I prefer to start in rock-wool....I saturate it in distilled water, put the seed in pointy end down, put into a warm dark environment until it sprouts, then under light
Do not water until the rock wool becomes fairly dry, but don't let it go bone dry when they are young.....I transplant into the final pot once the roots are growing out the bottom of the rock-wool (typically a few days)
I start with a single 23 watt 6500K CFL (about an inch away) then add more lights when required ......and I don't use nutes for the first 2 weeks, and even longer if growing in soil (3 weeks)
IMHO....Miracle-Grow works but is not overly forgiving
