Sprouting to potting how deep ye go with said sprout

[Mezo]

OK here`s a question i need answering please.

So you cherished seed had sprouted & your wanting to plant him, do you bury the said seed or leave its head poking out?

The reason im asking is because i think im doing things wrong, ive been leaving the seed on top & burying the root & ive had problems with the seed husk not wanting to fall away, it drys out rock hard & kills the seedling, the leaf cannot shake off the seed husk (well not all the time) i have had hundreds do fine but i think i could be doing better.

Im thinking i should have put it under the soil? is this right?

Thanks,

Mezo.

 

[thebat]

I'd say put the seeds under the soil but if you're hell bent on putting them above the soil you can keep spraying the husks so they stay moist and the sprout has a better chance of pushing them off. By putting the seed under the soil the husk can stay a little moister and the friction of the soil will help pull it off of the sprout as it is coming up.

 

[HwyBill]

I will chime in with my naivity.

First of all, I think you have answered your own question (bury them since not burying them is not working).

But also, if you think about what would go on naturally, placing the seed on the surface seems kind of counter-intuitive.

Normally, the root drills down into the soil (the part you have) and the hooking shoot (the part you don't have yet) forces itself up through the surface with the seed helmet still attacted (ideally to fall off soon after).

I guess I would plant the part of the sprout you expect to rise vertically (in this case the germinated seed) at the normal depth instead of on the surface.

 

[Mezo]

HwyBill, that avatar is freaky, i know who that is & who took the picture, ive not seen it in years.

Anyhow back to seeding, yep i thought by putting them under the soil it may keep in the moisture & give the little begger`s a better chance, i think by putting them on the surface they sun has dried the helmet (titter) to much & its finding it hard to break free.

So just under the surface (say 10mm) will give time for the helmet (titter) time to drop away.

Mezo.

 

[HwyBill]

Off-topic: Yeah... I find the photo mesmerizing, alluring, and bewitching. I may be a dude, but I figure nobody has to look at my avatar more than me, so it might as well be something I am entranced by. I do global health by trade, so I particularly appreciate the photo, and I think that's really cool that you know what it is.

On-topic: I agree with your post even though I have much more limited experience. I know there are lots of artificial things we can do to promote plant growth and proliferation, but I also always try to consider how the plants would behave naturally. Even after perhaps only a few hundred years of domestication, they are going to have overiding innate tendencies. I'm not familiar with any seed that prefers to lie directly on the surface, but I think you did a much better job of articulating the reasons why than I did.

 

[Mezo]

Steve McCurry took that pic decades ago, it was in National geographic & he even traced her again decades later, there's a whole doco on this, very interesting but very sad.

Amazing eyes, if eyes is your thing.

On topic again, my thought was a seed in nature just drop on the ground & the root would make its own way down.

But then ive had this problem with a hard helmet (titter) and by putting it just under the surface id be giving them a helping hand. Well i think? ive just started to test this theory out.

Mezo.

 

[HwyBill]

Well yeah.. under natural circumstances the pod would fall in the "fall" and by the "spring" the seed would have been naturally covered by a small amount of natural detritus and be ready to germinate...

That's why I don't do the ziplock baggie thing.. I just bury them under a small layer of material.

Works just fine for me... but I also realize we are trying to do very unnatural things (germinating indigenous S. Indian peppers in Chicago in February, for example). So whatever works best for you is really the best alternative... I'm just saying I find it hard to imagine a scenario where laying the seed on the surface of the growing medium is a good idea.

So yeah.. give them a little cover already.

 

[SuperHot]

I place the germinated seedlings in grow plugs with the helmet above the surface. For the most part the helmet falls off and I trim around the edges on the helmets that don’t. This method has worked really well for me the past 3 years, but it’s not for everyone though.