I have a 100% germ rate- no lie. I use Jiffy Pellets. Just soak them from the bottom up, squish out any excess water, make a small hole approx half an inch deep, drop ur seed in and re-cover the hole. You can pack it down just a touch so that as the seed emerges from the pellet, it pulls off the husk. I use a humidome that was sold with the Jiffy pellet starter pack. I bought this (30 pellets and the humidome) for maybe $10 at Walmart, they seem to always have these kits every spring. So it usually takes 3-5 days for the seeds to sprout and if the pellet starts to dry out at all during that time, you just add more water (always soaking from the bottom up). Once the seed is up you can immediately transplant the entire pellet into whatever you wish and into the garden they go! Couldn’t be simpler for me, maybe it could work for you too! All the best 😊