Scuffing?

[DocGraymatter]

Hey everyone, new to the forum. Hope everyone is staying safe in these tough times.

I have a general question about seedlings. I just got an awesome order of packs from an amazing Canadian seed bank and have had success germinating 4 out of 5 of the strains I ordered (paper towel style). The 5th however, has been tough. While the seeds look healthy, they do look a tad young. I, of course, don't want to jump the gun and complain, as they are a reputable breeder. Does anyone still scuff their young seeds? Back in the day we had so many seeds that scraping them on sandpaper was no big deal, these days with expensive genetics I wasn't sure if there were more efficient scuffing methods. Any input would be appreciated, thanks folks.

 

[oldsmokey]

Sometimes they need a little help coming out of their shell. Just recently I had one and it would not crack so I gently helped it it's like you said I used a nail file and scuffed up the shell a bit couple days later there was a tap Root.

 

[Stunger]

I do the same to all my seeds prior to a 12 - 24hr pre-soak, scuff them a little on a nail file. Seems to work for me no problems.

 

[DocGraymatter]

Thanks so much for the advice everyone, most appreciated. Pics coming soon.

 

[CanadianJim]

I scrape them lightly with a knife or razor blade. If you try that just be really careful not to cut them.

 

[Jackalope]

I got a few seeds from Useful Seed co. Their Bag of Oranges was supposed to have hard shells. They suggested scuffing. I had never done it before but knew of what was needed. I ended up using a wooden nail file. Or Emory board to do it. It worked really great. Only one seed didn't pop within a few days.

I just trapped the seed between my finger and the Emory board. I was able to scuff the seed up really well by just rolling the seed in between my finger and the EB. Seed went in shiny with stripes. Came out dull and light brown. This was a lot easier then trying to hold the seed and worked lots better then I expected.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Some people glue sandpaper to the inside of a matchbox, place seeds inside, and shake the sh!t out of it.

Seems like scuffing the seed case would be something that would be more useful with old seeds - or seeds of landrace strains from colder/inhospitable climates, and/or with ruderalis content - than with younger ones, though.

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

Roll coarse sandpaper into a tube with the abrasive in. Put a rubber band or tape around it. Seeds go inside, fingers on both ends and shake well.

 

[Jackalope]

Pretty sure the whole scuffing thing is a genetic thing. Some genetics are just going to have a harder shell then others. Maybe it is how they are grown I don't know. It can happen in old and new seeds.

With older seeds. It is a last ditch effort to get them to pop.

 

[CanadianJim]

For me, scuffing seems to make them break the surface faster. Maybe a day, or half a day, but that might just be my imagination.
I always scuff larger seeds as they have always been harder to germinate than smaller ones in my experience. The larger seeds I've had have had thicker shells, and have mostly been indica/indica dominant strains. Though I mostly grow indica strains.
My last ditch effort for older seeds is soaking for 12 hours, poking them every once in a while to see if they'll sink. After 12 hours, if they sank I scuff them and plant in a peat pod, if they didn't I usually just toss them as I have never had one of those pop.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Pretty sure the whole scuffing thing is a genetic thing. Some genetics are just going to have a harder shell then others.

That makes sense. There are plant species that have evolved to fill niches... There's even a (non-cannabis) plant, the seeds of which need to be "scorched" a bit to germinate. They germinate nicely after fire sweeps through. Given enough time, all kinds of things happen. I assume, for that one, that fires "killed the viability" of most of that particular species' seeds, and the ones left alive were the only ones that made it to the stage of producing the next generation. Probably took several (or many) fire incidents, but it's a good example of what Darwin was talking about. Stuff doesn't magically develop new traits; mutations happen, some just happen to give that particular set of organisms an advantage - that might not be an advantage everywhere - and they survive when others don't. The trait gets passed on.

If a region has "false start Spring," that is to say, an early warm period in the year and then a return to Winter conditions... Seeds that sprout quickly/easily (which, at first glance, seems like a good quality for the organism to have) will do so - and the seedlings produced will then quickly die, without ever having produced a next generation. The ones that were more difficult to germinate... are left to survive and reproduce.

Might be a little inconvenient for us, when we've only got a ten-pack (or less) of a strain's seeds, lol, but if the plant produces thousands...

Indicas tend to produce small runts at the equator, because they begin flowering just as soon as they are physically capable of doing so. Sativas tend to get hit by Winter before they finish flowering in the northern latitudes, because they don't start to flower until relatively late in the year. It's all about the conditions where/when they evolved.

Just another Sunday ramble .