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forgot to say -- learning ccurve -- how deep.? how much do you tamp down on top? Adjust this as you go... if you see seed shells when they sprout, you need to adjust 1 or both of those. A little deeper or if you only brushed soil over it, try tamping down a bit to make it flat-ish. Don't over do either... too deep or too tightly compacted above seed will take the shell off but can add multiple days to sprout time too. This is something you learn over the course of a few grows and never have to worry about again. Slowly adjust until you see very few shells that require you to remove them from a sprout. when you do see shell-heads, take them off as soon as you can. Hold half of seed and plant steady with tweezers. The goal of that hand is to just hold it still and not stress the cotyledons, stem no roots. Use a toothpick or anotehr set of tiny tweezers and pry open the seed, gently. If a membrane remains, slide it off the end - can poke in slightly at base of cotyledons and push the membrane off the end, and after that the cotys will open up on their own with time. if done right, you'll never damage a plant. Rarely that seed shell might be a bit sticky on the coty and it'll rip one off.. this is no good. I've done many of these and only tore a coty 1 time. it should be xtremely rare, and if not adjust meethod of removal as it is too rough. Holding it steady and only applying pressure to the shell is the key.

yes. Can you be successful either way? Yes. Doesn't mean one of them has extra steps that add no measurable value to the plant. It;s not faster. It's not a higher percentage etc etc... Regardless, if you feel the need to use the paper towel method, it's not going to make much of a difference... immeasurable at the scale of any home grow, but probably measurably unwise for someone popping 1000s of seeds at one time. One adds extra steps that invovle you touching the delicate tap root, burying it and all sorts of other low-probabilty risks that can be compeltely avoided and the only cost is the ocd, non-value-added need to see it germinate. e.g. bleach type products in the paper towel to make it white.. love it when peopel with the "organic" stick up their crawl do this.. so inconsistent with their beliefs. This is the way of OCD-driven choices. Not about anything tangible but rather a need based on what is inside someone's head. They feel better if they see it.. doesn't do shit for the plant. simpler is better for the plant and you, too.. less effort. less time invested... more hands-off. there's a bit of learning curve to each, and once you get over that it's 100% about viability of the seed and nothing else. I wet a seedling pot (solo cup or nowadays a 2.5" wide little pot). Let it drip for 15-30mins (not necessary). Take my pinky and press down in middle about 1/2". This ensures consistent depth and the slight compression where the seed rests ensures it doesn't slip further into substrate. Brush over from sides and gently tamp down -- moist with full contact with entire seed surface and darkness ensured. When i start this process, i sometimes toss the seesd in some slightly warmer than room temp water - mainly avoid cold water under 68F. this step really doesn't do much. It can be skipped. I see virtually no difference in my germ times whether i soak them 30m or 4 hours. Maybe with a really old or very hard seed coating, this step would help, but under normal conditions it doesn't do much. Before it sprouts, a humidity dome is nice to avoid the potential need to irrigate before it sprouts. It is not 'for' the seedling. remove it after sprouting unless you live in a very arid climate, of course. A heat mat in colder climates will improve consistency of germination times, too. Ever since is tarted using one, 90-95% my sprouts occur within 2-3 days of planting. Before it was spread out 2-5 days. Seems small but really helps with consistency of development over time. Again, only useful for colder areas. Get one with a thermostat so you don't have to guess and cause some sort of rootzone rot with wrong temperature. One of my seedling pots is seedless and has the thermostate probe buried in it. I put it in the likely coolest spot and set to low-end of recommendations (76F). This ensure the coldest areas of heat mat are still getting to 76F and the others are probably a coupel degrees warmer.

Yeah the paper towel method isn't the best IMO. You mostly just increase the likelihood of damaging your taproot. Starter cubes are probably recommended, whether you use peat or Rockwood or Rapid Rooters(my favorite) or a seedling tray. I find many who try to start their seeds in normal pots have issues controlling their moisture and drown their seeds.

Depends on your soil. Far red light is needed to initiate germination. Afterwhich you need. Moisture to initially soften the seed shell. Big mistake people make is to keep rh high after coteloyden pop. Soon as you see the coteloyden the rh is dropped and certainly don't use a dome after you see green. If your soil doesn't drain well, if the seed is too deep, if there is too much weight, if a small rock or pebble sits on it, it's dead. Oxygen is also a requirement for successful germination, this one surprised me and is often the reason seeds die. Paper towels oversaturated in water, dead. Paper towels dry out, dead. The method is not unimportant. Consistency is key. Warmth, moisture, oxygen. Add a squirt of hydrogen peroxide to the water. This will rapidly decay into oxygen at room temperature. Place floral foam over the container with seeds. Creates unlimited oxygen. Only downside to glass of water is lack of oxygen. Consistent moisture with no sharp dips for any length of time. If the soil drys out, the seed drys out.

it doesnt matter because they will germinate everywhere with the right conditions.