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soil Soil temperatures too hot?

Im currently using a seed heat mat under my pots for germination. My soil temperature is running between 90-95 degrees. Is this too hot for germination? Ive seen between 80-85 is ideal. Can they be overheated?
 

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CMJ said:
It's probably a little on the hot side. I would put a towel or two down and recheck your temp.
 
 
moruga welder said:
agree , towel will help , also be sure to let a little fresh air in the pots covered with plastic , couple times a day , 
 
I agree , it's a bit too hot.
Any insulation between the heatmat and the pots.
I just fold up a newspaper and put it under.
 
Thanks for the all the advise. Added a folded towel above my heat mat, will take temperatures this evening. My other question is how long do i wait to re-seed, if i damaged the current ones?
 
how long ago did you plant them ? Looks like the ones without bags might be a little dry , keep em ' spritzed but not flooded , remember to remove the bagged ones a couple of times a day for about 10 min.   :party:
 
moruga welder said:
how long ago did you plant them ? Looks like the ones without bags might be a little dry , keep em ' spritzed but not flooded , remember to remove the bagged ones a couple of times a day for about 10 min.   :party:
 
 
I planted them Friday, 5 days ago, none have popped. The soil under the bag seems pretty moist. This my first time using this method, have always used jiffy pods prior. 
 
The ones in the back are not yet sowed, saving for tomatoes later.
 
I am pretty sure I fried a tray of seeds running a new Mat and the soil temp was into the mid 90s for a good day or so until I checked it finally. I badly need to get a proper thermostat adjuster on it so I do not fry anymore.
 
Bicycle808 said:
Does it at least have a rheostat on it? If not, you might be able to splice a dimmer into it...
 

This will work. I've been using one of these for 5 years on a dehydrator, hotplate and various other small heater thingies. It cost a lot more now that it did in 2013 but it works well and holds up well.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-Credenza-Halogen-Incandescent-TT-300H-WH/dp/B0000BYEF6?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_6291364011_1&pf_rd_p=96cbf00f-84c5-53af-bd99-dc14bf2bddc0&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=6291364011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=31AFTWEHKDNMHH41A2QB&pf_rd_r=31AFTWEHKDNMHH41A2QB&pf_rd_p=96cbf00f-84c5-53af-bd99-dc14bf2bddc0
 
Short term I added another towel on top of mat and cut slot in baggies to not over heat, soil temp sticking around 80 now. Added some additional seeds into each pot in case the prior were damaged. Fingers crossed.
 
Hey SB42178.  I doubt you killed them at =< 95F even for a couple days. I accidentally knocked the temperature probe controlling my heat mat out of the propagation box once and the temps ran up at least to 103F (and probably higher, as they'd cooled just a little by the time i took a soil temp reading of 103F measured at seed level).  The containers felt actually hot, versus just warm to the touch when I first grabbed them.  It had built up to those temps over the course of maybe 8 hours before I caught it.  I cooled them off and got them back to proper temps and the the seeds all germinated perfectly fine, including a handful that germinated the very next day.  I figure it's a combination of heat and time that affects them, but your temps didn't get crazy hot.
 
None of the seeds I remember from your grow list are cool temp varieties or slow germinators (as far as I know).  I would expect to see some hooks in < 10 days and I'd give them two weeks before I started being concerned I might have killed them.
 
I like your cut-slot-in-baggies idea.  When I use a baggie or cling wrap cover on seeds it's usually only for the first day or two to make sure the humidity in the soil from water-in evenly distributes into the container and make sure the seed fully takes in enough water (I usually soak seeds first though too).  Then I take it off to be sure the seeds get oxygen and everything breathes better.  If needed I may spritz the surface a little a few days later.
 
Anyhow, nice grow list - it has a lot of good eating peppers on it IIRC - so good luck!
 
SB42178 said:
 
 
I planted them Friday, 5 days ago, none have popped. The soil under the bag seems pretty moist. This my first time using this method, have always used jiffy pods prior. 
 
The ones in the back are not yet sowed, saving for tomatoes later.
 
 
Most of my peppers didn't hook out until at least 7 days.
 
7-10 days seems like the sweet spot, but 14-21 days is not unheard of for the stragglers.
 
CaneDog said:
Hey SB42178.  I doubt you killed them at =< 95F even for a couple days. I accidentally knocked the temperature probe controlling my heat mat out of the propagation box once and the temps ran up at least to 103F (and probably higher, as they'd cooled just a little by the time i took a soil temp reading of 103F measured at seed level).  The containers felt actually hot, versus just warm to the touch when I first grabbed them.  It had built up to those temps over the course of maybe 8 hours before I caught it.  I cooled them off and got them back to proper temps and the the seeds all germinated perfectly fine, including a handful that germinated the very next day.  I figure it's a combination of heat and time that affects them, but your temps didn't get crazy hot.
 
None of the seeds I remember from your grow list are cool temp varieties or slow germinators (as far as I know).  I would expect to see some hooks in < 10 days and I'd give them two weeks before I started being concerned I might have killed them.
 
I like your cut-slot-in-baggies idea.  When I use a baggie or cling wrap cover on seeds it's usually only for the first day or two to make sure the humidity in the soil from water-in evenly distributes into the container and make sure the seed fully takes in enough water (I usually soak seeds first though too).  Then I take it off to be sure the seeds get oxygen and everything breathes better.  If needed I may spritz the surface a little a few days later.
 
Anyhow, nice grow list - it has a lot of good eating peppers on it IIRC - so good luck!
 
 
You remove plastic cover after a few days, do you find you can control evaporation long enough for seeds to germinate?
 
SB42178 said:
You remove plastic cover after a few days, do you find you can control evaporation long enough for seeds to germinate?
I haven't had any problem with it and I think some evaporation creates a better environment with more access to oxygen and better aeration versus fungus/mold.  When the surface soil is nearly dry (patchy mostly dry) or just becomes completely dry is when I give them a spray to dampen them again (there should still be some humidity rising up from below them).  If they're not too close to the lights this is maybe daily, perhaps a little less often.  If it were drying out too fast on me, I'd probably leave the bag on during the light cycle and remove when they're off or something like that.  Personally, I don't feel it's all that delicate. As long as they're not overly wet with bags on all the time you're probably good.
 
How's it going?  Are they starting to sprout for you yet? You're what, just over a week in now?   For the varieties on your list you should be starting to see some hooks, if not already, soon.
 
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