From

Location

Message

Date Posted

United States

I'd read somewhere that it can be helpful to lightly file the edges of a seed before planting. I guess the idea is that it makes it easier for it to open up.

Is this advisable, or nonsense?

4/26/2023 11:35:18 AM

Ironton, ohio

Yes lots of us do it. Is it necessary???? Sand soak then plant. Stay away from tip of the seed.

4/26/2023 12:12:51 PM

Colorado

Sanding may help the cots shed the seed shell but then again maybe not. Seems like a vigorous well filled seed sheds the seed coat easily. Some seeds have problems popping the husk with or without having been filed.Theres been growers who have removed the shell before incubating the seed.I like to sand the edge of the round end of the seed. And yes stay away from the pointy end.

4/26/2023 1:33:32 PM

Syracuse, NY

I'm a rebel with a cause and carefully snip the seed all the weigh around, regardless of seed value for ultimate seed protrusion enablement, lol; It is simply as far as one can go without removing the seed coat entirely, butt THAT may cause the seed to 'bloom' even before it gets outta the SS Mix, also a bad circumstance. The seed coat snipped yet retained keeps the seed leaves in order until breaking the surface, at least. Finally, keeping the seed well-moistened especially once activated enables it to split open more easily AND the growing leaves to 'shuck off' the seed coat. Please note the green sheathing that has developed over millennia. Else, everything is simply more difficult for it. eg

4/26/2023 2:10:43 PM

President - GPC

Im with CoJoe, note, that spraying the seed coat if still attached helps the seedling rid itself of the shell making it more pliable, or if like me, I have to help it off, without damaging the cots. Good LUCK, GROW BIG

4/26/2023 2:25:13 PM

Kutztown, PA

That's what we need pumpkinpal2, another acronym SPE (Seed Protrusion Enablement) :)
Since no one ever showed me exactly how to do it, I sand mine down until I can see the thin line the divides the two sides of the seed coat. Of course not on the root end. Then I soak them in 80 degree water for 24 hours in about 1/2 cup of water which I pour over the seed once it's planted. Seem to work for me.

4/26/2023 3:08:29 PM

Syracuse, NY

Garwolf - As cojoe once instructed and it blew me away,
as I prefer to put them in my soaking substance between two exact-same-size glasses and get all the air out, rather to simply put a piece of paper towel on top of the soaking seeds for Ultimate Seed Hydration - this would be especially beneficial for brown/tan/shiny-shelled seeds, and 24 hrs. would be good! Anything other than water
will be undetermined, but never less than 4-6, to let it do its thing. eg

4/26/2023 3:37:47 PM

Lodi, California

filed seeds split easier, but unfiled seeds usually split fine. It's more of a precaution. I don't file thin coated white seeds because I think they split easier

4/26/2023 3:45:14 PM

Anchorage Alaska

I always file the seeds to a I see the thin green line , then soak about 4 hrs, put in 88 to 90 degree soil and bam..up in 3 days , after 5 days if a no show then start to worry ...
not an exact science

4/27/2023 12:05:10 AM

Syracuse, NY

Dale M - That 1885's leaves are tremendous, like out of a monster movie...See, I don't grow giant pumpkins, but a lotta huge leaves instead, and I am in awe of even those of yours.
Good luck, all the weigh! eg

4/27/2023 2:58:00 AM

Wisconsin

Waste of time, plant your seed horizontal in the dirt and it will pull itself off. I used to do it because everyone else did... since I started planting my seeds correctly I've never once not had it come off by itself without filing/sanding.

4/27/2023 12:43:02 PM

United States

Horizontal? I thought you were supposed to plant them pointy end down, round end up?

4/27/2023 2:17:46 PM

Syracuse, NY

The thought being that in the wild, a seed is already on its side and the root protrudes and does its thing naturally that weigh. Planting them PED (pointed end down) is the human way for thousands of years because of its many advantages to us - it is easy, it keeps the seed from being eaten and
the root is already 'on its weigh';

Moby, not sure why I also used to do the horizontal but reverted back;
I snip my seeds so I guess PED works better 4 me now;
It's in my toolbox, though!

Knock yourselves out sometime y'all by doing one 'the 'pal2 weigh',
although not always, with just the tip sticking out of the SS Mix,
like a critter watching out for a bigger critter from its burrow and
yet able to breathe; Prolly not great in a dry, outdoor environment, but works as well as any other, I swear!
'Keep your tips up!
(Skiing jargon);
Just another way that we can, but don't have to, lol---eg

4/27/2023 4:47:34 PM

Syracuse, NY

Moby, all - I or anyone can do this experiment next winter:
Put a test seed in a clear cup of SS Mix along the side so that the seeds' actions can be seen - one tip down, one tip up and one horizontal. Hell, I'll do it tonight and stop pointing you out in my replies here, lol. Later---eric g

4/27/2023 4:51:33 PM

Elk County, PA

I'm on team Moby Mike, used to years ago, haven't in even more years since I started placing them correctly and at the right angle they just come out off. I haven't tried horizontal, but 30 degree pointy end down works for me.

4/27/2023 7:21:17 PM

Spooner, WI

Don't file mine i plant point at six o'clock to three o'clock .

4/27/2023 7:58:56 PM

Anchorage Alaska

thanks eg, totally agree with Moby ,on planting the seed on its side , the seed shell comes off by itself in the soil

4/27/2023 11:17:14 PM

Denver, CO

I don't sand - if the cots can't shed the husk easily - then the seed shouldn't go into the patch - I heard another discuss that issue at a big show and it made sense to me.

I do soak my seeds overnight in a damp paper towel - on the heat mat - in a ziplock baggie with the air squeezed out. Started that system last year and it is working for me.

Moby's theory of laying the seed horizontal is going into my tool kit for next grow season.

4/27/2023 11:54:32 PM

Upa Creek, Mo

There are typically white, thin seeds and brown more robust seeds. I file the brown to help absorb moisture faster. The way I look at it is I am removing some barrier to jump start the process.

4/28/2023 8:31:43 AM

Brooktondale, New York

Not to go against the grain, however I have been wondering why a grower would prefer a seed coat left in the soil? From my observations they tend to turn black and mold. A moldy coat sitting in the center of the root ball? I would expect if the seed coat is shed above the starting medium it would reduce chance for an early season fungal or mold issue. The unfortunate part for my theory is that numerous well respected growers do the opposite. Must be it doesn't really matter in the long run.

4/28/2023 9:29:03 PM

Syracuse, NY

If a seed gets up and Adam quickly enough, the seed coat in its peril doesn't usually become a problem for anything, although if I can pluck the seed coat halves away right after or even during sprouting, I do so and feel better about that seed's 'morale' and general 'outlook'; I have a pair of tweezers made in Pakistan from when I used to repair copiers that are now better-used for seed surgery, lol...

It wouldn't surprise me if the SC is held in place BY the mold on its surfaces -
it is almost by default that it is so. Perhaps merely the surface tension of the
H2O in the surrounding SS Mix - Also, microbes and Myco do cause soil to become more 'adhesive', in my own words, there.
Mycorrhizae in my SS Mix probably utilize(s) the SC for food over the long run.

Either circumstance is good, butt only IF it's either/or, as in 'are you in or out?'

Sometimes, one half remains behind; Else, one half and one cot are left behind.
OMG - lemme plant 4 more seeds NOW, lol---eg

4/29/2023 12:56:08 AM

Mission Viejo, CA

I just planted 42 seeds for our new growers seminar. 41 germinated and zero sanding was done. These are the thinner, white seeds and I soaked them for 2 hours. And they were planted point down.
I sometimes think we make things too complicated.

5/1/2023 7:07:38 PM

Denver, CO

LOL

Congrats on the 99.5 % germ rate!

5/1/2023 9:44:48 PM

Grittyville, WA

I agree KC, I think it matters mostly to those who have spent $100 on a seed or have a seed that is particularly special. Then you want to know the absolute best method. Lots of valid comments... at the end of the day always bid on some cheaper seeds you'd like to grow too, just in case you need more...

5/1/2023 10:33:52 PM

Syracuse, NY

I plant every seed like it's my last, regardless if it's a 443 Gerry or a 1911, like last night. $0 versus $80 with the same planting method.
If I don't, then I'll waste more time on re-planting or wishing all the next winter I had sprouted more or had made up for any lost ones.
Today I discovered that a white-tipped seed that we all know is just as viable as any other had a tendency to rot at the white-tipped end, thereby causing the seed leaves to remain stuck inside the seed coat and themselves rot half away. My solution is to snip away the seed coat at that end to preemptively eliminate the fuel for the fungus or whatever to begin with and see how the makeups go - the ones afflicted are doing fine but are like preemies and yet, as long as there is true leaf,
there is no grief, lol---later---eric g

5/2/2023 5:05:27 AM

Roseville CA

Don't get mad at me for this, but I sand my seeds against concrete. Why? because it works lol. I like sanding with concrete on the floor because it just works.

5/2/2023 9:49:29 AM

New Castle, Indiana

I do, but I don't have enough experience to know whether or not it made any difference in the germination time, because my soil and greenhouse temps could have been just as responsible for that.

5/2/2023 12:03:49 PM

Syracuse, NY

Sankalp, I can't think of whatever it is that I also swipe across the concrete floor of my garage to sharpen, true up, etc., but even I haven't done seeds that way, lol---
You could ask for a concrete block for Christmas, all contoured and rough, just for top seeds! Not kidding at all, really, with all the &(@% that I do for germination success, lol!

SG - I think that soaking seeds accomplishes 2 things: It gives a seed a head start as far as whether or not it is in an environment that could contain pathogens that would otherwise get at the seedling even BEFORE it were to sprout and also makes it so that one can soak and therefore soften them up in a solution that would otherwise not be suitable for actual seed starting mix to have in it throughout. However, technically, as soon as a seed is in moist SS Mix/medium, it is soaking. Soaking probably only makes it SEEM like it was quicker (like a nap on a trip); It'll always be advisable to sand the edges of a tan, fat, brown and/or shiny-coated seed or maybe a fat, white seed (haven't really seen) but for ME, the seed itself is actually becoming visible from the edge - else, the remaining seed coat material is just as troublesome;
This is all like a zipper on a suitcase, lols---
I am working on a method of snipping the seed on only one side - the edge that will be facing up, whereby the seed will be forced to sprout in only the upward direction, HAH!!!

Thanks be to Moby for reminding me of the edgewise technique! Later---eg

5/2/2023 5:41:57 PM

Torrance, Ca.

KC Kevin,,, you are so right!

I was impressed to see all those healthy babies Saturday!

WE DO make things more complicated then it should be.

5/2/2023 11:10:23 PM