I’m not sure what to tell you. I have 100% germination rates. I will try to put my whole soil-based procedure below just in case something pops out at you…
Place seed in a glass of room temperature water. The type and pH of the water doesn’t matter at this stage. All that matters is getting some moisture inside the seed. Put in a warm (77-82°F) completely dark room for 24 hours.
After 24 hours the seed should have sunk to the bottom. If not, poke it with your finger and it should sink. If it does, it has absorbed the water and the germination process should have begun. If it doesn’t, give it another 12 hours. After that just proceed to the next step whether it sunk or not. Too long in the water and it may drown.
Lightly moisten a paper towel and place the seed on it. Fold the paper towel over so the seed is sandwiched inside. Place the paper towel inside a ziploc bag, then place that on a plate for stability. Put the plate inside the warm dark room for 12 hours. Carefully remove the paper towel from the bag, open it and inspect the seed/root. A root will usually appear in 12-24 hours.
Keep checking the seed every 12 hours until the root is about 1/2” to 3/4” long.
Poke several small holes (I use an ink pen) in the side (not the bottom) of a 8-10 ounce styrofoam cup. Fill the cup with potting soil or just good dirt, but nothing with nutrients. Fox Farms Light Warrior is my favorite. Give the dirt a very small spritz of water just to lightly moisten it.
Use a pen or your finger to make a small hole in the dirt. Use tweezers to carefully place the seed in the hole and cover it with just 1/4” of dirt.
Place the cup in your warm dark room and cover it with a humidity dome. I use a 2 liter bottle cut in half. Spritz the inside of the dome with water, then place it over the cup.
Check the seed every 12 hours. Usually you will see the seedling pop out within 24-48 hours. Spritz the humidity dome every time you check the seed to keep the humidity very high.
Once the seedling has reached 1 to 1-1/2” inches in height, you can move it under a light. Use a 6500K CFL bulb about 4-6” above the plant and keep it running 24 hours a day. Continue to use the humidity dome over your plant. Spritz the inside of the dome every 12 hours. Keep everything in the same warm room as before.
Overwatering is the most common cause for the death of a plant, especially during the seedling stage. Give it just 10mL (I use a 10mL plastic syringe) once a day, in a ring around the plant. Do not water near the stem as it will weaken it.
Use the leaves as your watering guide, making a ring around the circumference of the plant. Continue this method as it gets bigger and you will always have the roots seeking further out for water. When the plant gets close to the edge of the cup, you may need to increase the amount of water you give it. I find I am usually giving the plant 20mL of water by that point.
When the leaves are the same width as the cup, your roots should be at the sides as well and it should be ready to be transplanted to a pot. Use a knife to vertically cut the cup in half and you should be able to remove the plant without causing it any stress.
If you use a high-nutrient soil like Fox Farms Ocean Forest in the pot, you shouldn’t need to give the plant any nutrients until it is well into the flowering stage. I like to layer my soil with stages of nutrient levels that the roots grow into as the plant matures.
I literally just finished germinating 4 seeds this morning.
24 hours in water.
36-48 hours in paper towel inside baggy
Placed in soil at 6pm last night. 6am this morning they are 1/2" out of the soil. I expect to be putting them under light by this evening or tomorrow morning.
Best of luck. I hope some of this helps you.