Hi Jerry,
Im in So Cal. I don’t like Rockwool as it holds a lot of water. I would suggest germinate in shot glass of water with a few drops H2o2. Once you get a tap root to break you can then transplant to moist, not wet paper towel on a plate and place in ziploc bag and keep half open.
Once you have a tap root of 1" go into 16-32 oz cup with a mild soil(I use Fox Farms Happy Frog).
Once it fills that cup I would go to a 3 gallon pot.
Then, final home. It sounds like you are starting early, so you will be growing some big plants with a lot of veg time. I would use 15-30 gallon pots(light color fabric pots are best).
Starting too early can run the risk of flowering early then reveling which you don’t want.
Best time to start outside is Mid April to May, IMO.
Here is my journal: