curly ugly Cotyledons

[TightenUp]

maybe overwatering? is it possible i have too much light using big heavy duty cfls(100 and 120 watters = 300 watt equivalent)

about half seeds have curly cotyledons and some have curly stems. just an FYI -i am using organic jiffy starting mix in the jiffy peat pots(i hate them, never again!)

[RayR]

A picture of this would be helpful. Are these newly sprouted seedlings with no true leaves yet? How close are those CFL's to the seedlings?

[ContainerTed]

There may be something here. I have 4 of the 72 hole flats with Jiffy plugs and they are all exhibiting irregular cotyledons. However, the ones planted in MG seed starting mix are nicely formed and very normal.

Anybody else having this?

Ted

[TightenUp]

Ted

i know this is against what most say about starting seeds but i have always had better success starting seeds in a "hotter" medium. this is my first grow with tomatoes so i have been taking everyones advice.

in the past i have always started seeds with ocean forest by foxfarms. its got sticks and other bigger chunks so i would be careful when burying the seeds not to put anything big on top. if i had any lying around i would germ some new seeds just to see the difference.

although it is quite possible i am over watering i feel like the tiniest shot of fish emulision (like 1/16 of directions or less) might help the little guys out.

does MG seed starting mix have a npk value like all other MG products?

[ContainerTed]

I'm also wondering how much cotyledon distortion was caused by having so many seed hulls sticking to the emerging plants. If so, the Jiffy stuff may be contributing to that by not producing enough resistance (holding the seed hull into the medium as the seedling emerges).

The MG seed starter bag I had went out with the trash. I usually put my starter mix into a large bucket and then add in some other stuff like Bio-Tone (the whole list of stuff is a secret recipe). Actually, I've posted that recipe at least a couple of times. Someone else will have to check their bag. I do know that I will not be looking at the Jiffy "crapolla" next time around. I can use the water tray and maybe the Clear Dome from the kits, but the rest of that will go into the recycling bin.

I have a much better and much easier experience by using Craig's dense planting and then transplanting to the standard 72 hole flat.

It would still be interesting to hear whether or not others have had cotyledon distortion using Jiffy plugs.

Ted

[TightenUp]

about 1 of 3 seeds i germinated had the hulls stuck. maybe its a jiffy issue with tomato seeds?????

i am heading to my local hydro store for some higher quality ingredients. i wish local hardware stores carried some better stuff

[travis]

Although I prefer ProMix BX, there is nothing wrong with Jiffy seed starting mix.

Some MG potting mixes do have a NPK value. Read the label.

[beatpoet]

I had a few of the tomato seeds I germinated where the hulls stuck as well in the Jiffy starters. Planted about 15 seeds, it happened on I think 2 or 3 of them. I haven't noticed the problem with the scallions I planted. I'll have to see what happens with the peppers and cucumbers when I get those started next.

[ContainerTed]

Okay, I was in Wally World today and wrote down the stats on the MG bag.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lightweight formula with phosphorus for fast rooting!

Guaranteed Analysis
0.05 - 0.01 - 0.05

Derived from ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, calcium phosphate, and potassium sulfate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ted

[cushman350]

I'm a first year seeder. In Jan. no one around here has seed starting supplies and all I could find was the expanding peat pots. They worked fine, 2 or 3 hulls stuck to the new sprout but I put a drop of water on the hull and in 5 mins it came off easily with a toothpick. Didn't have any distortion of the leaves though.

[Worth1]

Usually if these embryonic leaves get stuck the leaf/growing tip will just grow around the stuck leaves.

What I have done in the past is use saliva/slobbers to soak the seed hull.
Then I use some real tiny needle nosed pliers to squeeze the husk off.
Most of the time this is me just being bored and it is best to just leave them alone.
I have seen many a plant that was big with these stuck embryonic leaves still stuck like little handcuffs behind the stem.

Worth

[dice]

For the stuck seed coats, I just dab a drop of spit on them (warm
water works too, I have heard), wait a few minutes for the seed
coat to soften up, then try to tease them off with a fingernail,
holding the seedling down in the potting mix with a fingertip on
my other hand. If it does not simply slide up and off, I re-moisten
it and leave it for a day (let the seedling grow bigger).

Eventually they will either slide up and off or the seedling will
get strong enough to dislodge the seed coat itself (or you
discover that you have enough spares of that variety to just
ignore it).

Curled cotyledons on a large scale usually indicate something
slightly off in the seed-starting media or in the water. Could be
pH, salt, some fertilizer in there, something else funky like too
much zinc or aluminum in it, etc. Flushing them with water will
sometimes fix it. What almost never helps is adding some
fertilizer (I have done it with an eyedropper or pipette: "oops,
dead seedling".), unless it was dilute liquified kelp, which
did not help much but did not seem to make it worse, either.

What works best is to just ignore it, keep to normal watering
when the seed-starting media gets dry, and hope they outgrow
the problem. When they get bigger, potting up and a mild dose
of kelp or kelp/fish or other organic fertilizer will often cause
the plant to simply outgrow the problem (a level of something
that was slightly toxic to the newly sprouted seed is no longer
strong enough to bother a seedling with a couple of sets of true
leaves).