Yep they were a bitch to pop and they had 'birth defects' like old or immature seeds will. But I stuck with them, it took a month for them to grow a 2nd set of leaves, then another month to start growing normally. So I kept them in containers on my deck, used them as seed plants. Shook pollen over the whole plants. I let the males rip, got plenty of pollen from them. I figured the progeny would be fine, which they were. Still have a few left, next time I'll paper towel start them, sandpaper the shell down, and use seaweed solution.
