seed shell wont come off first leaves on scotch bonnet peppers

15 years ago

My seeds sprout just fine, and then the leaves do not push off the shell of the seed. This kills the leaves and the plants. HELP!

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Comments (7)

californian
15 years ago
There is a thread on the tomato forum about this problem. Some recommend dripping water, or better yet saliva, on the seed coat to soften it up enough to where you can gently try to pull it off. I found squashing the seed coat edgewise will sometimes losen it enough to pull it off. You probably aren't burying your seeds deep enough, or not keeping the soil moist enough. The seedlings have to fight their way up through something to help scrape the seed coat off.
sprouts_honor
15 years ago
I've had this problem in years past due to shallow sowing. Try bending the seedling to the side and mounding damp soil or sand around it like so:
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I'll give you the advice someone gave me when I first came to GW and had the same problem. If both cotyledons are still held within the seed coat, at least one of them needs to be freed so the seedling can grow and the true leaves can emerge. A drop or two of human saliva usually softens the seed coat in a few minutes so you can very gently remove it. Worked fine for me! Here's some information from the tomato FAQs: Sometimes the cotyledons (the first leaves formed from the seed) have trouble getting loose from the seed coating. Be patient, as the leaves will usually escape. You could wet the seed coating, or you could try to carefully pinch off the seed coat, but if you pinch off the cotyledons, the seedling will likely die. A simple way to wet the seedlings is with a spray bottle of water set to mist. A small drop of saliva is also very effective at loosening seedcoats. http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/tomato/2005015135020413.html
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I often do NOT keep the tallest. If it is too tall and weak stemmed and another is stout and growing well, the tall one goes. But unless some look obviously bad it doesn't matter alot which one stays....as long as you only leave one. I usually try to get them clipped back to one plant about the time the first true leaves come on, sometimes even when only the seed leaves are showing. I've taken the netting off some Jiffy pellets. It's easy. Just tear a bit at the top and then it easily pulls off....or at least it did for me. I did it because I get tired of finding the remains in the garden months or even a year later. It does not seem to decompose. I've not run into problems with the roots not being able to get through the mesh. Probably with some soils and some moisture levels it would be different. Maybe it depends on how large the transplant is, also. I have left several in a tray together a bit too long and had roots grow out of the pellets and interlock with each other. It ended up being a big mat of tomato plants. A little pulling and they separated and the transplanted 'maters grew fine.
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
15 years ago
You could just snip the end off.
Sure it takes a tiny bit of the cotyledon, but true leaves will be on the way.

I had one or two seed-cases do this. Most I just flicked with my finger and they came off.

Josh
spencersmom
15 years ago
I had this problem too. I was told to sow a little deeper. The instructions on my cell flat said just barely cover the seed with your seed starter mix. Well, I poked the next round down a little more and didn't have but a couple with the cap on.

Also, since my flat is covered, what caps I did have were pretty moist. I was able to work some caps off gently but there were a few that just wouldn't happen for me.

I didn't know that true leaves would still come if you snipped off the end. Hmm.. I learn something every time I log in. :)

Erin
tolledot
15 years ago
To avoid the problem from the start, soak the seeds overnight first and then keep them moist. The seed shells will slide off by themselves or with very little help without any damage to the seedling.

Once you have the problem, placing a drop of water on the seed coat (it will stay there if you place it on gently) and repeating several times in the day will generally soften it enough to slide off easily.

Good luck
Joseph
z10
gardendawgie
15 years ago
I believe that what happens in nature is that the seed comes up and the morning dew keeps it wet and the sun comes out and it grows out of the shell. So every morning it gets wet and the inside grows a bit. slowly but surely it breaks loose because of those morning dews.
dragon49
14 years ago
I had the same issue with a Lilac Bell . I carefully pulled it off. It looked a bit funny for a while. Then the true leaves sprouted and it is now growing normally.

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seed shell wont come off first leaves on scotch bonnet peppers

Comments (7)

californian

sprouts_honor

Related Discussions

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a

spencersmom

tolledot

gardendawgie

dragon49

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