First time to try using a seedling heat mat to start the hottest of the hot peppers. I typically do not have any problems starting my jalapenos, but the hotter peppers like the Serrano etc. I do.
I bought my heat mat online, and about $10.00 less than at our hardware/garden store (be sure to check reviews).The one I bought was a simple, plug it in and put your seed tray on it. There were a lot of "don'ts" so I put my mat and tray on my wood stove hearth (we are not using the wood stove right now).
In 6 days the serrano pepper seeds started to sprout.
In 7 days the cayenne started to sprout.
In 9 days the Datil started sprouting. Did you know these are native to St. Augustine, FL? I just learned this fun fact.
In 10 days the Cherry Bomb peppers, and Anaheim peppers started to sprout.
My hot banana have not sprouted yet (those were saved seeds), so I will keep an eye on that. So far, it's helped the hot peppers to sprout much better than without the mat. My jalapeno are not on the heat mat and have all sprouted.