Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Seedling heat mats DEFINITELY increase germination rate, but you also need a seedling heat mat THERMOSTAT to go with it. I killed off and/or prohibited germination of many of my first round of seedlings due to having a seedling heat mat with no thermostat. They just got too hot. If you decide to use a seedling heat mat, do yourself a favor and go ahead and invest in the thermostat too. When I FINALLY broke down and got the thermostat, I had about a 95% germination rate. I had 100% success with my Jalapeno's which I hear are notoriously difficult to germinate. The most finicky to germinate was the Brandywine Red, and I'm just going to blame that on the seeds/type of plant because of the 6 or 7 seeds I planted, I only got 3 to grow. But everything else (squash, zucchini, San Marzano's, Sun Golds, Cucumbers, and bell peppers) germinated splendidly! I used this thermostat with it... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015F4VFGI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The picture shows Day 5 after planting the seeds. So it's obvious they took off quick with the heat mat. :)