Bottom heat as provided by a heating pad is useful for cutting propagation, but air temperature works well for seed starting temperature control. Most seed companies and all greenhouse suppliers sell heating pads or cables. Al

Dear Ann, you can look up specialty Hydroponics stores near you or do you have Lee Valley stores? I know that company's like Vessey's Seeds @ vesseys.com has most of the supplies needed for plant propagation. If you have florescent lights you can use the top of the lamp as a heating pad. I have a growlite cart (and other lamps hanging from the ceiling) I use the lamp in the middle rack and move it up until it touches the trays on the top rack. This would save you the money and the time, those heating pads can be expensive if you start a lot of seedlings. If you don't have a florescent lamp, its probably cheaper than a heating pad, and then you can use the light to grow the seedlings once they emerge. Easy to find, Home Depot etc. Use "Agrolites" or a similar brand of bulb that will produce the right spectrum of light required for healthy plant growth. Hope this helps you out Ann, Janet

Thanks for the infro.This board is the greatest.

Ann

I love the cables, which can be carefully arranged right into the seed flats. I think that the secret of great germination success is warm soil and cool air. As soon as the seed are well germinated, and before transplanting into cell flats, I turn the cables off. This keeps the seedlings short and stocky and less prone to damping off, in my experience. It would work just the same with the heating mat.

Best to keep the heat off the plants, if at all possible, and directed right into the potting medium.

Here is a link that might be useful: Just some ideas