hydrofarm grow lights, ballast, reflector

We are home gardeners and have tried many ways to provide bottom-heat for vegetable seed germination -- atop my always-on docked laptop was the most effective but the space was tiny. We bought a 20" x 20" heat mat and now have the right tool for the job. We set it up on a card table and found that it was not providing sufficient heat to the soil in the trays above. After an overnight on the mat, the soil surface was less than 10 degrees above ambient temperature. The room where the seeds are was 60 degrees overnight, and the soil surface in the trays was 68 degrees -- certainly not good enough for eggplant germination. I used an infrared thermometer (Raytek Minitemp MT6 here on Amazon) to check all temps. The exposed mat surface (no tray on top) was 82 degrees. I felt the surface on the underside of the card able and it was definitely warm, indicating heat loss downward. I wanted all of the heat to go up into the soil, so I cut a piece of rigid-foam insulation just slightly larger... Read more

I bought this heat mat to get my seeds started inside. Since my apartment is cold and seeds like heat I thought i'd give it a try. Three days after I planted my seeds I had a ton of sprouts. Nearly every seed germinated. If you need some extra warmth to get your seeds going definitly get one of these heat mats.

It didn't get too hot and I was able to keep it right on my countertop. My only problem was I should have had a light to put over my seedlings once they sprouted. It's very easy to use as you just plug it in and put your tray on top. The instructions are even written right on the mat itself.

This mat does the job! If you have a couple of seed flats to warm, this mat will suffice. On the other hand, if you, like me, really enjoy starting plants from seeds, you may want a larger size mat (or more than one of this size). In any case, this one does exactly what it is supposed to do: it gently (and reliably) warms seed flats until the seeds sprout.