Hookers

Plant it sooner before it hooks

I germinate in paper towel and after the seed has cracked, I put the paper towel upright so the root grows straight downward. If it's on a flat surface, it can't go down and will curl around.

gravity should direct it, but position sidways or as gmsgrows said. i like sideways because i don't have to remember which side it pops out of, lol. even upside down most will be fine.

This is why you plant your seeds with the pointy end up. Tap root exits from the pointy end(the top) so it is headed for the surface. It then starts the u-turn and heads back down. This is very normal. As the tap root turns and heads down the head inside the seed starts going towards the surface. By the time it gets to the surface the seeds shell has been forced open and pulled off from the soil, and the seed head is free to pop out, shell free.

I have always worked with clones and mothers, took a 10 year break and now no one I knew before lives around here so I was forced to play with seeds so im still feeling things out but this is what I have experienced. The cup of water does not keep seeds from orientating them selves back into the medium. I germinate with a cup and then paper towels and cover with a paper plate top and bottom for a couple days and then just the paper towels with a plate under them. I have noticesd that if I use more then what's needed with the paper towels and keep them wet only slightly drying out then I have less curl I think the closeness of the paper towels and the weight of them when wet keeps the tap root from curling a bunch. I normally let the ones that curl go a little longer 1/2"+ and then they will start to straighten out. I've had the same trouble with feminized seeds. Occasionally I let them go until the first sign of leafs start to show then I'll place them in what ever medium im using at the time. If you get hooks and plant them too soon the seed will orientate its self back into the soil, ( digging them out sucks I normally use a tooth pick and gently lift all around the area where it was planted and then I gently start removing soil.) so if you get hooks try to wait until the first heavy burst of energy is done before planting, once leafs start to develop the tap root slows down some, this is when I have been planting mine. hope this helps.

the seedling inside its shell is stored in a rotational direction, so when the seed germinates it exits its shell tail first. Nature, combined with your germination method, create the u shape, use a cup of water next time, maybe you'll get less of a u shape.