Hi! I too just ventured into starting from seed. I did buy a heating mat as I learned from this site that certain warm weather veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, melons etc. will not germinate unless the soil temp is 70-80 degrees. My mat was about $25 and does not have a temperature gauge. It worked, but I left it on after the seeds greminated and the result was leggy tomatoes.
I just searched online for heating mats...don't specifically remember which site. Good luck!

If they germinated then you don't need a heat mat. You can use the lights to provide a little extra heat if your room is chilly. Or pop the whole lot on any mildly warm surface like the top of a fridge or near the boiler. Most seeds are very tolerant.

I have a couple of large heat mats without a controler. I highly advise to purchase one with the controller. I have fried some of my seedlings, mine get way too hot.The lights I use seem to do a much better job than the mats. Never had a problem getting the seeds to germinate under lights.

Agree with Shrubs - you don't need a heat mat to start seedlings. I start mine in the family room in front of the baseboard heater. Or you could use any warm place in your house. When they germinate, I put them under grow lights in the basement.

Last year I started all my seeds in front of my furnace, early, around the end of February. The furnace was continually going then, & it was always nice & warm around them. That was too early! I had a forest of plants in my basement! This year, I started Mid March, it was a bit warmer this year, therefore the furnace did not run as much as last year. I had problems with some varieties of seeds germinating when the furnace was running, but that is a different subject. I then "dropped" a whole tray of seedlings when trying to move them outside for hardening. Most snapped at the dirt line, so I tried starting from seed again. Now the furnace only runs at times (& that might be a good thing!) and nothing is germinating. Sooooooo, I am interested in getting a heat mat (for next season) just for that purpose. I know that once they sprout I put them under lights, otherwise they get leggy. Any recommendations on which are the best mats to buy, with or without a thermostat, where to buy them, and what is a resonable price to pay? Thanks! Paul

I have twice tried to grow dipper gourds from seeds and none of them sprouted. The house temp averages around 70 degrees. I am wondering if gourd seeds are more likely to need a heat mat?

nstockguy, dipper gourds should just sprout and grown outside in the seed are any good. I seem to recall from childhood that dipper gourds were often harvested early to make for easy carving and had a lot of flat seed that wouldn't grow.

If you've no reason to think there is anything wrong with the seed, scrape them with a nail file and soak them a day or two and plant them outside when the soil gets to the high 60s.

...(to answer Paul's inquiry),I use a rubber commercial propagation heat mat 22"x60" (Pro-Gro) with its thermostat controller(40F-100F).If you google "Pro-Gro heat mats" you will find an independent evaluation of 4 brands (Propagation:SNA Research Conference;vol.47;2002) pdf...run a search within the document.
Not evaluated is the durability... I've found this brand very satisfactory over the years...

....I use it out-of-doors under cover to maintain minimum root-zone temperatures of seedlings during cold nights and in conjunction with (closet) shelving units...rather too massive(five-1020flats) to operate in the house for me....It was superb used with Beaver Styroblocks (112-80 mil)propagating desert caespitose grasses...

Thanks pickwick! Very interesting article.. Guess I need to try a heating mat for next season. I will have to keep my eye open for one at a fair price.

I further suggest that when one invests money into electrical devices,one should buy new...