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seeds Don't you hate "helmet head" seedlings?

Proud Marine Dad said:
I wanted to grow from seed as I have never done it.
Feminized seeds are expensive.
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I agree.  Have purchased them myself with lots of duds so to speak.  The worst germination results for me has been from DNA Genetics.  Never a fully ripe seed in the bunch.  Always small white seeds.  Never get the tiger striped brown seeds as expected.
 
Best to avoid large seed companies, so much farming out of production, most seeds come from very small handful of people and are just rebranded. That, and they're large enough not to care anymore and pass off inferior products ie. DNA, Greenhouse, etc. Fems are an uglier barrel of apples, pop enough from any breeder and the amount of rejects and herms in staggering. The 1000+% mark up is enough to make you sick :D
 
I had a few helmet heads this year and figured out (after a few failed attempts) a good method for removing them with little to no negative affect to the plant.  You'll need a set of needle tip tweezers and an x-acto knife with a new blade (needs to be very sharp)
 
I waited until the plant's cotyledon leaves were 3-4 millimeters long but still attached to the helmet.  I'd take the seed gently with the tweezers and push down slightly 1 - 2 millimeters to create some slack in the leaves.  Then with the other hand take the x-acto knife and gently cut with a sawing motion the leaves right at the spot it connects to the seed.  The seed will cut off nicely with little damage to the plant. 
 
Once I figured this method out I successfully removed 4 helmets from seedlings and they now look just as big and strong as all my other plants.
 
Next year I'll try and take a video of the operation if anyone wants
 
Ocho Cinco said:
Proud Marine Dad, I tried to send you a PM but your message inbox is full.
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Same here PMD. I have questions that may not be appropriate here on THP. lol But I need some help finding 10-20$ seeds. ;)
 
Jamison said:
 
I agree.  Have purchased them myself with lots of duds so to speak.  The worst germination results for me has been from DNA Genetics.  Never a fully ripe seed in the bunch.  Always small white seeds.  Never get the tiger striped brown seeds as expected.
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I had 100% germination but one free one died shortly after germination. One was a DNA seed the others were from other companies ;)

Cayennemist said:
 
 
Same here PMD. I have questions that may not be appropriate here on THP. lol But I need some help finding 10-20$ seeds. ;)
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I cleared out some old messages so PM me.
 
 i hope i dont get in trouble but  its worth the risk to give advice. ive been a serious canna grower for 25+ years my god father grew with neville in holland.
I suggest stay the hell away from femanised seeds they are just a form of hermafrodite often making bannanas and buds riddled with tiny immature seeds making bud taste woody.
Of the hundreds of banks i would suggest only two
 
eskobar seeds
mr. nice seed bank
 
or pm me i have crosses i made with the top cuts and a very special male.
 
oh, and the tiger stripe thing means its indy or indy cross and no stripes means its sativ. But an immature seed is a immature seed.
 
hogleg said:
 i hope i dont get in trouble but  its worth the risk to give advice. ive been a serious canna grower for 25+ years my god father grew with neville in holland.
I suggest stay the hell away from femanised seeds they are just a form of hermafrodite often making bannanas and buds riddled with tiny immature seeds making bud taste woody.
Of the hundreds of banks i would suggest only two
 
eskobar seeds
mr. nice seed bank
 
or pm me i have crosses i made with the top cuts and a very special male.
 
oh, and the tiger stripe thing means its indy or indy cross and no stripes means its sativ. But an immature seed is a immature seed.
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Everyone has an opinion.
 
When it is the opinion of some of the top breeders of stable genetics, I pay attention.
 
Many won't create feminized seeds for just this reason, not to mention it is generally just a cash grab or a way to keep a tighter grip on genetics. Look at the ways of feminizing, not one of them will produce entirely healthy offspring, at best the rate is <5%. They are all created by turning plants hermaphroditic, in no ways an arguable position for strong breeding or stable genetics. I've watched a few people try to use fems on a commercial scale, even from the "best" feminized breeders, and the results speak for themselves.
 
 
Bodhi produces some great strains, as well as many other DIY breeders, though pollenchucked feminized poly-hybrids are the latest and greatest, with their bastard autoflower stepchildren nearby :D
 
Maybe we should take over the Growing Other forum :P
 
hogleg said:
Wise words Mig i could'nt agree more.
 
as well this should have been started in growing other.
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Nobody ever discusses this plant in that forum is why I put it here. If the mods would be so kind to move it I would appreciate it. :)
Looks like I wasted my money then. That's BS!
 
Ment no disrespect PMD. truthfuly i hope you get lucky and find sumtin special in the high dollar seeds, it happens. just not very often to my knowledge.
 
(tangent)
It just pisses me off, how many of these johnny come lately seed companys that are so distanced from the breeder they really dont know what they have or are selling (at a $100+ a pack) to innocent people who for all they know are dying of cancer or suffering from ptsd (my brother went to somalia U.S Army) and what they get for their hard earned money is'nt gonna give them any relief after spending more money and the 3-6 months to grow it out.        no sir... i dont like it one bit.
 
 
which reminds me in the future i'm gonna buy some pepper seeds from pepperlover. my understanding is shes got here hands in the dirt as well as selling the seed.          (at the risk of sounding like dale)
 
I swear i'm not coming back to this thread. None of us need a Wa-Teeesh!!!!  from the boss.
 
Atleast you didn't get an auto :P
 
Fems are a convenience, and the price reflects that. With plant counts varying in different states/countries, some people can't devote space to mums or homescale rebreeding projects. There are some great strains available exclusively in feminized, sometimes as a pre-reg release to boost overall sales, but the pheno variation is very low, so you'll always be dealing with what other people thought was the best, with a few herms in to boot. As well, unless you want a room full of mums, it makes it much harder to keep strains around without reordering.
 
Hoglegs got it, bloody seed prices are insane. The less people buy from companies perpetuating pre-medical/decriminalization prices the better. Death to the Dutch dinosaurs! :D
 
Ok back to helmet heads. I take a small piece of wet toilet paper and fold it over the helmet for at least an hour or two, then I attempt the pinch and pull method. Works most the time. If it does not come off smoothly, let her let her soak a little longer with the wet tissue. 
 
miguelovic said:
Atleast you didn't get an auto :P
 
Fems are a convenience, and the price reflects that. With plant counts varying in different states/countries, some people can't devote space to mums or homescale rebreeding projects. There are some great strains available exclusively in feminized, sometimes as a pre-reg release to boost overall sales, but the pheno variation is very low, so you'll always be dealing with what other people thought was the best, with a few herms in to boot. As well, unless you want a room full of mums, it makes it much harder to keep strains around without reordering.
 
Hoglegs got it, bloody seed prices are insane. The less people buy from companies perpetuating pre-medical/decriminalization prices the better. Death to the Dutch dinosaurs! :D
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Actually I did get an auto as a freebie. A Dinafem Critical+
I am hearing from more people who grow with fem seeds and my mind is at ease now. :)
 
I had one come up like that a few days ago. Snipped it off, and partially some of the cotyledons(sp.). Seems to be ok. I have two others of the same variety that sprouted w/o the helmet anyway.
 
Easiest thing to try is to spray the helmet head with water to soften the hull without messing with the seedling.
Lately I always plant extra seeds and mostly pull off helmet heads, in my experience they often lead to weak plants.
 
Cya
 
Datil
 
Roguejim said:
Okay, enough talk.  Who's going to post the first "How to remove a helmet head" video?  :dance:
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its never a sure thing. I start bt snipping off the edges of the outer casing w/some sharp shears (scissors really) then see if the cap will come off w/ a gentle nudge. If that doesn't work, I get out a couple of sewing needles or tweezers for the fine work of prying the helmet apart. Tedious work BUT if it isn't done within a few days, the seedling will wither & perish in my experience :( I owe all of my knowledge of this to megamoo in Australia
 
Just had to do this to a Red Brain this am & I'm not sure its going to make it. Will let you know
 
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