Seedcoats Sticking

[tam91]

I pulled a bunch of them off (before I read this) - didn't use spit or anything. But the plants all came out fine, I didn't lose any.

[barefootgardener]

Over the years, I only had a few seed coats sticking here and there, and I took a bowl of warm water and dipped my forefinger and thumb in it and placed around the stuck seedcoat to moisten it..waited an hour and repeated. then gently peeled off ..

This year I planted the early planted varieties more shallow, and at least half came up with the seedcoat stuck on..arghhh..most I was able to peel the coat off without damage to the coty's. (doing the mentioned process)..

After this I went back to planting the remaining varieties a little deeper, and very little problem w/seed coat sticking..

[OneoftheEarls]

been doing surgery myself, 90% of them take just a drop of water, 20 seconds and steady fingers....the stubborn or twisted are already doomed

[Ruth_10]

This is maybe kinda sickbut I actually enjoy doing the surgery.

Only if the seedlings need it, of course.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by BigdaddyJ

Great answers here from self taught seed surgeons! LOL! I actually did have a scare last week. I had about 8 seeds left that Minnie Zac sent me years ago. Last year I started 5 of them and only one germinated but it was a mule cursed without cotes and RIP'ed. So I was down to three seeds this year and only 1 germinated but it had a sticky seed coat. I spit it off and the seedling is doing well. These seeds were from a 5.5 pounder she said and wrote F1 on the envelope. I am really happy that I have a good chance now to save seed from this plant. Something I should have done years ago but hadn't realized my supply was that low...

You could also plan to clone the plant if you want to grow it next year. Take a
sucker off of it every month and stick in some soil. If the plant lasts the whole
season, you can save the last "clone" to grow (slowly) indoors over winter.
You could then multiply your clones in the spring and sell them to your neighbors
or on ebay!

As for the stuck seed coats, I mist with water and gently press on the ends of
the seed. This helps open it up and facilitates sliding it off. If I pull too hard and
the plant starts to come up, I just push it back into the soil. Tomatoes at this
age are remarkably tough, and don't really need the gentle touch.


Lee

[BigdaddyJ]

Lee, thanx for the clone reminder. I may try that as well as saving seed from this lone plant that is now about 3 inches tall with first true leaves...