here is what i have learned about removing seed coats with out decapitating the seedling.
as soon as i can see the seed coat is not coming off on its own, i put a drop of water on it
so it sticks there like a dew drop. i do this several times a day for multiple days. some times
this is enough to loosen the seed coat enough for the cotyledons to push it off on their own.
failing that, i have found that it is better to wait until the seedling has straightened up before
attempting to manually remove the seed coat. the stem is stronger. once i have a really moist
seed coat, i can often grab it with my fingers, tweezers might be better, and i give the outside edge
a pinch, and very gently see if i can pull it partly off. if no, i keep putting on the drops of water until
the seed coat can be easily pulled off.

i think some people try to take the seed coat off too soon when the seedling is too fragile or the seed
coat is not moist enough. patience pays off.


keith

I have noticed that on my seeds that helmet heads happen more frequently on older seeds. I also have found that planting the seeds on the deeper side helps to lessen the occurrences of helmet heads. Perhaps it is the combination of the moisture on the seed coat as well as the friction from moving in the soil that helps to free the seedling from it's seed coat.

Salava works better than water.
As long as some of the leaves are coming out it doesn't matter if you take the seed coat off.
The plant will grow anyway.

I always moisten the seed coating as well. I'm still torn whether I should help a weak seedling escape the seed coating at all, especially when breeding new varieties. I just don't know if there is a genetic component involved, or if it is purely bad luck and environmental.


Are there varieties that are probe to helmet heads?

I think it's about the condition of the seed, more so than any genetic effect.
I've seen a high proportion of helmet heads across varieties, with fresh seed that was allowed to dry out all winter in the indoor heat and low RH. The same varieties are not usually prone to this problem at all, when seeds were stored in plastic zips soon after the heating season began to dry out the house (which gets very humid in summer).
With old seeds it can be worse, as they are not only dried out but nutrient stores are kaput, so the seedling that germinates has not enough strength to push it off. In the worst case scenario, the cotyledons rot inside the seed, unable to escape.

I start my tomato seeds inside a plastic clamshell (typical for baked goods) on a heat mat, misted a plenty so there's always condensation on the lid, opened at least once a day to exchange air and shake the drops of water down. As long as I keep that lid closed the humidity that builds up inside there is enough to help with helmets, usually plenty enough.

I always start my seeds on damp paper towel in a baggie. Waiting until some green is showing before potting the seedlings really cuts down on helmet heads. If they do show up, the next leaves are already breaking through so it really doesn't matter.
In the past, I have used saliva on a tiny piece from a plastic bag, folded over the seed head. It works well .

rxkeith wrote: ↑Fri Apr 04, 2025 8:29 pm here is what i have learned about removing seed coats with out decapitating the seedling.
as soon as i can see the seed coat is not coming off on its own, i put a drop of water on it
so it sticks there like a dew drop. i do this several times a day for multiple days. some times
this is enough to loosen the seed coat enough for the cotyledons to push it off on their own.
failing that, i have found that it is better to wait until the seedling has straightened up before
attempting to manually remove the seed coat. the stem is stronger. once i have a really moist
seed coat, i can often grab it with my fingers, tweezers might be better, and i give the outside edge
a pinch, and very gently see if i can pull it partly off. if no, i keep putting on the drops of water until
the seed coat can be easily pulled off.

i think some people try to take the seed coat off too soon when the seedling is too fragile or the seed
coat is not moist enough. patience pays off.


keith

I’ve been using the same technique for many years with good success.

Many times the first leaves end up handcuffed together at the ends only to let the true leaves come out uneffected at all.

I have tried the seed pinching surgery many times. I'm often impatient with these little helmets. Not all pinches are successful for me, I would swag about a 50% success rate. But I am not 100% in the fine motor control either. The principle is sound, that you want to weaken or break apart that apical hole where the cots normally emerge and break apart their coats.
I usually resort to pinching when I have too many helmets to be satisfied, but I got better results by keeping them in high RH for a bit longer. It's tricky with mass plantings because you want to take them off the heat when they sprout. But I found it worthwhile to keep them covered and humid and even on the heat mat for a couple more days, with periodic spritzing of slow to shuck seedlings.
If I do have to take them off the mat and open the lid because the helmet is far behind the rest, I keep on spritzing it trying to keep it moist. That dollar store spritzer with the strong jet is one of the indispensable tools for germination of all kinds of seeds. Especially with shallow sown seeds, the deep spritz down around your seeds is a great help, at least for my seed starting conditions, couldn't do without it.

Several years ago I conducted several true scientific experiments when I grew out close to 200 seeds of pepper and tomato plants.
I dispelled several myths pertaining to tomato and pepper plants.
Regretfully the thread is lost at T Ville.
Plenty of photos.
I wish I had the ambition to do it again here but I don't.
I had plants growing in everything from sardine cans to plastic bags.
Experiments with fertilizer amounts and everything.
I spent an entire year fooling with these experiments.
And yes they were true scientific experiments.
I've found fooling with helmet heads can cause more harm than good many times.
Especially if you try to remove the outer seed coat.
Carolyn even mentioned saliva as a remedy for these things.
Saliva has a digestive reaction not obtained with regular water.
But doesn't kill the plant itself.
I miss my dear friend Carolyn so much simply because she was old school well educated in microbiology and realistic.
God bless you my dear friend we shall meet again I'm sure.

Well said Miss her to.