seeing it....but if it was a tiny portion there might be a chance at survival. Keep in mind its the very first root system this plant has at surviving and any stress to it is going to delay and possibly kill the process.
Who did you get your fimmed seeds from?

[SimonSaysSmoke]

Thank you for your response Keeko. I received my seeds from Sensibleseeds dot com... Very VERY pleased with their customer service and product line. It arrived a few weeks later. One pack got crushed. Replaced without any questions. I give them 2 thumbs up :thumbsup: :thumbsup: ( and more thumbs if i had them :jointsmile: )

[SimonSaysSmoke]

Let's say the seedling ends up sprouting and grows without any real problems.. What are the chances since this is a feminized seed that the plant will become a Hermi later on due to the sterss of the damaged breaking of the end of the root as a seedling??

[grey1223]

I doubt any lasting effects. If it can overcome the stress of the root tear it should be fine.

[pbkid949]

haha i think it might be alright actually, but what i did was just put my seed in the soil and keep everything moist for a couple of days and my sprouted healthy as can be.

[SimonSaysSmoke]

I have another question.. It seems all my seedlings have sprouted nicely except one thing... One of the leaves is bent really bad on each of the seedlings but 1 (5 total, 4 are bent). I am sure this could be either over watering or not enough, but i have been watering pretty well... They are in small 5" jiffy pots and soil drys kinda quickly, i didn't water them for 24 hours and touch the soil and get my fingers down in there, and it isn't even that moist.. so i water again as needed etc. Still for the last 3 days or so only one of the first leaves is bent touching the stem, also the leaf that is bent looks a bit yellow but not to much, prehaps a tad "burnt" looking. They are prefect temp and everything else.... the other leaf on the opposite side is as healthy as can be.. Other than that, they look pretty damn healthy.

Why is this one leaf bent so bad and other opposite leaf not? Thanks.

[PamStoner]

This is why I'm always telling ppl not to sprout beans before they plant them. The seed will sprout just as fast in a jiffy pellet or rockwool cube. The only reason for sprouting seed in paper is to satisfy curiosity...

I have found that 200w CFL will do a fine job in veg. Great for cloning too.

[TomStoner]

haha i think it might be alright actually, but what i did was just put my seed in the soil and keep everything moist for a couple of days and my sprouted healthy as can be.That's how I do it too, if the plants are destined for hydro I transplant them when the first set of serrated leaves are properly formed, I wash the soil off the roots with a spray bottle containing PH 6.0 water.

:cool:

[SimonSaysSmoke]

I'll post a picture tomorrow of the the bent leaf.

[SimonSaysSmoke]

:thumbsup:

[Rusty Trichome]

This is why I'm always telling ppl not to sprout beans before they plant them. The seed will sprout just as fast in a jiffy pellet or rockwool cube. The only reason for sprouting seed in paper is to satisfy curiosity...
Not necessarily. It gives you a good idea of which seeds are viable, which are not. This can help in optimizing your growspace. Sucks waiting two weeks, and still get no sprout in half of your cups, and replacements are a couple of weeks behind the original batch.
If taproot gets stuck in the paper towel, cut around the seed, and plant the whole thing, paper and all. It's biodegradable. Don't mess with trying to peel all of the paper off, as damage to a young taproot is often fatal.

[grey1223]

I agree with Rusty. Why plant seeds you don't know are viable. I drop mine in a glass of water overnight. If any drop to the bottom of glass I throw them away. Then into wet paper towels for a day or two and they're ready to go.

[Rusty Trichome]

I agree with Rusty. Why plant seeds you don't know are viable. I drop mine in a glass of water overnight. If any drop to the bottom of glass I throw them away. Then into wet paper towels for a day or two and they're ready to go.
Seriously? If so, please tell me you don't pay for seeds.
For the past few years, I've been planting the ones that sink and/or crack. After they sink, I put 'em in the damp paper towel, and discard the floaters.

Stinky: Do you know the mechanism that makes the viable seed absorb the water and sink, but keeps the inviable ones afloat? Been wondering about that for a while, lol.

[stinkyattic]

Rusty- the sink/float thing has me curious too. I'm wondering how much of what we would consider an 'inviable seed' might have to do with the seed's waxy coating making it unable to absorb enough moisture to crack in some cases, which would fit with the sink/float idea. Next time you see seeds that float after about 24 hours in the water, try scuffing one edge with a nail file and see if that makes them sink and ultimately pop. Hm! When I germ in a glass vial, seeds DO often float initially but then germ as normal.

[grey1223]

Seriously? If so, please tell me you don't pay for seeds.
For the past few years, I've been planting the ones that sink and/or crack. After they sink, I put 'em in the damp paper towel, and discard the floaters.

Stinky: Do you know the mechanism that makes the viable seed absorb the water and sink, but keeps the inviable ones afloat? Been wondering about that for a while, lol.

I don't know what to say--this works for me. Sometimes I'll have a seed sink initially and next morning it's floating. But to be honest I've rarely gotten bad seeds anyway. If I throw 40 in a cup of water I'd be surprised to see more than 2 sink, assuming seeds are from a reputable source.

All I know for certain is 12 hours in water, 24 to 48 hrs in paper towels and they're popped. Don't do seeds often but next time I do I'll put the sinkers in paper towels to see if they sprout.

[SnSstealth]

i almost always go from seed....shot glass for a day...then wet paper towel...i wont throw any away for a few days, i have had strong plants that took 3 days to germ...nail file is perfect stinky...thats how i do the ones that wont split all the way:thumbsup:..
:smokebong:
whiskeytango

[Rusty Trichome]

Hmmm. Almost all of the seeds I start either sink or crack-open, in the first 24-36 hrs. Usually only 1 or 2 floaters per batch, if that.
Would be bummed to find out I've been tossing the wrong seeds, lol.

Nail file or sandpaper. Great if you can hold onto them friggin little seeds throughout the scuffing process without breaking 'em, or sanding my fingerprints off, lol. (I've got large fingers)

Any engineers wanna try to come up with the Scuff-o-Matic 2000 Pre-Germination Suture-Scuffer? I'd buy two.

[Mr. Clandestine]

Nail file or sandpaper. Great if you can hold onto them friggin little seeds throughout the scuffing process without breaking 'em, or sanding my fingerprints off, lol. (I've got large fingers)

I was using a matchbox with a 1" piece of emery board stuck inside of it. I'd just stick however many seeds inside and shake them up for a few seconds, and never had problems with it until recently. I haven't used it since I had that mutant that popped out of the shell cotyledons first while still in the paper towel. What do you think, should I keep using it? It never gave me problems before that one weird sprout, and I had been doing it pretty consistently for a few years.

(Oh, and I'm still trying to get the city to move that nuclear power plant out of my backyard, btw. So far, they've been unresponsive to my requests... they're denying that it's even there! :))

[Rusty Trichome]

I was using a matchbox with a 1" piece of emery board stuck inside of it. I'd just stick however many seeds inside and shake them up for a few seconds, and never had problems with it until recently. I haven't used it since I had that mutant that popped out of the shell cotyledons first while still in the paper towel. What do you think, should I keep using it? It never gave me problems before that one weird sprout, and I had been doing it pretty consistently for a few years.
I wouldn't let a stray mutant affect your technique. IMO, Was likely a stuck suture not allowing the lower portions of the embryo out. The pre-soaking technique works for a lot of us.


(Oh, and I'm still trying to get the city to move that nuclear power plant out of my backyard, btw. So far, they've been unresponsive to my requests... they're denying that it's even there! :))
What nuke plant? It's a thermo-generative atom re-arranger/official Greenpeace venting location.

[Mr. Clandestine]

What nuke plant? It's a thermo-generative atom re-arranger/official Greenpeace venting location.

LOL! So that explains why the earthworms I find in my garden look like they've been taking steroids! I was wondering what happened to my neighbors dog... thanks Greenpeace, I hated that noisy animal!

[grey1223]

Perhaps we're talking about two different ways to soak seeds. I only soak mine overnight. I haven't left them in the water longer than that. But it would make sense to me if you leave them in the water longer they would eventually absorb enough water to sink indicating they're ready to be planted.

Make sense to you guys & gals?