The average crookneck takes about 50 days to make edible fruit, but in the fall the plants take longer due to shorter daylight hours, so I would suggest that you count back about 70-75 days from from your fall frost date to plant. Unless you have early frost, you should get 10-15 days of harvest maybe more if you cover your plants on frosty nights. They are very susceptible to frost. Germination has not been a problem for me.

And yes, you can sprout the seeds inside a wet paper towel. Slip it inside a baggie and set on a window sill that gets sun and they should sprout in just a couple of days. Then pot them inside as well if you like and transplant when the plant is bigger. I do all my squash this way, some cucumber and melons also.