Have you tried spraying a little water on the seed shell? That should soften it up a little then use toothpicks to gently remove the seed shell. I hear you though, it's always risky messing with fragile seedlings.I've had problems with the rapid rooters not having enough resistance to knock the shell of the seed off. I've went back to straight seed starter soil because of this. Some shells are pretty hard to get off and you end up killing it.
I've been all over the map with starting seeds, and the true and tried straight in to soil method seems to work best for me. Put a sammich bag over the top of the cup, and away you go.
plants can be tricky in the rockwall trying to remove to re plant
plants in peat can be fucked very easy by noobs who don't know their fert
as the peat holds that very nute
cheers/
I've read that you can LIGHTLY sand harder shells. Very fine emery board attached to the bottom of a small container(matchbox, tic tac box...) and just a few seconds of light shaking will scuff the surface of the shell which will help with water intake. I dont remember if that was Jorge Cervantes, or Ed Rosenthal.Have you tried spraying a little water on the seed shell? That should soften it up a little then use toothpicks to gently remove the seed shell. I hear you though, it's always risky messing with fragile seedlings.