planting in cup Q's

So i planted some seeds in these cups about 7 days ago and i did not germinate them. i watered them about every 2 days but i noticed the soil was really hard between watering. could this be why i haven't seen any results? is the soil too hard for the seed to sprout?

The soil is getting hard because its probably in a high heat low humidity area. In an area like that your doing the right thing by keeping the soil damp. But dont give it a heavy water. Just keep it damp. The seed needs water to activate enzymes in the shell which allows the main stem to be to work its way up.