Chili Seeds Germination Guide: Heat Mat, Heating Cable and the Free Solution

This is a much debated topic, is the Heat Mat really necessary to grow Chilli Seeds? The temperature and days of germination required vary depending on the Capsicum we are dealing with, generally ranging from 5 to 30 days, certainly the least easy to germinate is Capsicum Chinense and that is all the Super Hot ones such as Carolina Reaper, Scorpion Moruga, Habanero, etc. because they require more heat than others, but for many, the germination of Capsicum Pubescens such as Rocotò is also difficult because on the contrary they require less heat, usually 18-24 Celsius degrees (61-75 F).

 

The PERFECT TEMPERATURE for any Chilli Seed to GERMINATE is a CONSTANT 22 - 24 Celsius degrees (71-75 F), that is 24 hours a day and the humidity is 90% - 99%. I recommend the Gradation because a temperature that is too high could burn the seeds while a temperature that is right but not constant, like the right temperature during the day but 18 degrees at night, will not make the seeds germinate.

 

To obtain this temperature, especially in January and February, the best thing is to have a heat source under the jars or seedbed, while to have the right humidity it will be enough to place a kitchen nylon film over the seedbed or jar.

 

Here are the 3 possible solutions to Germinate Chili Seeds:

 

01) The FREE SOLUTION: place the Jars or Seedlings, obviously not very many, on a modem or decoder, always with the nylon film on top to have the right humidity of around 90%, the heat developed by the modem or decoder is exactly that just to obtain Germination as you see in the following photo.

 

 

 

 

Also watch my Video on How to Sprout Chilli Seeds using a Modem

 

02) The Heating Mat, with this one you are on the safe side, place the Mat in a box and OVER the Mat, VERY IMPORTANT THING, place 3 or 4 boxes in order to filter the heat which can be excessive especially at the point where the jar is in direct contact with the mat, also remember that the mat should only be used for the germination phase, once the seedlings are born the jar in question must be removed from the mat, once they have all germinated the mat can also be used as a mere heat source by also attaching it to the wall of the grow box, remember that they consume very little 10-45 Watts so they have almost no impact on the bill.

 

These are the Heating Mats that I suggest, they are similar to the ones you see in the following two photos:

 

- Classic Heating Mat, an Amazon Top Seller: Heating Mat Measures 52 cm x 24 cm / 30 Watt

 

- Heating Mat with Thermostat: Heat Mat and Thermostat Set for Seedling Germination

 

 

 

 

03) The Heating Cable for Plants: if you need to heat a larger area, you can use as I do, a 5 meter long Heating Cable with which you can heat many Seedlings to obtain the Germination of hundreds of Chilli Seeds, if you opt for this solution, certainly the best to buy, from one meter to 12 metres, is this: Heating Cable with Thermostat

Take inspiration from the following video and photos on how to arrange the Heating Cable.

 

Video: How to sow chili peppers: soil, wire or heating cable, temperature and humidity

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just remember that once the seedlings are born, the jars must be removed from the heat source within a few days.

 

To monitor the right Temperature and Humidity I strongly suggest purchasing a Thermo-Hygrometer with Probe like the following, in order to know exactly what the temperature and humidity is in the point where the Seed is located: Thermometer / Hygrometer with probe for Cultivation of chili pepper

 

Finally, I suggest you watch this video of mine to understand how different the temperature can be between the exact point where the seed is located and the outside of the seedbed: The right temperature and humidity in the germination of Capsicum Chinense chili peppers