seeds Question about when seeds first start to sprout

[Brendon Douglah]

Hey everyone,
 
I noticed that a few of the superhot seeds that I planted have sprouted with the "seed shell" on the top instead of the 2 leaves. What does this mean exactly? Sorry, I am new to growing seedlings.

 

[CaneDog]

Probably most commonly/basically it means that the seed coat wasn't humid enough that the cotyledons could extract themselves. I'd need to know more about your growing medium, etc. to be more specific. 
 
The common term used is "helmet head," which might help in finding threads and posts discussing this.  Without knowing more, I'd suggest spraying the seeds with water as soon as you see them hook.  Don't spray a lot, rather spray reasonably lightly, but often, until you see at least the green of the cotyledons outside the testa and preferable the split of the cotyledons, as that means the growth tip is safely removed. It won't hurt to "over-water" for this brief couple day period, but do avoid soaking the soil completely and be mindful of how well your soil drains.
 
Also, planting seeds deeper so the seed coat is kept humid in the soil longer, versus dry in exposed air, may help if the seeds were planted shallow.  I've always suspected that seeds that weren't dried properly may contribute to HH's, but that's just a guess.

 

[Brendon Douglah]

Probably most commonly/basically it means that the seed coat wasn't humid enough that the cotyledons could extract themselves. I'd need to know more about your growing medium, etc. to be more specific. 
 
The common term used is "helmet head," which might help in finding threads and posts discussing this.  Without knowing more, I'd suggest spraying the seeds with water as soon as you see them hook.  Don't spray a lot, rather spray reasonably lightly, but often, until you see at least the green of the cotyledons outside the testa and preferable the split of the cotyledons, as that means the growth tip is safely removed. It won't hurt to "over-water" for this brief couple day period, but do avoid soaking the soil completely and be mindful of how well your soil drains.
 
Also, planting seeds deeper so the seed coat is kept humid in the soil longer, versus dry in exposed air, may help if the seeds were planted shallow.  I've always suspected that seeds that weren't dried properly may contribute to HH's, but that's just a guess.

OK thanks. Are the HH seedlings doomed? Should I pick them and maybe plant new seeds or will they eventually grow ok?

 

[CaneDog]

They may or may not be fine.  If you post good pics and I can tell you.  There're lots of posts on removal of helmet heads you can look at.  It takes experience from having worked on a few of them to be able to evaluate the best way to proceed with each given HH.  Usually it's very easy, but if the seed coat has clamped down hard, or worse, so completely it "looks like it has a mussel shell clamped on the stem," they can be exceedingly hard to remove without killing the sprout.  Usually, removal involves either pinching the seed coat top edge to bottom edge to flex it while pulling or holding the seed coat while cutting the very edge off.  If you catch them early enough there are other methods that work, too.
 
When you cut a tight HH it's very easy to do unintended damage the growth tip. They're just hard to avoid because they press against the seam edge of the testa.  A cool variation I think would reduce the risk is what International fish did recently, which was to hold the seed coat and use a very thin blade to slice into and along the natural split of the testa.  I'll be trying this method next time I get one.

 

[The_NorthEast_ChileMan]

I noticed that a few of the superhot seeds that I planted have sprouted with the "seed shell" on the top instead of the 2 leaves. What does this mean exactly?

The common term used is "helmet head," which might help in finding threads and posts discussing this.

OK thanks. Are the HH seedlings doomed? Should I pick them and maybe plant new seeds or will they eventually grow ok?

Hang on a minute, let me follow previously given advice to see if I can research that and find that for you as you obviously didn't....................................... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sorry, I looked as hard as you & found the same information as you, see above,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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