I use a heating pad 24/7... no problems yet...

I've had a heating pad under my worm bin for a few weeks, 24/7 w/ no problems also.

The best price I remember seeing for a seedling mat is $40.

Here is a link that might be useful: gardens alive

reyna1,

i used a heating pad last year with excellent results and did have the same concerns u do. but i found a better source of bottom heat and it's even free.

i use my tellys converter box. i use one of those jiffy greenhouses and set it up on spacers over the box. don't set it directly on top as it is ventilated for a reason. it keeps the heat steady. i adjusted my spacers until i had a temp. of 90 degrees inside and my peppers started germinating in 4 days.

ready to start my next batch sunday !

wildlifeman

I put my seeds on top of the 'fridge for a few days.

Josh

Well I put off buying one of those germination mats for a long time but this was the year. I'm hooked. I may get another next year just so I can start the tomatoes at the same time.

What about the top of your hot water heater. Or is it in the garage? The refrigerators now aren't hot on the top....most vent to the bottom. I can't think of anywhere else warm unless you have a CRT monitor or maybe a DVD recorder that puts off some heat. Maybe a router or something that's running all day. Don't need much heat to warm them up.

The top of my 'fridge is warm. That's why I put my seeds there.

I have an old fashioned gas oven that uses a pilot light. The heat from the pilot light would keep the inside of the oven at about a hundred degrees I would guess with the door closed, but by propping the door partially open I can bring the temperature down to about 75 to 90 degrees which is just about right for starting pepper or tomato seeds. The one trouble is that once the first seed sprouts I have to take the whole seed starting tray out because there is no light in the oven.

I germinated bhut jolokia on top of a 4 bulb stainless steel fluorescent light fixture. Checked the temp with a meat thermometer and the potting mix stayed between 82 and 87 degrees. Germination took 9 days.

Try several garage sales. The huge surge in waterbeds years ago left many with the heaters that come with waterbeds. They don't get near as hot as a regular heating pad, and work very well to improve germination. Good Luck

TiMo

For $30 I found a Jiffy setup that came with the 72 flat/dome, 72 pellets and a heating mat. Worked great.
One week after sowing I have 72 one inch peppers growing

I have been reading the forums for some time now, and finally registered. This will be my first year growing peppers. I have two 72 cell starter setups, growing Lowe's habaneros, anaheims, Burpee's "mild" cayenne, and a regular hot cayenne.

I put a regular heating pad under each setup and monitored the pad temp at "low" setting to be constant between 88F and 95F. Since the actual cells are above the pad by about 1/8" (not directly on the pad due to the pan that holds the cell tray) the air space acts as a buffer and maintains the soil temp at approximately 85F.

I hope this helps, like I said,I am brand new to the pepper hobby and hope to be more help as I progress and my knowledge increases.

I have the large heating pad and a thermostat. It holds the temp to within about one degree F. Very well. It holds 4 trays at once. I setup the table with towels first then the pad on top, then the 4 trays and cover everything with large towels. It stays toasty warm but the heat is off most of the time. Do not try this without the thermostat to turn off the heat.

Once they germinate I open everything up to the air and put the 4 trays under a double shop light with 4 bulbs. Works great.

at 72 cells per tray and 4 trays I get plenty of plants.

This is my first try at starting from seed, tomatoes and peppers. I've grown from nursery transplants for several years.

I plan to start my tomato seeds next week as our last frost date here is between mid to late April. After reading posts on this great site and from seed companies I found out that peppers can take 2-4 weeks to germinate, so I started them last Thursday.

I cut down some styrofoam cups, put in some Jiffy mix and moisture. Put a few seeds in each, covered with 1/4" mix and stuck them in a ziplock bag. I then set them on a tray and set part of the tray about 10" over a floor heat vent. It's still winter here so the heat kicks on and off several times a day.

Today I picked up the tray just to check them out and I had 2 sprouts starting to break through, 4 days after sowing! 1 jalapeno m and 1 mucho nacho. The habaneros haven't germinated yet, but I'm watching.

I am now officially stoked. I moved the soil around a bit on my two pepper starter trays to make sure the soil was moist enough at seed level. To my pleasant surprise, after only 4 days, my hot cayenne seeds have shot out a root about 1/8" long.
Normally I wouldn't have disturbed the thing at all, but I am trying to keep a very accurate log and needed to know the status. If I am successful with the peppers, and anyone is interested, I'll share the log at the end of the season.

Just a quick question with the heating pad...it is OK use a "Home" heating pad ( like the ones you use if your back hurts?) I bought a little greenhouse set up, that came with a heater, but it did not sem to get very warm.....
the only place i have to keep the container is my tiled countertop ( it's very cold) So put the "household" heating pad under it, and set it to Medium. today is is day #1
I am afraid to cause a fire if this is not what i am spose to do ( the house is empty 40 hours a week with us working)

Thank you

Tina

I use a heat mat but when I first started, many years ago, I didn't and they germinated just fine. Took a little longer is all. By the way cold treating pepper seeds is a waste of time. That procedure is used for seed of plants that come from cold climates and need it to break dormancy, which peppers do not.

john

I use an old electric blanket spread out on a table and covered with plastic to ensure any spilled water doesn't get on the blanket.

I've never started enough plants to need the whole blanket, but one side quit working years ago anyway, so it works out perfect for my use. Just monitor the temperature and adjust the dial until you get a steady desired temp.

I just bought some Bhut Jolokia seeds as well, and everything I see says 80-90 degrees. I don't have a germination mat, but was wondering if germinating the seeds in a Cabinet Incubator (98.5 degrees) would be ok, or if that is too hot? P.S. how high of a humidity do you want when germinating peppers?