I saw that you are growing in soil outdoor and I love the soil way. Besides, I dunno personally and never done myself other ways..DWc.hydro.etc. I say sow the seeds directly in soil, if its life will be in soil from then on. COCO too. If I may shed some light for you and heck maybe others. myself included. This forum is great i learn so much and also wanna apply to help you too. . I will share with you why IMO(IMO guys) dropping the seeds in water/ the paper towel method can over time, lack consistency, prone to mistakes of seed handling, taproot issues, stress early on which leads to confusion in bioprocesses within the plant and how little of water that seed actually needs to produce a ton of energy to sprout right from the soil; and depending on genetics & other factors, you should see a good, healthy sprout in 42-46hours. with seek casings shed and in another case a little help from a sterile Q-tip if the casing needed help. With growth daily. I would say, if you are not comfortable transplanting; practice using Basil seeds. Tomato seeds. I say that also bc outside with seeds that arent deep and dont need to be planted deep can wash away..etc.. Bc there are varibles and times may arise where you need a quick solo-tion to a problem. lol.
I have found: Refrigerate your seeds prior to sowing, enough for them to stay at fridge temp for say-8hrs. Stable. Already have everything ready, the 4-5mm deep hole poked in the soil, (4-5mm is not very deep and doesnt need to be) having it heated, it in place, a humidity dome ready, saran wrap or some kind of clear cover to provide a nice humid/warm environment for 5-7days. So heater stable or heat mat, (I say that bc solo cups are great for having a small "contained environment" easy to put a ziploc bag over that you can take off easily and mist for RH%, so also the roots cant travel abroad(out) too far.. so instead of horizontal root growth; right now,... you want more DOWN root growth and some lateral for now. Making sure it is moist. Lightly Moist! Having a mist of LAB (lactic acid bacteria) on the surface of the soil I have seen to be awesome/ with transplants as well. Having nice conditions you should good seeds sprout in 42-46hrs maybe more. But you should see them way faster than it takes 2 days to even get paper towels to show a taproot or in water glass. Theyre being "drowned in water for its first chance to a new life lol IMO.. Place the seed on its side, get a tool with a tip so you can visually make sure the seed is on its side flat. Now that your hole is ready/environment too. Place seed on side 4-5mm deep. Take some DRY soil in your hand and dust the hole. Dry breaks up better and can fill in the hole more. Fill it in, lightly but fully, with fine sediment. Soil. Not clumps and pieces of bark, perlite, or rock, blocking its way from emerging from the surface, Now spray mist the medium and surrounding medium with a nice cover of mist that you can see the dew buidlup on the soil surface. A full but light cover of soil and water, stable and moist. Pat down the soil directly above the seed ever so lightly but deliberately so... Depending some others to germinate not as fast. Maybe 3-4 days to germ. Thats ok. Itll be correct and healthy still. Spray mist the surface 1-2x daily. Misting the surface thats all. The seed has a porous end, a water DROPLET or not much more ~.5~1mm will seep into the seed/ membrane, activating the seed contents consisting of proteins and enzymes and minerals to all activate and grow this taproot out. Ok. place plastic baggie over the cup.. Hang your light over the cup. Very close 6-8inches (light dependant) if you decide to germinate with T8 lights or CFL anything less output needs to be close. and further if you wanna start them on the lights you will have throughout its cycle. Sit back and forget about them till the same time the next day around when you initially planted the seed. Mist the soil surface again. A sign of a close to be emerging seedling, is the surface of the soil will look cracked. Not flat like. The taproot has enough resistance at the surface to shed the casing easily, but effectively. And yes I believe, the sprout curl if you would, is a great thing. It knows it needs to shed that casing bc the taproot came out of the opposite end of the seed, therefore, the bend will allow soil grit contact to help shed the casing at an angle VS trying to shed it straight up and down. I have no freaking clue where im at in this process right now explaining haha.. lol jk.. I think now we are at... Ok you see your sprout. Leave on for 1 more day. Keeping humid with baggie with a small hole in top of baggie and taking it off for a couple hours, then back on. Ok you see a seeding. Maybe cotyledons are out and ready. Baggie is off 100%. No more cover. Now is when you have to greatly care for it as for its environment. Lightly moist and with enough light. @ 18/6. Ok hope this helps. Sorry I know guys, if you made it this far. I applaud you. Im terrible at creating short stories. I try and make it practical giving off ideas, so you can source your own easily and for cheap. I guess i could sent a good germination link...
damn!