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seeds Seed helmet?

You don't need to remove it. I had various pepper and tomato plant keep their caps, and the stems grew just fine up between the clasped cotyledons. It looked like they were praying...lol! After the first true leaves formed, I just gave the caps a little pinch and off they popped. By then I wasn't worried about the plant dying if I damaged the cots. I was tempted to remove them sooner, but saw so many questions about it here that I decided to just see what happened if I left them on while both cots were still trapped in them.
 
Haaa, seed helmet, bit like your Stilton helmet. :D

Ive had loads of mine do the same, the ones i left have all died & the ones ive clipped open have lived (except the ones i was to rough with).

I use them small very small electronics side cutters, the ones you would use on PCB`s, sharp point on them.

PG-TRE03NB.JPG


They are also very good for trimming your toe nails. :party:

Mezo.
 
Joseph Stalin said:
So i keep hearing clip it, exactly how like on the sides or ?
Click to expand...

Well don't know how everyone does it but i just trim the very edge, and i mean the very edge (one millimeter)

Doesn't always work, sometimes ive chopped to much & hit the leaf, but ive also grown seedling with half the leaf missing where ive been to rough, as long as there is some leaf left they will recover.

The idea i think? is just to help it along rather than trying to remove it altogether, they are very fragile at that stage..

Mezo.
 
I’ve started over 100 plants this year and I’ve only had to de-helmet 1, the rest grew fine without it. I have to admit that I haven’t tried the clipping method yet, but I like to squeeze the seed kind of like those coin pouches, to open it up and just leave it to fall off by its self. This seems work better if the seeds not dry, mine were in a warm and humid incubation chamber. Don’t squeeze too much, just enough to open. As always remember the worst thing you can do is love your plants to death, most of the time they do better left alone.
 
Mezo said:
Haaa, seed helmet, bit like your Stilton helmet. :D
Click to expand...
hahahah....not heard that phrase for a while!!!

Quite useful info on this, as i have a couple that have just popped like this....will give it a go with the nail clippers.

Oh, and as a total noob grower, can someone shed some light on the importance of the cotyledons? (sorry!)
 
Usually best to let the plant take care of it. You'll need to add a little moisture to the seed every now and then. I've done the "coin purse" pinch method many times and within a day or two the capis usually off.

The importance of cotyledons? I believe they're a nutrition source for the plant until true leaves develop and the plant can start doing the photosynthesis thang and feeding itself.
 
http://m1057.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/JosephGrajekYahn/39955e58.jpg.html?o=0&newest=1

Heres a picture , so just wait or should i clip?

http://m1057.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/JosephGrajekYahn/048edf8f.jpg.html?o=1&newest=1

I just wetted it down, and slid it off, but one half of the coy whatever thingies got cut in half. Will it live? :,(
 
WAIT! You haven't given it a chance. I used to try getting the helmets off and killed my plants often. I have plants that look great but if look near the stem you will see two little cotyledens locked together with a seed. I am talking plants 8 inches wide. I wouldn't even think of cutting on a seedling as small as the one you posted.
 
Send that helmet head to the Gulag, Joseph Stalin!

No, but seriously, I've had great luck using fingernail clippers. I usually give them a chance to do it on their own, but after a while, it's pretty evident if they will or not. I have also found that making sure you plant them 1/4" deep and pressing down on the soil lightly before putting the dome on the seedling tray gives them more friction to push through when they pop out, and helps them shed the seed coat easier. A couple years back, I only gave the seeds a light "dusting" of seedling mix on top, and was plagued by a bunch of helmet heads.
 
Mild Fire said:
You don't need to remove it. I had various pepper and tomato plant keep their caps, and the stems grew just fine up between the clasped cotyledons. It looked like they were praying...lol! After the first true leaves formed, I just gave the caps a little pinch and off they popped. By then I wasn't worried about the plant dying if I damaged the cots. I was tempted to remove them sooner, but saw so many questions about it here that I decided to just see what happened if I left them on while both cots were still trapped in them.
Click to expand...

If some of the coty are showing then you can leave it, but with none showing the plant will die IME.


P.K. said:
in a warm and humid incubation chamber
Click to expand...

Definitely helps.
 
I got about 3/4 of my germinated seeds that popped up with these damn helmets (using peat pucks). Is there a germinating method that helps reduce the number of these? Would soaking the seeds before germination possibly help? Does it matter how you orient the seed? I think I must be doing something wrong and need to correct it next season.
 
Flamecycle said:
I got about 3/4 of my germinated seeds that popped up with these damn helmets (using peat pucks). Is there a germinating method that helps reduce the number of these? Would soaking the seeds before germination possibly help? Does it matter how you orient the seed? I think I must be doing something wrong and need to correct it next season.
Click to expand...

Let me suggest, wet the helmet then gently ( and I mean gently ) tug off the helmet, if you rip some of the first leaves its okay, it will grow. Try pulling on the very edges.

I've tried both ways, tupperware and jiffy pellets, i've actually got more from the tupperware method then the jiffy pellets. If you want to have less next year i suggest planting them a bit deeper into the soil. Downside to that, it might never come up if you go too deep.
Good luck and happy growing.
 
Leave them alone, they'll come off.

One sure way to kill a chile plant is to give them to much of this kind of attention.

crop3400.jpg
 
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