soak seeds in a cup of water for 24 hours, no more ,no less. Soaking them longer than that will lead to rotting problems, and soaking them in the first place speeds up the germination process as oppossed to placing them in a wet paper towel first(IMO) after soaking, place seeds in a damp paper towel wrapped in plastic wrap but not tightly closed (they need oxygen). Keep them out of the light and at an ideal temperature, about 70-80F and if the seeds are good and your thumb is green they will sprout within a day or 2.