How long should chilli/ tomato seeds take to germinate?

[JimmyMcNulty]

I've got them in damp-ish multipurpose compost, covered with clingfilm, in the airing cupboard... My mixed salad leaves that I planted at the same time are going great guns and have been transferred to a sunny windowsill.

About a week on a warm windowsill.
I was beginning to wonder whether my chillis and peppers, sown at the same time were going to come up but they are just peeping through 14 days after sowing.

Thanks... I started them off on the windowsill for a couple of days but then read something that suggested an airing cupboard so put them in there. Not sure how sunny the sill needs to be (ours is west-facing and only gets really sunny in the afternoons. And I'm not sure how much more sun there will be in the next few weeks).

I'm not sure it really matters where you germinate them as long as they are warm. Some seeds do need light in order to germinate (eg lobelia) so obviously the airing cupboard wouldn't do for them. If the packet says to cover the seeds with compost then they don't need light to germinate but you must put them in the light the minute the first one shows through.

Tomatoes are quite quick usually but some varieties of chilli can take ages. I planted some unusual chillies about a month ago and they're only just coming up.