did i hurt my seed?

hello everyone,
i just put one of my beautiful seeds from the moist tissues into soil. i tried to be as careful as possible and took the seed with tweezers, unfortunately the seed slipped away and fell on the ground. i heard many people say that this is the part where you should be really careful, because they get hurt very easy. after i yelled out a variety of swear words and noises of anger i picked it up and it looked good, the root was not damaged at all. so is it all good now or can there be inner damages or something like that? just wanna get away these guilty consciences...

appreciate your help!

If nothing was broken, you should be golden. I have dropped my share of seeds as well.

travisw said:

If nothing was broken, you should be golden. I have dropped my share of seeds as well.

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alright! thanks man!

Yeah, you should be alright, man.

I never did understand why growers use the paper towel method. Just drop the seed in a moist rapid rooter and your off. No chances of harming the tap root, or dropping etc...

... Ironically, to me, Rapid Rooters for seeds is much like a fancified version of, or step up from paper towel method.

You could just start directly into a plastic cup or container with pre-moistened soilless (I use SAM#4 for this). Ideally you want to start in a container that is at least 4" deep to accommodate the tap-root.

lerellion said:

I never did understand why growers use the paper towel method. Just drop the seed in a moist rapid rooter and your off. No chances of harming the tap root, or dropping etc...

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Because this weeds out the good seeds from the bad ones. If it doesn't germinate...just chuck it instead of planting and praying.

+1, the paper towel method makes it easier to identify duds without tying up planting media and equipment. What I don't get is why it's popular to float seeds in water as a first step. I have seen no affect on germination times or rates and no correlation between whether sinkers or floaters end up being good or bad seeds.

RiverSix said:

+1, the paper towel method makes it easier to identify duds without tying up planting media and equipment. What I don't get is why it's popular to float seeds in water as a first step. I have seen no affect on germination times or rates and no correlation between whether sinkers or floaters end up being good or bad seeds.

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They say the good seeds sink and the bad ones stay floating.

RiverSix said:

+1, the paper towel method makes it easier to identify duds without tying up planting media and equipment. What I don't get is why it's popular to float seeds in water as a first step. I have seen no affect on germination times or rates and no correlation between whether sinkers or floaters end up being good or bad seeds.

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Whether it sinks or floats is not a final indicator, for me. I wait for the emergence of the taproot when I use water.

brotherjericho said:

Whether it sinks or floats is not a final indicator, for me. I wait for the emergence of the taproot when I use water.

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I see. never tried it, myself

There is another way that is probably just as if not more accurate: roll the seed between your thumb and forefinger, apply a bit of pressure. Anything but a mature, healthy seed will be crushed as a result of this test.

If you purchased your seeds [from a reputable breeder] they should certainly all be good seeds.

IMO the less handling a seed gets during germination the better; also the paper towel method can be fudged pretty easily if someone soaks the paper towels, puts them in a sealed baggy and somewhere just a tad too warm or leaves them too long. Even under ideal 'paper-towel' conditions, fine root hairs of the tap root start wanting to grow into the paper towel... and now you have the added step of transplanting, which at the very least is more handling.

What is wrong with just starting directly into media...? Tying it up, seriously? I start in small cups with SAM#4, which isn't overly expensive or anything... the taproot grows uninterrupted and can start to form it's symbiotic relationships almost immediately. Each cup doesn't contain a ton of media or anything... if a seed happens not to sprout it is no big deal, and I can still just mix that media into something else later.

I use moistened rapid rooters in Happy Frog in a Dixie cup, and have had 100% success using this method, That's right I have Never NOT had one pop the ground, I have had seeds where the tap root gets turned or shell won't come off etc but never a lost one.

Same thing with the paper towel method.

g00sEgg said:

I see. never tried it, myself

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Most of us have a method that works for our style. Glass of water for 8-16 hours and then moist soil works for me, so why change?

I change the oil in my car every 100 miles. The engine hasn't blown up, so why change?

I don't actually do that, but it illustrates how a method that works can be excessive or unnecessary.

as long as u get the same results in the end it doesn't. matter how its done....i just do what i have to at the time i have to do it...if im out of towels ill just drop into a cup of water... or directly into soil its all the same it either works or it doesn't if it doesnt sprout its not like the soils lost..ill just reuse it...

...always started them directly in medium using quality seeds. less to go wrong IMHO, but to each his own. I might try other methods with suspect or older seeds.

brotherjericho said:

Most of us have a method that works for our style. Glass of water for 8-16 hours and then moist soil works for me, so why change?

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I never asked anyone to change. lol
I don't know what point you're trying to make.

RiverSix said:

I change the oil in my car every 100 miles. The engine hasn't blown up, so why change?

I don't actually do that, but it illustrates how a method that works can be excessive or unnecessary.

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No need to be silly.