Lard Greystoke

My own approach is to mix cheap potting soil with damp sand about 50/50, put it in containers, bury the seeds about 1" and cover with plastic. I try to provide bottom heat from a variety of sources, including the top of a stereo amplifier.

Patience is definitely a virtue. Germination may take several months or more.

Once the seeds germinate I dampen the soil around the seedling, cut around it with a knife and remove the seedling complete with as much soil around the roots as I can (without disturbing the seeds still in the container). I then put it under 48" fluorescent lights with ordinary worklight bulbs, as close to the tubes as I can. Note: even seedling bananas grow quickly, so take care to elevate the lights as the plants develop. Contact with a fluorescent tube will burn the leaves, although it takes hours and will not result in combustion. The result is unsightly.

You can grow bananas and such under cheap fluorescents until they are a foot or two high. After that the plants tend to get spindly.

Observe from your mistakes and develop confidence in yourself. The plants are a better source of instruction than any human expert.

Since edible bananas are seedless, I assume you are growing for foliage or flower. In this case you might also consider Heliconias, of similar habit from South America with nice flowers, as well as Strelitzia and Ravenala. All have seeds which require patience.