Planting Seeds Tap Root Up

[JohnB RPh]

I know that's the recommended method, but I've had little success with that method. Tap root down has always worked best for me in side by side comparison. Can someone point me toward a scientific study that verifies the "tap root up" method is the best way to plant a germinated seed?

[Timmahh]

ive not seen anything that says taproot up is the way to go. thats a bit strange. tp is a root, so it wants to burrow Down for water. have no idea why planting it up would do anything but make it harder for the root to secure itself in the ground.

[puffaway]

ive not seen anything that says taproot up is the way to go. thats a bit strange. tp is a root, so it wants to burrow Down for water. have no idea why planting it up would do anything but make it harder for the root to secure itself in the ground.

 

+1 ....I've heard it makes it stronger but mine do fine putting the tap root down. I have not lost one yet.

[TheGanz]

I'm sure the tap root will turn and grow down. Your not gonna change millions of years of evolution by planting a seed with the tap root pointing up.

[thanks2]

Restorium's illustration shows if you point the tap root down the seed must waste energy to grow up and then turn and go down. If you point the tape root up, it just turns and goes down, thus using less energy. It only makes a difference with seeds that do not have much energy to use, so just to be safe it is suggested you plant with the tap root up. The seed should be planted as soon as the root starts coming out and no later than 1/4 inch.

 

A healthy seed will tolerate all kinds of errors, such as long tap roots, deep placement, and incorrect orientation.

[JustanOldALJ]

The seed is programmed to send the tap root out and up and then down. The simple reason behind this (for those of you who believe in evolution) is that if a female plant drops hundreds of seeds, which is normal, then only the strongest survive. The catch-22 here is that the strongest seeds also have the strongest shell. So only the strongest of the strong make it. When the tap root is forced to grow up a bit and then down to take root, the shell of the seed is then in the position where the action and friction of the seed shell being pushed up through the soil help to break the shell open and then fall off. This approach allows the seedling to take advantage of leverage to get the shell off.

 

If the seed is planted with the pointed end down, then as it makes its way up through the soil, the action of pushing through the soil actually pushes the seed closed, and then once the seed shell breaks the surface, the last bit of energy your new seedling has must OMPH open the husk.

 

A seed trying to push open from the inside is like a small person trying to push a heavy door open from the middle of the door, rather than pulling it open with a handle mounted near the outside edge of the door.

 

In nature, if you drop a bucketful of cannbis seeds from a plant, more than 50% of them will land with the big end down and little end up - due to the laws of physics.

 

The preferred natural way for a cannabis seed to sprout is tip end/tap root end, oriented up.

[puffaway]

You might be right on that. I have had a few of mine that had difficulty shedding the seed shell.

[LITLJON]

For me this would only apply to seeds germed from the start in the soil (or other). Mine have 1/2 tails before being cubed.

Here's an illustration;

[FarmerLiz]

Thanks so much for this thread. I've got some new seeds coming, now I won't be making the same mistakes I made with the first batch.

[JohnB RPh]

Very informative and helpfull, thank you all for your posts. They make a lot of sense and clear up a lot of questions I had. Litlejon makes a good point though. Is it still as helpful planting tap root up with seeds we have germinated, and not just sewn directly in medium?

[Inepsa]

I have always done it with the root down, and have always had fantastic seedlings. Some breeders tell you one way, some tell you the other way. I don't think it matters which way you plant them, you plant them sideways and they will still grow.

[michiganmedclones]

I think what some people start to forget is its a weed... it wants to grow. It takes stress, it allows you to make errors, and it will still come back short of a catasrophe. I literally shove my finger in the coco to make an area, drop the seed in whichever way it falls, cover with coco and mist with water 4x a day until they're about the surface. Since starting in coco I haven't lost a seed yet, in rockwool I did have some problems with them growing out before they rooted in the cube

[thanks2]

I think what some people start to forget is its a weed...

Actually cannabis is an annual, dioecious, flowering herb, not a weed. But, yeah, it is a pretty resilient plant.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis#Taxonomy

[+GivingBack]

Just received Endless Sky seeds and directions do say plant with tap root up. I thought this was a misprint until I saw this thread. Thanks for all your advice.

[aotc3rd]

sound crazy to me but if it works for u ... do ya thing

[rockinlespaul]

Dr. Greenthumb says tap root up in all his directions that go with his beans.

[JohnB RPh]

Just received Endless Sky seeds and directions do say plant with tap root up. I thought this was a misprint until I saw this thread. Thanks for all your advice.

 

I started 2 seeds each way, one up and one down. Up seed came up first, down seed about a day and a half later but perhaps seemed a liitle more robust. Both are flourishing and I notice no noticeable difference at this time.

[CaffeineForAll]

Here is a pic of my beans, how would you plant em?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hempcheff]

on a bed of mixed greens with some garlic infused canna-olive oil

[The Digital Nomad]

the tap roots are long enough, just put them pointed down.

 

when I grew seeds, I notice not all seeds had the same behavior - the tap root went straight down out of the seed and did not curve back. It may be more of the neck and bud growth that causes the movement, than the root direction.

 

DN

[CaffeineForAll]

I have wondered how my sprouts would taste.

 

Imagine eating all the lovely genetics embedded in these sprouts.

 

Strawberry Cough, Hindu Kush, Mk-Ultra, Mikado, True Blueberry, Northern Lights, Purple Kush...I think thats all of em haha.