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Wheat seeds (cv. ’Dariel’) were coated with 1, 3 or 5 layers of either shellac or polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC) resin or with an equal number of layers of both materials. Coating wheat seeds with five layers each of shellac and of PVdC resin limited initial water uptake rate, decreased volatile (CO2, ethane, ethanol) production, and delayed emergence by 12 days compared to uncoated control seeds. Seedlings whose emergence was delayed attained 10 cm height after emergence more rapidly than controls, indicating that seedlings were developing despite being enclosed within the barrier coating. and that subsequent growth and development was not necessarily limited by an initial low rate of water uptake. Further development of coating techniques may allow sowing seeds in desert areas where the initial rainy season precipitation is inconsistent. If the seeds do not take up water from these initial rains, they may yet survive to germinate strongly once sufficient water is present. We describe a system for simultaneous measurement of both water uptake and volatile production by the same seeds.