[rxkeith]

best, and fastest results i have had was starting seeds on top of a cast iron steam radiator we had in the upstairs bedroom. there was a wood shelf on top of the radiator that i put a towel on top of before putting the cell pack with planted seeds. peppers were
usually up within 7 days.

second best is placing planted seeds on a tray over in floor heat vent elevated on each end with some books, so the room would still be heated.
variation is placing seeds in front of heat vent if the vent is at the base of a wall. i usually had the seed tray in a plastic bag to prevent drying out or would put a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the seed tray.

what i do now, is start seeds underneath our wood stove that we heat with during the winter. its warm enough without cooking the seeds. germination is slower, but most everything sprouts thats going to sprout.
i use sterile seed mix kept moist, but not soaking wet.
lightly cover the seeds with seed starter.
on top of the hot water heater is often a good place to provide bottom heat.
our basement isn't heated however, and temps are only in the mid 40s during the winter
and early spring down there, so i am not confident in starting seeds downstairs.


every year i seem to have mixed results. some varieties, every seed will sprout, other varieties nothing, fresh seeds to boot. germination rates tend to decrease once pepper seeds are 4 to 5 yrs old.

oh, we have well water. thats all we use.



keith