cpurola said:

Thought I'd share my fix for helmet head.
Small square paper towel on top of seed coat, sprayed with water a few times so it doesn't dry out.
12-24 hours later and while still damp, carefully remove shell and inner membrane.
Good luck. (as with most things it works MOST of the time)

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cpurola said:

Thought I'd share my fix for helmet head.
Small square paper towel on top of seed coat, sprayed with water a few times so it doesn't dry out.
12-24 hours later and while still damp, carefully remove shell and inner membrane.
Good luck. (as with most things it works MOST of the time)

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LoveGrowingIt said:

Much to my surprise, my wife gave me two of those dental tools they use for scraping plaque. Her thinking was they could be used to remove the helmet. She was right! They worked very well.

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HerbalEdu said:

i usually use one finger to block the seedling in place and a small electronic screwdriver to remove both shell and inner menbrane.

i have a little ocd with that, i often dig the soil as soon as 24h after transplant once their root is long enough to search for seedlings and sometime helping them.

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LoveGrowingIt said:

I like the paper towel idea. I've thought for a while that moistening it is the key. I think making sure the seed is planted deeply also helps.

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jadins_journey said:

Good idea. I spray with tap water. Does the same thing, moistens the shell

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LoveGrowingIt said:

Much to my surprise, my wife gave me two of those dental tools they use for scraping plaque. Her thinking was they could be used to remove the helmet. She was right! They worked very well.

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cpurola said:

I have made the mistake of planting too deeply so of course I have to go to the other extreme. LOL

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LoveGrowingIt said:

I tend not to plant deeply enough. From what I've read and tried for myself, about 3/4 of an inch works well. The idea is to let the soil moisten the hull (pericarp?) so it comes off easier.

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