Germination techniques are like religious beliefs. Some soak, some go straight to soil, some put it in a wet paper towel. I've only grown twice, so I'm far from an expert. I soaked followed by paper towel the first grow. I felt I was messing with the seeds too much (opening the towel, exposing the root to damage).
My second grow I soaked and as soon as the seed cracked I put it in soil (pointy end down). No more than 1mm tap root showing. They sprouted the next day.
I did a couple things in addtiion to merely soaking:
1. I lined a small box (1" x 3") with fine 220-grit sandpaper and shook the seeds in it for a minute. From what I've read, this scuffs the outer shell and lets moisture penetrate faster. Supposed to help them pop faster. (Big names like Cervantes and Rosenthal recommend it.).
2. I saw a test where some guy tried various amounts of hydrogen peroxide (h202). Around 1% did the best job. I was a little nervous about this strength when others talk about just a drop of h2o2 in their germ water. It starts at 3% h2o2 out of the bottle. To get 1% you mix 1 part h202 to 2 parts water. I felt more comfortable with 0.5%, which is 1 part 3% to 5 parts water.
The interesting thing about h2o2 is that it disinfects the seed and it has an extra unstable oxygen molecule. This seems like it would balance the fears of anti-soakers that the seed would drown. Bubbles attach to the seed, like little oxygen packs. It's getting both soaked and aerated at the same time. (One thing to keep in mind is that most soakers strive for all seeds to sink. You don't get that too much using h2o2. The attached bubbles keep reappearing, bringing the seed to the surface.).
So, I took a gallon of drinking water (RO water, filtered, etc.) and remove 21oz (If you divide 128oz by 6 parts, 21 oz is one part. This will be replaced with h202 later. The water remaining in the jug is 5 parts.). Add 1/2 drop SuperThrive. (Pour water into a shot glass, add a drop of ST, then pour half the shot glass down the drain. Pour remaining back into your gallon jug.). Aerate for a day. Pour 21oz h2o2 in the jug. Adjust ph to 6.5. (I arrived at 6.5 through guesswork. I felt it was more neutral than down around 5.8-6.2 which is feeding area. I thought for soaking, neutral would be better. Just a thought I pulled out of my behind. I could be wrong.).
Fill a shot glass and drop your scuffed seed in it. Keep it in a dark cupboard at 75 degrees. Look at it after 12 hours and occasionally afterward. When you see the whiteness inside the seed, put it in soil.
I used germ water to wet the soil too. I liked the idea that it would disinfect the soil for the germinating seed, and also oxygenate the soil. (The downside is that this also disinfects beneficial microbes. But, I only do it for the initial wetting. Afterwards I supplement with Botanicare's Liquid Karma which helps microbial action.
I was pleased with this technique. I germed 15 seeds and got 100% success. 13 popped around 18-24 hours. The other 2 popped within 36 hours. (If anything didn't pop by 48 I would just put it in soil and see what happens. I don't know about prolonged soaking.). They broke the soil quickly, in 12-24 hours.
Until the seedlings broke soil and were 1/2" tall, barely starting to form second set of leaves, I used saran wrap to cover the 3gal pot. A humidity dome. This might only be a day or two. I use T5 lights and found it's better to keep the lights 18" away, and gradually work toward 6" during the first seedling week. I made the mistake of getting the light too close to some photosensitive seedlings I was growing at the same time and felt I "cooked" them a little. Err on the side of caution until you get a feel for what they can take. (It's the heat too, not just light intensity.).
One thing I saw which I would categorize as astounding: I misted the seedlings using Liquid Karma 2ml/gal (ph 6.3) and felt like I literally saw them grow before my eyes. This was around 24-48 hours after they broke ground. Some seeds were struggling to spread leaves out of the seed husk. This might have been after I felt I cooked the seeds with too much light/heat. Anyway, I misted and wow. They had a lot of energy. LK has miniscule nutrients so you don't have to worry about burning the seedlings. Something about the humic acid and kelp extracts which the seedlings liked.
I hate to sound all opinionated like an expert when I've only grown twice.
I spent a lot of time reading and arrived at the above. It worked very well. If you're struggling with unknowns, that should work for you as a starting place.Regarding a soil ph tester. I really think you'll need a liquid probe. If you add 1-2 Tbsp dolomite lime per gal of potting medium your soil ph should be good. I think there's much greater risk of not knowing the ph of what you pour into the soil. I'm using ph 6.0 during veg and 6.2-6.4 in flower. Pro-Mix should be watered with 5.8 and 6.2 respectively. If you grow in soil, it's supposed to be closer to 6.5. Since I mix 60-20 promix and soil, I go a tad higher with the ph. I experimented with 5.8 to 6.2 during veg and 6.0 seemed better. (I experimented so much that I got some tan spots on my leaves due to ph fluctuations.). I intend to try 6.2 to 6.4 during flower.
Anyway, it would be pure luck if you could hit those ph numbers without a liquid ph meter. The nutrients can bring it way down. If you start using a silica additive (like Botanicare's Silica Blast) it will be much higher. Aeration can cause a full point change higher.
FYI: I bought two of these dropper bottles for $2.70 each to hold my working quantities of PH Up/Down. My full-size auto takes about .75-1 gallon of water. I only need 1-4 drops of either. Those little bottles are much easier to deal with than opening a full quart of Up/Down and drawing out a little. Just pop the snap cap, squeeze a drop or two... done.
Here's the least expensive ph meter solutions I could find. Least expensive in terms of bulk, long-term quantities. There are cheaper smaller quantities available.
Storage solution. (Another dropper bottle is good for this. You'll always be adding 3-4 drops to the pen's cap.).
Cleaning solution.
Calibration solution 7.0.
Calibration solution 4.0. (Not necessary, but handy to have.).
If you buy the BestDealUSA pen I mentioned previously, it has an option to come with calibration solutions for an extra $5 or so. It's foil packets of powders you mix with distilled water. They work pretty good. I compared it to the premixed calibration solutions and they produce the same values. (The downside is you have to wait awhile to get it from China.). I really like this pen. It's been more stable (and faster readings) than the Millwaukee. The adjuster screw isn't as touchy as the Millwaukee. You can turn it about a 1/8 turn to make a 0.1 adjustment. The Milwaukee is just a hair turn. It's hard to get it set right.
