Serrano Peppers up in 4 days, soil temp 107°F!

TomNJ · March 12, 2019

I normally start my Serrano hot peppers over heating pads to give a temperature in the top 1/4" of soil in the 90s°F, and expect germination in about six days. This year I accidentally switched on the six bulb fluorescent fixture above the peppers while the plastic wrap was still covering the pots and the heating pads were on high, and the temperature rose up to 107°F! The peppers apparently loved it as they were up in only four days and look happy. This is not the first time I have topped 100°F without issues.

March 12, 2019

Yikes! I wouldn’t have dared to try that.
Good to know!

Tracydr · March 14, 2019

I think I’m going to try germinating my hot peppers inside my old styrofoam egg incubator which is set to about 100 and will also maintain humidity. Anybody tried something like this idea yet?

zendog · March 14, 2019

My ping tung eggplant seeds are refusing to germinate, so I'm putting the bag that has the seeds wrapped in a moist paper towel into a container right on the heat mat. When I checked, they were at 108 degrees. I might be cooking them, but they've been 10 days in the paper towels with no sign of life.

March 12, 2019	#1
TomNJ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Floyd VA Posts: 771	Serrano Peppers up in 4 days, soil temp 107°F! I normally start my Serrano hot peppers over heating pads to give a temperature in the top 1/4" of soil in the 90s°F, and expect germination in about six days. This year I accidentally switched on the six bulb fluorescent fixture above the peppers while the plastic wrap was still covering the pots and the heating pads were on high, and the temperature rose up to 107°F! The peppers apparently loved it as they were up in only four days and look happy. This is not the first time I have topped 100°F without issues.

March 12, 2019	#2
PlainJane Guest Posts: n/a	Yikes! I wouldn’t have dared to try that. Good to know!

March 14, 2019	#3
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I think I’m going to try germinating my hot peppers inside my old styrofoam egg incubator which is set to about 100 and will also maintain humidity. Anybody tried something like this idea yet?

March 14, 2019	#4
zendog Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: VA-7a Posts: 121	My ping tung eggplant seeds are refusing to germinate, so I'm putting the bag that has the seeds wrapped in a moist paper towel into a container right on the heat mat. When I checked, they were at 108 degrees. I might be cooking them, but they've been 10 days in the paper towels with no sign of life.