24 hours or until it’s cracked open?

I never do, paper towel in between two saucers works every time and what works better in my opinion if you must, is to place a seed in a very small box, like a match box size, lined with 120 grit sandpaper and shake it for just a few seconds then place in paper towel or soil.

I go for a 24 hr soak in water with benifitial bacteria/fungi the seed will take these with them on there journey to maturity.. If the seed decides to crack open then it's winner winner chicken dinner. 2nd step is to place between 2 wet paper towels not too wet this is so you don't damp off the seed (drown it), get a tap root about 1cm for me to pot up. Hope this helps good luck

usually soak for around 18–24 hours max just until they sink or show a little crack. After that I move them to paper towel to finish popping. Leaving them too long in water can drown them or cause rot

12 or less. I find 24 is to long

Not a great idea............direct in substrate is the safest and easiest mthod............

hey 👋 Unless your seeds are 1 or 2 years old, soaking is not necessary. I recommend the paper towel technique, which is very effective: you place your seeds between two paper towels in a closed (and therefore dark) container, at room temperature, keeping the towels moist but without adding extra water (which blocks oxygen); after 2 days, you will see their shells splitting, and when the roots are 1.5–2 cm long, you can plant them directly in a light substrate or in peat pellets 👌

Just don't expose it to light and try not to touch the nascent root too much. Some let it develop more, some don't... i'd suggest direct to substrate - whether you soak or not. roots should not be exposed to light nor a dirty finger. Less steps / less risks If you want consistend germination times, get a heating mat. Near;y all my seeds sprout within 2.5-4 days. Half typically sprout before 3 days. *sprout is after germination... the time it takes for a couple inches of root to push it above ground, i'd wager, if comparing the time of each process. I'm sure it germinates within 24, despite unseen.