Seed Sprouting Problem

[Rusty Trichome]

If a seed is too shallow, it can stick it's head up and have that film" dry and harden before it tears.
If it's planted deep enough, it stays moist and tearable while the cotyledons swell enough to tear it.

Could very well be. But not in my personal experience. I have always been told to plant a seed no deeper than double it's diameter, and that is how I've done it for over thirty years, lol. The deeper you plant it, the more energy it takes the seed to push it's head out of the soil...and it won't get any additional energy until exposed to the sun.

There was a great grow book in the '60s that drew diagrams of cannabis seeds and insisted that it made a big difference whether one planted then pointed end up, or down. When they sprout, the tap root always comes out the same end of the seed and always make a U-turn.

That's great, if it didn't move every time the soil is even slightly disturbed. (like every time you water) I've had seeds sprout from between the cup and the soil, but I plant my seeds in the middle of the cup. They migrate under the soil fairly easily. (they float with the 'tide')

If the tap root pokes out the top of the seed, it makes a U-turn and starts drilling down. Then the bent stem pulls at the seed shell with the split facing up and soil friction helps pop it open and off. Then all is well.

True for gourds and the like, but unnecessary for cannabis. We're talking about the internal seed cover, not the shell though.

Trouble is, I can never remember which end is supposed to point down.

Doesn't really matter, unless you're going to glue it in place, lol. :thumbsup: