Those things work fine in soil, and hydro both. I personally germinate the old fashioned way, good old Wet paper town covered in a dark place for a couple days. Always works. And you don’t have to wait and hope to see something pop out of the top of a jiffy pod. You know when the seed opens and can get it in soil when needed that way. I use them in hydro everytime though. I start in the paper towel method, then transplant the sprout into a jiffy pod, and put that in my net pot. Everyone has their own way, but most work fine.