I prefer using straight coco, Promix HP is also an excellent choice. These are considered inert mediums meaning they don’t contain food and require you to feed nutrients and are treated similar to growing hydroponically. They are very forgiving and are hard to overwater.
If you want a soil that contains food and retains moisture better which will require watering less frequently. Fox farm ocean forest or happy frog are decent choices.
I prefer to start in small pots and transplant. I get faster growth rates. It’s easy to overwater a small plant in large pots and deprive the roots of oxygen.
I usually go from solo cups -> 1 gallon -> 3 gallon but that’s for indoor. You may want a 5-10 gallon or larger final pot for outdoor.