I have only grown seeds once, but I see you are in So. cal. I am in the Inland Empire.

Because of where you live, I don't think you really need the lights, unless you don't have a well lit place in the house to sprout the seeds.

I started seeds last January in my house, no lights or heating pad. I kept them in the kitchen next to my orchids (where I have a double pane window seat window that I use for my orchids). Out of six seeds, two survived so they are now close to 1 foot in height.

I moved them outside when they were a couple of months old, and hot enough outside so I disn't have to worry about them.

Not all seeds survive, just like all plants. I used a seedling starter "kit" made out od porous material. I don't remember exactly how many sprouted, most but not all. But then I lost several over a long period. The two that survived are doing great. I think I actually used seedling soil, and then when they were big enough to pot, I switched to my normal plumeria soil.

Good luck and have fun!

Well my seeds just arrived from brad's buds and blooms. They all look great and I did get quite a few extra so there's plenty to experiment with. I have my greenhouse set up in the kitchen infront of a shuttered window, so I'll be able to easily control the natural light. I'm hoping that by starting my seeds now that they'll be strong enough to survive through the winter.

Jen, I started many seeds from Brad's in the fall of 2010 just using bagged seed-starter mix, which is sterile. My only concern for the mix you're thinking of is the compost sneaking some fungus onto your tender new seedlings. I would keep compost off the plants myself until they had toughened up.

Before planting any of them I soaked them overnight in a mix of water and hydrogen peroxide to kill off any fungus that may have been clinging to their seed coats. I think this gave me a great germination rate, and I kept watering with the H2O2 water occasionally as they grew.

For lights I just used sunny windows or a cheap "grow-light" bulb in a reflector dome. To keep out little hands and big paws I put all the babies into a big bin and then wound a tube light I had sitting around inside the bin for more warmth since I don't have a heating mat.

They all did so well I've had to get rid of many of them. Now they're all from 8" to 24" tall and taking up a lot of room!

Forgot to include a pic of what those tiny seedlings will look like after a year: