6 days since sprouting..shell still attached. ok or not?

[jrk152]

These pics should clarify. My two seedlings sprouted 5 and 6 days ago, both with shells still attached. The taller is an inch tall, the other is 2/3 inches tall. They've been on 24/0 under two 65w CFLs about an inch away, and are in jiffy pellets inside a box with the top covered in cling wrap with holes punched for ventilation. A small 20cm fan is running 24/0 blowing cooler air into the lights to keep temps around 80-90. Humidity is 20-30% but inside the box it should be higher.

A link to my grow journal, comments welcome!

 

[inbox]

They will fall off on their own. Don't mess with them.

 

[Iconic]

Are they the same strain? It's probably a good sign both still have the shell, rather than only one...

Yes, leave them alone... try not to over-parent.

 

[jrk152]

No idea with the strain, both bagseed.. possibly from different batches lol. Okay so I'll leave them alone. Its just that a lot of the other grows seem to have seedlings about the same age/size but with some leaf growth already.

 

[chitownsmoking]

wet the top a little and carefully remove the shell you may have to remove the little film that looks like plastic to thats the tricky part be carefull

 

[mared juwan]

Yea this is a personal thing. Some people say let nature take care of itself but I have had seedlings where the shell stays on like that and I pick them off with a tweezer. The shell blocks the light from reaching the leaves and the sprout will stretch more than it needs to. My vote is to remove them... VERY carefully. Make sure not to pull upwards on the seedling or you will pull the roots out of the medium. Just be as gentle as possible. If you have shaky hands then just leave it alone.

 

[jrk152]

Yea this is a personal thing. Some people say let nature take care of itself but I have had seedlings where the shell stays on like that and I pick them off with a tweezer. The shell blocks the light from reaching the leaves and the sprout will stretch more than it needs to. My vote is to remove them... VERY carefully. Make sure not to pull upwards on the seedling or you will pull the roots out of the medium. Just be as gentle as possible. If you have shaky hands then just leave it alone.

I removed the shell off the taller one, came off quite easily but the little film that looks like plastic was too hard to remove so I've left that on. Shell wouldn't easily come off the smaller one either so that's been left on too.

How does it look?

 

[mared juwan]

I removed the shell off the taller one, came off quite easily but the little film that looks like plastic was too hard to remove so I've left that on. Shell wouldn't easily come off the smaller one either so that's been left on too.

How does it look?

Awesome. Good job. The film will dry out and peel off on it's own. Plus it lets some light through so the sprout knows to stop growing taller. You're good to go man.

 

[jrk152]

Awesome. Good job. The film will dry out and peel off on it's own. Plus it lets some light through so the sprout knows to stop growing taller. You're good to go man.

Great, thx for the advice. Its a bit empty now but drop by my grow journal in the future if you can. I'll be needing a lot of advice/reassurance that I'm doing the right thing in the coming weeks

So far 3 bagseed seedlings. 3 more white widow germing under 180W of mixed CFLs and a 250W MH. First grow!