Seeds have popped. Now what do I do?

[T!CTAC]

Ok, no I haven't popped them yet but I can't find an answer to this. Once I get the seeds to open and then use the damp paper towel method to get the tap root to start growing, I'll put my seeds into a cup or small pot. But when do I start introducing them to light - natural light?

I've read three books today, watched YouTube videos and I can't even find an answer from Jorge Cervantes...

Everyone assumes that I've got an HID light to put them under for a couple of weeks. I don't. Can I put them on the window sill so they get light but not direct light? I think Jorge said you can use a fluoro light to help stimulate growth and I'll be putting a heat pad under them to help the roots grow.

For those outdoor people with no special lights, what do you do?

Thanks in advance for your help.

TT.

[itchybromusic]

Hey there TT

i soak seeds , once they crack they get put in to the media in a small pot 

you don't need to grow the tap root , the plant can do that all by herself

i would rather handle cracked seeds as least as poss 

 

if not sure how deep to plant the seed , buy some of those root it plugs 

put your seed in the hole at the bottom of the plug & put the plug in a pot

in soil , level with the soil surface , this will be perfect depth for the seed

  

the hole in the top of the plug is there for 2 reasons , one is to show you 

cutting depth , you put the cutting in the hole until it hits the bottom & slide 

you fingers down the cutting until they touch the plug , pull up the cutting 

& the length of cutting from your fingers down is all that needs to be pushed

in the plug beside the hole for a tight fit on the cut , the bottom of the hole is

the perfect air to water ratio in that plug for cuttings & the second reason the

hole is there is for seeds , perfect air to water & depth for seeds 

 

don't really need heat at the bottom , you need it at the top with consistent

moisture , best way to do that is with some glad wrap over the top of your

pot , it will trap heat & humidity under it while under lights & will help the

seeds move a lill quicker if that heat & humidity stays constant 

 

seeds pop up outdoors in direct sunlight all the time , the issue with light is

plants that have spent all there lives under HID can get beaten up going

from HID intensity to the sun without a buffer in the middle like outdoor shade B4 direct sun  

otherwise seeds in a cup under HID is not a prob , in fact the HID or light you use will work for you

providing the heat at seed level along with the humidity to keep to top

soil moist  under some glad wrap 

 

once up remove the glad wrap but do it slow , remember under the glad is 100% humidity 

so just lift a bit at a time of the glad up & let room air temp & humidity slowly equalize B4 taking it off

fully

 

if you plant a lill lower in the cup or pot , this will give you some soil back fill room if the seed is a 

lill stretchy 

 

does that help ?

[firebrand]

Hey TT,
I do things a little differently, but that's only based upon my prior experience (with non-weed seeds too I should add), and what I found works for me.

Ive not tried cracking them in water/or on towel? In the past, Ive soaked chilli seeds to soften them, but always into a jiffy pot to grow.

With weed, I use the end of a pencil to make a slight impression into the top of the jiffy. No more than a cpl of millimeters. Drop the seed in (here's one I prepared just an hour ago haha)



Cover it over and pat down very gently..



I have them in a small plastic tub that has holes drilled in the lid to allow a little ventilation, but gets as steamy as inside.I leave it outside in the sun (or in the floorpan of my ute when I have to travel 3 hours south for work ). Im in Qld and while we are getting the warmest winter days on record, we are still getting down to 5-10 at night. So, I have heat cords that I used for keeping baby snakes, germing chilli seeds, and I keep them on that at night.



After 4 days, I pry gently to see what they are doing, and correct any bad behaviour. As Itchybromusic said, handling cracked seeds is best done as little as possible.
When I transfer them, I slit down two sides of the jiffys to make it easier for the roots. Overkill, but it takes 2 seconds

 

[firebrand]

Oh yeah - and as Itchybro said - I only 2/3 fill my pots with soil. Many of the seedlings get a little leggy (it is still Winter haha), so it gives you room to correct it.

[T!CTAC]

Hey there TT

i soak seeds , once they crack they get put in to the media in a small pot 

you don't need to grow the tap root , the plant can do that all by herself

i would rather handle cracked seeds as least as poss 

 

if not sure how deep to plant the seed , buy some of those root it plugs 

put your seed in the hole at the bottom of the plug & put the plug in a pot

in soil , level with the soil surface , this will be perfect depth for the seed

  

the hole in the top of the plug is there for 2 reasons , one is to show you 

cutting depth , you put the cutting in the hole until it hits the bottom & slide 

you fingers down the cutting until they touch the plug , pull up the cutting 

& the length of cutting from your fingers down is all that needs to be pushed

in the plug beside the hole for a tight fit on the cut , the bottom of the hole is

the perfect air to water ratio in that plug for cuttings & the second reason the

hole is there is for seeds , perfect air to water & depth for seeds 

 

don't really need heat at the bottom , you need it at the top with consistent

moisture , best way to do that is with some glad wrap over the top of your

pot , it will trap heat & humidity under it while under lights & will help the

seeds move a lill quicker if that heat & humidity stays constant 

 

seeds pop up outdoors in direct sunlight all the time , the issue with light is

plants that have spent all there lives under HID can get beaten up going

from HID intensity to the sun without a buffer in the middle like outdoor shade B4 direct sun  

otherwise seeds in a cup under HID is not a prob , in fact the HID or light you use will work for you

providing the heat at seed level along with the humidity to keep to top

soil moist  under some glad wrap 

 

once up remove the glad wrap but do it slow , remember under the glad is 100% humidity 

so just lift a bit at a time of the glad up & let room air temp & humidity slowly equalize B4 taking it off

fully

 

if you plant a lill lower in the cup or pot , this will give you some soil back fill room if the seed is a 

lill stretchy 

 

does that help ?

Hi Itchy!

Yeah, I understand. Makes sense. Especially removing the wrap slowly over time. Jorge says to drop the seeds in holes twice their width. So I will try that. I recon I'll take your advice about the 2/3 full pot method as well. Makes sense to me :-)

Cheers for your help hey.

[T!CTAC]

Hey TT,

I do things a little differently, but that's only based upon my prior experience (with non-weed seeds too I should add), and what I found works for me.

 

Ive not tried cracking them in water/or on towel? In the past, Ive soaked chilli seeds to soften them, but always into a jiffy pot to grow.

 

With weed, I use the end of a pencil to make a slight impression into the top of the jiffy. No more than a cpl of millimeters. Drop the seed in (here's one I prepared just an hour ago haha)

 

DSCF6537.JPG

 

Cover it over and pat down very gently..

 

DSCF6538.JPG

 

I have them in a small plastic tub that has holes drilled in the lid to allow a little ventilation, but gets as steamy as inside.I leave it outside in the sun (or in the floorpan of my ute when I have to travel 3 hours south for work ). Im in Qld and while we are getting the warmest winter days on record, we are still getting down to 5-10 at night. So, I have heat cords that I used for keeping baby snakes, germing chilli seeds, and I keep them on that at night.

 

DSCF6540.JPG

 

After 4 days, I pry gently to see what they are doing, and correct any bad behaviour. As Itchybromusic said, handling cracked seeds is best done as little as possible.

When I transfer them, I slit down two sides of the jiffys to make it easier for the roots. Overkill, but it takes 2 seconds

 

 

Hi Firebrand. Thanks for your ideas :-)

I recon I'll experiment with your ideas and Itchy's with two different plants...It will be interesting to see the results and I have thought about Jiffy pellets lately. I'll keep everyone informed when I get more things to add to my gallery.

Cheers mate! :-)

[OldGardener]

I just poked my seeds into some potting mix in three inch pots, moistened the mixture and left the pots on a window sell. I pushed them about half an inch into the mixture. Ten days later the seedlings were up, 100% germination, and unfurling their first leaves.

 

I leave them out during the day then at night I bring them in and put them under fluoro for about three to six hours, because here in Melbourne there is not enough outdoor light yet. I just use 23W daylight globes from Coles, and for what I am doing this works fine.

 

The seedlings are now about two weeks old, and are about two inches high, very green and healthy and getting their second set of mature leaves. My only complaint is that they are a little leggy, but I am sure that as we get more daylight this will be corrected.

Edited August 15, 2017 by OldGardener

[_Puff_Tough_]

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