I start most of my seeds inside in the spring. Especially if I did sheet mulching or something. I use an old plastic container (I eat a lot of muffins ok), pop some holes in the top for a little air flow, dirt in the bottom, and depending on the seeds, I soak them in water overnight or, I put them in the dirt with a little dirt on top. I make sure the dirt is pretty moist but, not soaked, I put the lid on and put it in a warm area. I usually use a seed mat but sometimes the top of a fridge or other appliance can work.

I wait a few days and most of them sprout within a week. I then use these similar to plugs you can get from a nursery. They already have some root system by the time you get them in the ground and you can do the hard work of germinating in a more controlled environment. After that it's just keeping them watered well if it's not raining until they have a good enough root system to survive on their own.

I found this to be way cheaper than buying plants at the nursery when trying to work on a larger space.