And this is one of the Fatalii's coming up!

One of the cups however... my nephew dumped some of my habanero seeds I was drying into it... I may end up with 10-15 plants in that one... (Don't ever leave seeds drying on paper towels near a 2 year old. Hah!)

And this little guy still has part of his seed on him I think. Kind of hooks you once you see that little green dot start appearing after the long waiting game.

85 is supposed to be ideal, so 80-90 should be fine.

You need to get some shoplights on them once they emerge or they will get leggy. You want to set the lights about an inch or so above the leaves and by the looks of the depth of your pots, that may be difficult. You may want to carefully trim the top of your cups about an inch.

"Damping off" seems to be the main problem with pepper seedlings which is caused by overwatering and poor air circualtion. So, let the soil get almost bone dry between waterings and have plenty of air circulation. If they do develop damping off, I've read spritzing with 3% hydrogen peroxide or diluted chamomile tea helps.

I'm having problems myself this year though, but that's because I've tried TOO hard to make things perfect. I'm sure the more experienced will chime in with better advice.

Good luck.

Kevin

AFAIK there is no common pepper blight like there is for tomatoes, so no spraying needed.

Mid 80s is fine for your BJs and low of 75 isn't bad at all. My 2012 BJs germinated 100% at a temp of around 82, so there's no need to be too anal about temps. I don't use a heat mat once germinated and moved to soil so the temp is in the mid-60s. Can't say that everything is great - that may be a bit colder than optimum - but it does indicate that your low temps are fine. They won't hurt the plants.

Thanks for the feedback you all! I suppose I should get my jolokias out soon, along with everything else of course.

I want to get a heating mat pretty quickly, but only for cold nights. As it stands right now, during the afternoons my temps are holding 90 degrees pretty steady.

So I should put my plants closer to lights, as well as start watering less now and let the soil get almost dry between watering(s)?

ab2008:
Yes, let the soil dry out between waterings. With seedlings, it is a little tougher since they can dehydrate quick if they have NO moisture but you should at least see the top layer dried out before rewatering. Also, definitely trim those cups. Not only will it make it harder to get them light, but it will sheild them from air circulation which is also bad. In fact, most people run a fan on their seedlings for a few hours a day.
Bruce

Yep. As soon as they emerge you should remove any humidity device(dome, plastic wrap, etc.) and put them under some CFL's (shoplights are most common) about an inch away from leaves for about 12-18 hours per day. You should also make sure they have ventilation. Some people set up a small fan.

As far as watering, during the 1st stages of developing a couple sets of true leaves, watch for the top of the soil and check. If dry, then use a spray bottle to just mist it a few sprays.. Do the "bone dry" watering thing after they get established some. I prefer to do this by watering from the bottom. i.e., setting container in a larger container with about an inch or so of water.

Kevin

Mild Jalapenos coming up - 1 day old.

Pasilla Bajio

Socrates X3R

Fatalii & Caribbean Red

Numex Suave Orange & Golden Cayenne

Giant Marconi

And my Habaneros I planted on Feb 4th.