germination

I personally prefer direct sow because its how nature intended and my seedlings are always way stronger that way...but the most popular method is using a glass of water and just dropping your beans in over night.

Have been growing for 40 years and always start them direct in soil. Have tried many other methods but they always seem to suffer unnecessaary set-backs when I do.

Some seeds can be a dud. I like to use the wet paper towel method, cause then i can see if the seed will germinate or not.

I put straight to soil, have best percentage of sprout and healthiest plants that way. If i am not rushing the grow i start even in final pots ( or its auto and then always final pot start ).

Put a seed in a cup of clean water the one you are drinking in a dark space is 95% successful growdiaries.com/diaries/181864-grow-journal-by-stork

Yes you can use many methods, some preferred by some more than others. At the end of the day it's personal preference which way you decide to germinate. I use the paper towel method because I'm able to keep an eye out for tap root development. I have a better guarantee that I had a successful germination and thus can look forward to a successful sprout. It takes away the suspense and uncertainty of whether the seed is successfully sprouting or not. Hope this add some kind of clarity

succinctly* lol

I suggest you keep it simple. each 'technique' has its pros and cons. i simply press my finger into the substrate a half inch or so, in my case it is 70/30 coco+perlite. I give it some very light 1/4 strength run through of nutes. with soil, just make sure it isn't "hot" soil and just use plain water. i make sure the seed rests sideways - because i forget which way it opens up, lol... sideways is good. even upside down isn't too big of a deal as the growth tip will react to gravity. Gently coverfrom sides and gently tamp down. substrate should be fluffy, not compacted. by pressing a finger into it, you create a slightly more stable basin for the seed -- that way it doesn't sink further into substrate as you cover/tamp down. i'd do it as simply as possibly to form a good baseline. then, try new stuff and see if it actually lives up to what people say. a dome can be worth it if you live in an arid place. a heat mat can help with lower temps / early growth / clones. I think keeping soil at a proper temp, only an issue in a colder climate, definitely helps with consistency of timeframe for germination. Keeping a low VPD in seedlingn stage is probably useful for the young sprouts, too. The seeds that fail or likely to fail no matter what. it mostly has to do with their age. soaking won't make an inviable seed viable again. It may reduce the time for it to germinate? h2o2 can disinfect as well as make the outershell a bit softer. i don't soak for any specific amount of time. when i start the process i plop seeds in labeled cups. then i get the substrate ready. Lately i use a heat mat/dome, so i wait for the substrate to get to the proper temperature. It's certainly not soaking over night, and i get 2-3 day germination rates planting directly into the substrate. So, it's poping a taproot and growth tip within 24 hours, then groing a short distance in order to sprout. By the time yousee the sprout, the taproot has traveled just as far in the opposite direction. Succintly: press a hole, plop it in, loosely cover and tamp down... 2-5 days later most will sprout. give up to 9-10 days before you can assume it has rotten. don't fiddle with it. Don't pick it up and move it around 5x daily. don't dig around. just leave it alone. resist the ocd behaviours.

Hi ! Deep the seeds 5 minutes in a H₂O₂ solution (oxygenated water) to weaken the shell. Then between 2 wet paper towels, in the dark until the first root is at least 1cm long. Never failed me (but genetics does sometimes). ^^

Yes soil works just fine make sure to keep it good and most. Don't allow it to dry back or it can kill the baby. Spray it with mister 2 or 3 times a day. It should take 3 or 4 days to pop up. You can drop it in shot glass and Wait for tail to pop, then soil Or the wet paper towel method and then into soil. Doing it in the shot glass or towel just let's you know if the seed is viable then you know it's good and throw it in the soil. But soil is what I prefer, just keep moist, if not up in 4 or 5 days slight move soil back to make sure its not growing upside down may have to help it. Please consider selecting me as the answer so I have a chance to win grower of the month contest. Goodluck you got this!