The first pics are 5 weeks old? If thats the case they're growing pretty slow. Was you heating mat at 85 or the soil temp? I soak my seeds in water or a weak chammomile tea solution over night before planting then keep the soil at 80 or so until the germintate then under the light the go. About 5 inchs or so below. The larger ones in this pic are a month old the smaller ones 3 weeks and there 2 one week old babies. Fed them once with a 1/4 strength miracle gro solution.

I got the same problem El.I started mine about the same time you did and have the same setup pretty much.I thought it was just to cold around here still.44 degrees last night and going to about 60 for the high.There was afew days I was able to put them outside.My tomatoes are doing great and I started them the same time.Thanks for asking the question.
Gene

I forgot to add the night temps are 70 and day temps mid 80s. I never checked the soil temp, just the mat. I'm really disappointed now after seeing that pic. Better get some MG...

I didn't want to disappiont you just wanted to show how they should be looking around now. I use MG once so far at 1/4 strengh and the really seened to get a boost after. Make sure also, your lights are close and bright enough to give a lot of growth. As for germination, the soil need to be around 80F. Next time you germanate, measure the soil temp some how. And I don't know if you did but like I said, I find soaking the seeds overnight before planting really helps. Best of luck.

My .02,

1) You didn't say how long it took to germinate so 5 weeks doesn't mean much. They look like they need sun.
2) Invest in one shop light with two florescent bulbs.
3) I like temp/soil entire area closer to 90-92 degrees to get the harder to germinate seeds to pop. The mat alone probably did not get the soil warm.

What are you planning to do with these? Plant them outside or grow in a pot?

PepperNC

They all took more than a week to germinate.

I have one shop light with 2 bulbs, that'd be the florescent light.

I just went and checked the soil temp, it is 90.5F.

I am going to do them in pots in a greenhouse. The plants I kept from last year already have tons of buds or peppers on them.

I live in Texas and my plants are about 2 months old and slow growers as well, I wouldnt worry about slow growth honestly. Even small plants put out lots of peppers. As long as your plants are healthy and progressing at a steady rate, thats what I would worry about.

I r in Texas, too. :)

I think 90 is too high for the soil temp . I would try to keep it below 85. 90 is ok for germination but 85 for growth. you want soil cooler during growth and warmer is ok for germination on most things. Spinach likes it cool to germinate.

I germinate below 85 and try to grow at lower temps. Too much heat is not good. Roots like to grow deep down in the soil. The temps down there are not usually 90. most tomatoes and peppers do not pollenate well when air temp is above 90. imagine what the roots are doing at 90. too hot.

The plants probably grow best at 80 air and 70 + for soil. maybe 75 max for soil is probably fastest growth. I think tomatoes have been measured as best at 70 for soil.

The only sprouts still on the heat are the ones in the starter kit where the others still haven't germinated. I'm thinking of taking it off the heat since it's in the 70s at night now anyhow.

Thanks for the answers. so these are four weeks old. Not bad then. IMHO, are you keeping the florescents close to the plants? I like them about 1" no more than 2" away. Temp seems a bit high. As someone else mentioned, I like it hot to pop the seeds, but they need a hot/cool temp range during normal growing. Do you have a small fan in the room?

I keep them in the garage, at least I was. The burpee starter kit that is still going is still out there, about 4" from lights to the top of the plants, they definitely grow toward it. The temp fluctuates, but not a whole lot. I turned the mat off earlier today.

The ones in the pic are now inside in a window sill.

I'm in my third year of successfully growing chiles, including Bhut Jolokia, which it looks like chillilover is also growing. This year, I keep the room temperature up between 75 and 80. Last year, I had them in my unheated cellar, which was about 64 degrees (in Connecticut). I kept the plants on a 16-18 hour light cycle, with LOTS of lighting. I used a bank of 3 shop lights holding grow bulbs, and lined the white reflectors with aluminum foil. I used a large cardboard box, and made a chamber to close the plants in, and bought a cheap space blanket from WalMart to line the box. This gave me MAXIMUM light, which really helps them grow. One thing that you want to be careful of is not to overwater them. Chiles don't like wet feet. Water your plant when it is dry, not before.

Here are some photos of the light setup I use, and as you can see, the results are good. These chiles were sown on March 31, so they are less than 4 weeks old. The link is for my facebook public profile, so you shouldn't have to log in to view the photos. I couldn't figure out how to post photos directly to this forum. Go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=78387&id=62649283185&saved#/album.php?aid=78387&id=62649283185&ref=mf

I just want you to know that all of the pepper plants I have growing took a long time to start and grow. I have scotch bonnets, chiltepins, 3 kinds of habaneros, and all of them grew so slowly! They were all started from seed and grown outdoors. The only plants that grew quickly were the serranos. As long as the plants are healthy looking, relax. If they aren't looking so hot, then try more sun, less frequent watering. Overwatering can kill them too!