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seeds Seeds germinating with seed coat still over cotyledons

K

klmt

I have begun germinating some chilies for the upcoming growing season and my setup consists of peat pots, over a grow mat. Germination rates have been good but a good number (more than I've noticed in the past) of the seedlings are coming up out of the soil with the seed coat still completely over the cotyledons. I have helped a few out and successfully removed the seed coat but the plants I have done this with have had retarded growth, and small cotyledons, I also feel this is natures way of weeding out the weaker seedlings. Anyways, for future reference what should I be doing differently? I am thinking that maybe I didn't plant them deep enough, I was shooting for a depth of around 1/4" and some varieties seem to be more effected than others. 
 
klmt said:
I have begun germinating some chilies for the upcoming growing season and my setup consists of peat pots, over a grow mat. Germination rates have been good but a good number (more than I've noticed in the past) of the seedlings are coming up out of the soil with the seed coat still completely over the cotyledons. I have helped a few out and successfully removed the seed coat but the plants I have done this with have had retarded growth, and small cotyledons, I also feel this is natures way of weeding out the weaker seedlings. Anyways, for future reference what should I be doing differently? I am thinking that maybe I didn't plant them deep enough, I was shooting for a depth of around 1/4" and some varieties seem to be more effected than others. 
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Having higher humidity where the sprouts emerge seems to help. I would cover them with some clear plastic or plastic dome until they come up. If you have extras already, I would just clip the helmet head ones. But if it's one your'e going to grow out, it would be worth trying to save. Taking some fingernail clippers and cutting the very tip of the tip seed case works really well.
 
I had a humidity dome over the tray through the whole germination process so humidity or moisture was probably not the issue, most of the time I was actually worried they were too wet. I did plant extras though so I will probably just clip the ones with helmets like you said and proceed with the healthier plants. 
 
MikeUSMC said:
Just spritz them with a spray bottle of water every once in a while. Eventually it'll soften up the seed coat enough that you can just pull it off without damaging the cotyledon leaves. If you have to, use tweezers or nail clippers
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MikeUSMC said:
Personally, I'd lose the humidity dome if they've already sprouted. Leaving it on could leave you at risk for "damping off"
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The only thing I'd add to Mike's excellent advice is using weak chamomile tea in the spray bottle to soften the stuck seed cap (Often called "helmet head".). While there are opinions on both sides of it's effectivity on "damping off", along with cinnamon, you have to spray them with water so why not try it?
 
MikeUSMC said:
Just spritz them with a spray bottle of water every once in a while. Eventually it'll soften up the seed coat enough that you can just pull it off without damaging the cotyledon leaves. If you have to, use tweezers or nail clippers
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Yup, agree with Mike. I do this every year...and just yesterday. I have a good amount of humidity when germinating, but some get stuck. I just spritz before trying to pull off the helmets and they usually come right off. With tweezers or fingers.
 
Thanks for all of the great replies. I did not pre-soak my seeds in water or tea, but will keep this in mind in the future. Now that most have germinated, I have since removed the humidity dome because I had read about damping off becoming a problem. I will attempt to spray the helmet heads with tea and use nail clippers and tweezers, but like I said, I planted plenty of extras so I'm not going to be too bummed if they don't make it, this thread was more for future planning and tips. The ones that made it up without a problem are doing very well and growing quickly. I have a slight concern for fungus gnats because I have read they often spread damping off and I have seen them on the soil of some of my other house plants. Up until now I haven't been too concerned because they haven't affected those plants but I have since moved them to a different room than the seedlings and reduced watering to prevent the soil on top from staying too moist as I have read this can help reduce their numbers. Thanks for the cinnamon trick also, ill try that if I begin to see gnats in my peat pods. -Drew
 
Just gave them a spritz with water, let sit for a minute and then used nail clippers to help open up the seeds, worked like a charm on most but a few lost their heads. Thanks again for the tips.
 
This year, I planted my seeds in coir pellets, as usual, but I planted them extra deep.
 
And... not a single helmet.
 
No soaking or anything extra, just dropped them in and covered them up.
 
I find soaking seeds (plain old water) for at least 12 hours or overnight helps, also planting just a little deeper reduces the problem. Maybe next year give it a try. Planting a little deeper makes the friction of the soil help pull the seed coat  off as they germinate. Too deep of course is no good either. 
 
I got them badly the first season I grew peppers.
Next couple years, and I always plant the seeds deeper, and I never get helmet heads.
 
I've heard the depth it's planted makes a difference. The more resistance it has the easier it is to shake off on its way up.


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I assumed the seed coat would dry out and becomes hard again, trapping the cotyledons and apical meristem inside and stopping growth, photosynthesis and therefore killing the plant.
 
Yep if you do nothing they may or may not come off or grow out of it themselves.
 
Spraying them or keeping them damp is not a sure fix. It will help but it wont save them all.
 
IMO the best way to remedy it is to reduce it happening in the first place. and to do that, simply plant them a little deeper / pack the soil on top of them a bit tighter when you plant them.
 
Only my 2nd year of growing.  What I have done with few helmet heads this year is leave the dome on for a day maybe 2 after they sprouted.  Use a toothpick to get a droplet of water on it, and touch it to the helmet to get the droplet hanging on the husk.  Put the dome back on, do it once or twice and it usually sheds itself off or is so flimsy that you can gently and easily remove it with a pair of tweezers and the toothpick.
 
I had gnats in my plants last year when going outside and heard all sorts of costly cures.  A member on the forum told me to just get some fine playground sand and put a layer on the top of my soil about 1/2-1 inch thick.  They told me the gnats want wet decomposing soil on top, since the sand won't hold moisture and the gnats won't dig for it, problem solved. 
 
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