I popped my last two BB seeds a couple of weeks ago. Directly into soil. Both broke through the surface on the fifth day, day 1 of the grow. I get the best results when I germ at 80F, they like it hot and damp. I guess rot eats the seed in cold soils because when I dig to look for it after, it is often not there. Some seeds have thick skins. Assuming it is a viable seed, you have to wait for the water to soak through the casing. The older the seed is the longer it will take. People use all sorts of methods, soaking in peroxide or bleach solutions to soften the case. Mechanical scratching by shaking with an emery board, that kind of thing. The risk is you go too far and damage the seed. Some people even use plant hormones to give the seed a kick start. The simplest is to just wait and keep them warm and humid. Sometimes seeds won't germ even when you do everything right. It's good to have some spare seeds (like the freebies from the seedbanks) to substitute if you get a failure.
