Soak seeeds 24 hours, place in ziplock bag with paper towel (unbleached), check daily (once) for tap root, place in soil tap root facing down.
For older more troublesome seeds you can use GA3 (Gibberellic Acid), 1 to 100 dilution, however GA3 is not easily obtainable locally so you will need to import it. You need minimal amounts, I have 100grams that's lasted me over 7 years. The side effect of GA3 is stem elongation so in this instance less is better than more