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IndyGerdener
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Location: Greenwood, Indiana

sprouted in coffee filter now what?

So I have my seeds sprouted and am planting them in a seedling pot. How deep should I pot the sprouts? Also do I keep the leaves out of the dirt? I did it with the leaves almost out of the dirt and the roots as deep as possible. Most of the sprouts are curved around and if I keep the leaves out of the dirt most of the root will be exposed. That didn't seem right. HELP!!!

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applestar
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I thought I did in an earlier thread, but I'm not sure if I mentioned this for you or for someone else....

Next time, sow the seeds in your choice of seed starting mix AS SOON AS tiny tip of the root germinates out of the seeds on the coffee filter/paper towel. Depending on the size of the seeds, the root should be barely visible to 1/4" at most, BEFORE root hairs start to grow. At that point, they should be sown at normal depth for the size of the seeds (usualy 2x deep as thickness of seed)

For what you have now, burying the roots is critical but the already grown sprout and seed leaves have been growing in the direction of the light (and roots had no way of growing downward which is what they want to do). If you lay them in a shallow trench on the surface of the soil, they should grow upwards after 1/2 day or so and allow you to bury the rest. Keep loosely covered/tented so they don't dry out, but remove as soon as possible to avoid damping off. Nutrient-rich seed leaves in contact with moist soil can sometimes lead to rot, too.

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IndyGerdener
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Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2012 12:32 pm
Location: Greenwood, Indiana

This is what I had.
Image

Image

After I saw your post I went out and uncovered the leaves. Thank you for saving my cash crop. The plan for these pepper plants is to make the money back that I spent on the grow room and seeds! :lol:



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