helmet head

is there anyway to prevent helmet head on the seeds? i have some seedlings that are dying  from it.

rickster said:

is there anyway to prevent helmet head on the seeds? i have some seedlings that are dying  from it.

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Micro-scaring (giving it a little cut) is one option and another is presoaking the seeds in various compounds.
I have no experience with either but that's what I've come across.
I just plant the slightly deeper to ensure that the shell has room to "get caught" in and sprout them using the paper towel method.

Plant multiple seeds, keep the winners. I don't bother with helmets...they tend to be stressed and a pain overall.
 
Maybe try misting daily to keep the helmet wet/soft, you might be able to tease it open and remove it.

 

Spray the seed with water bottle and pry it open with ur nails work about 75% of the time but the first set of leaves will be akward just let it grow n then top of the plant once its bigger

rickster said:

is there anyway to prevent helmet head on the seeds? i have some seedlings that are dying  from it.

Click to expand...

 
 
 
If you are able to GENTLY pinch the seed long-ways, with the edges of the seed against your fingers (instead of the flat sides against your finger), sometimes you can separate the two sides enough for the plant to expell the helmet, or you may even be able to lift it off.
 
If you keep the helmet damp, it could help, you may be able to just pinch and lift, but if the helmet is dry, you can sometimes feel or even hear the shell crack open where it naturally should, along the crease/edge while you opinch it. If it does crack, don't pinch any further, you could damage the plant inside.
 
Another option is to get two sets of tweasers and use them like micro fingers to grab both sides of the seed casing. I can do this with my natural vision, but most people would need magnification to make sure you dont grab the plant/leaf material by accident.
 
One last, final effort, option is to use a super fine scissor, wire cutter, or nail clippers and cut the rim of the seed closest to where the plant comes out of it. If you can nip just the bottom edge near where the tap root is coming out, you may be able to open the seed casing enough to lift it off.
 
I have had many successes doing what I mentioned above, of course, a handful of losses too. It's like practicing medicine, lol, never absolute.
 
 
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Use nail clippers to clip the edge so the leaves can push it off or take it off yourself

Keep the RH up
 

 
 
They'll come  off by themselves