Fill the container to about 10mm from the top with moist medium, allowing room for the seed and a covering of medium. Level the medium by shaking or knocking the container. Sprinkle small seed lightly over the surface. Very fine seed can be mixed with dry sand and shaken out of a pepper pot to attain an even spread of seed. Gently water in the seed and keep it moist but not wet.
Most seeds germinate quicker during warm conditions.
Early spring to early summer is generally the best season for germinating seed. Protect the germinating seed from frosts. If propagating in cool weather, gentle continuous warming of the germination containers will speed up germination but this is not essential. It is easy to forget what seeds you have sown in which container. If you are growing a lot of plants, you will need to keep records to know which species germinate well and how long they take.