please make sure to read label before using in gardens. i'm pretty sure that something like this may screw up plantings of certain kinds (like direct sowing of beans into the ground) and may also cause other issues.
If you have ever used 3 month Preen, you know that it kills any plant under 3 inches tall.
It's just a help for keeping weeds away from your roots, especially if it's a new planting and your vegetable/flower roots aren't very deep.
This just kills plants for almost a whole season.
Some of us have trouble keeping up with weeding.
As with anything, there are different ways to start seeds. I think what Artorius is talking about is what I learned as a germination test. Soak a paper towel in water, squeeze it almost dry, and wrap some seeds in it. Keep it in a zip-lok type bag someplace warm. In a germination test you zip the bag closed and check it in a week to 10 days (depending on the seeds) and open it to see how many sprouted. That tells you if your seeds are viable. When I do this to sprout beans for planting I don't zip the bag closed and start checking after 3 or 4 days to see if one is sprouting. If it gets too dry add a bit of moisture. As soon as I see a seed sprouting I plant it. Could be in the garden, could be in a pot. This is useful if you have old seed and don't know how many will sprout. It avoids planting the seeds and waiting forever for them to come up when many don't and you waste valuable garden space.
Could you post a photo of your "wick from the bottom" method? That is a very common method to start seeds but there can be different approaches. You want the soil to be slightly damp, not wet. My "kit" for that includes a clear plastic cover to hold moisture in until they sprout but then remove it so they can grow until transplant time. Again, it needs to be in a warm place. They will not sprout if it is too cool.
I've found beans to be very sensitive to moisture, more so perhaps than any other vegetable seed. I bought a hand held pump action water sprayer last year, instead of using a small watering can for my bean starts in little pots. My germination rates across the board actually increased, and I was already very careful with the watering can. Just a quick little spray over the spot where I sunk the bean and that was all they needed. It's very easy to give bean seeds in a pot too much water, compared to in ground.
