Welcome to ATP and to seed starting, Linda! I think you'll enjoy both and get a lot of value from both.
I agree that almost anything with good drainage and not-too-much water retention can be used to start seedlings. I tend to overwater, so peat did not work for me at all. I needed to make a seedling mix that drained really well, so that excess water would run out the bottom, letting air back into the soilless mix.
You can make things drain faster by adding coarse material like coarse Perlite, grit, screened crushed rock or screened bark fines (not FINE fines, but small chunks and shreds).
Or, just don't overwater!
Have you decided whether to plant seeds so thinly that just a few plants emerge in each container, or start by broadcasting many seeds in a "flat" like one of the shallow plastic tubs, then "pricking out" the best ones when they have 1-2 pairs of true leaves and "up-potting" them into larger, individual tubs?
