Seedling question

[SimonSaysSmoke]

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

SimonSaysSmoke Reviewed by SimonSaysSmoke on 03-23-2008. Seedling question 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? Rating: 5

[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! )