Soil:
There are a baffling array of soil choices, and some are more appropriate than others. A true soil has a range of ingredients that may include compost, lightener, peat, lime, and even living organisms such as mycorrhizal fungi, among others. Soilless mixes are much simpler in composition and work very well with the chemical fertilizer regimen that many new growers will begin with.

For simplicity, you can use ProMix, Sunshine Mix, John McInnis', or any equivalent soilless mix which contains nothing but PEAT, LIME, and PERLITE. Any time you use a peat-based soil, start in small cups and re-pot frequently, letting no plant sit in the same pot more than 6 weeks. This soil is also fine for seedlings. The commercial seedling mix I like, Faffards Seedling Starter, is almost identical to ProMix but has a finer texture and a bit of vermiculite added to it as well.

Read the links below for more info, ESPECIALLY if you plan a soilless grow.

If you want a true soil, you have the option of assembling one yourself. For general use on plants from about week 3 to harvest, the soil that I think is the simplest to make is based upon the Agway 'manure and humus' product. The composted humus is the #1 most important ingredient in this mix, and will buffer your soil pH, while providing nutrition for your plants. It's $2.50 for a 40 lb bag. One of these bags, mixed to a total ratio of 2:1 soil : perlite (approximately a regular-sized bag of perlite also from Agway), will give you plenty of light, rich medium that will not interfere with your fertilizer regime the way a pre-fertilized soil such as Miracle Gro will. This compost mix is also already pH balanced for cannabis, and buffered around 6.8, ideal for your vegging and flowering plants. You can substitute other bagged compost, such as seaweed compost, if the pH is correct (it should come in at 6.9 or so) but don't use straight composted manure. It has too high a level of nutrients in it.

Also avoid starting seedlings in pre-fertilized bagged grow media such as Fox Farms Ocean Forest. It has a lot of fertilizer in it and is better for later, when the plants are big and strong.

Re-using soil is not recommended since pests and eggs and salts from your previous grow can harm future plants. Your garden plants will LOVE it though!

Fertilizer:
For fertilizer, you have a lot of choices, but the ones I have really been impressed by are the Botanicare PureBlend Pro line and the Canna line. PureBlend is not OMRI listed organic, but is so heavily organic that you really can consider it the same deal. The 'Grow' formula is fantastic, and you will find it tough to make mistakes. Canna is also not OMRI certified but carries the European organic certification and is an amazing product. They even make a living soil that smells like rich warm earth and grows spectacularly happy plants.

Supplements:
There are scores of supplements on the market, and these should be used with caution. The safest are carb boosters such as Sweet, and unsulfured molasses. The most dangerous are the super bloom high Phosphorous products, and hormone products, which, while they can improve yield with proper use, can also burn your plants if overapplied, or used when there is already excessive fertilizer in the soil. I generally think people should avoid these until they have made it through a couple good harvests, as you will have more than enough yield already for personal use. The combination of a low dose of molasses plus Sweet or TopMax (an OMRI listed carb synthesizer), though, is a real winner. Increased available carbon to the plant stimulates the production of resins and terpenes, allowing the plant to produce both medicinal and aromatic compounds to its genetic potential.

Water:
Check your tap water to see if it is suitable for use. Soil growers will rarely have tap water problems, and the high humus content of a compost based soil further negates any pH imbalances, but it is a good thing to be aware of. Water between 6.5 and 7 is generally acceptable for soil use as long as hardness is not excessive.

Planning your pot size:
Read these two threads to plan your re-potting schedule, which can be mystifying for a new gardener.
http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-gro...ency-baby.html
http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-faqs...large-pot.html

All right so I did a little search and discovered that finding that Agway compost west of the Mississippi is impossible. BUMMER!
I'll give you the specs on it so you can check your local farmer supply for a substitute:

-It's made of composted humus and composted manure.
-The fert numbers are 0.5-0.5-0.5.
-It is treated for pests and weed seeds, packaged, and bagged. I don't consider 'bulk' compost from outdoor bins a substitute!!! Get one that is GUARANTEED free of pests!
-It's pretty darn chunky and lumpy. This is a good thing.
-The pH comes in right around 6.8-6.9.
Composts under about $5/40# are preferable. Those seaweed ones are lovely and all but can be quite expensive.

I saw in another thread there was a suggestion to add a note about soilless mixes, specifically ProMix, to this thread... Here ya go, my girl Foxy layin' it out for ya:

Quote Originally Posted by foxysox
I've been using ProMix BX lately and the trick to avoiding pH problems is this:

Promix is stabilized at the packaging plant by addition of lime, a pH buffer (CaCO3). The pH of peat, the major component, is naturally around 5ish. The lime keeps the pH up above 6 UNTIL IT IS USED UP. This occurs because when you add water, you are allowing a chemical reaction (neutralization of the acids in the peat by the lime) to take place. Over time, the amount of lime left will drop, and this neutralization stops taking place.

Your job as the soilless ProMix grower is to keep ahead of the pH!

Typically you will start to see problems after about 8 weeks of the plant being in the same pot. This is because the lime is used up and the peat is breaking down into a sludgy peaty acidic swampy mess. pH will plummet.

So how do you avoid this? Simple!

Pot up into a pot that is JUST big enough for your plants. Time your grow so you are potting up into the next size pot, with fresh ProMix, every 5-6 weeks so that new root growth is ALWAYS going into nice fresh soil.

Staying on schedule, you should rarely if ever have to flush to keep your mix at the desireable soilless range which is about 0.4 pH points below the range for soil.

Good luck.