Like Baja I like to use coconut "coir" instead of peat moss.
Peat moss repels water when totally dry.
Coir moistens easily, it attracts water like a magnet.
Peat moss is the source for green moss growing on the top of older plantings.
Peat moss requires hundreds of years to grow in bogs and is disappearing from the planet.
Coir is renewable. Coconuts grow throughout the tropics and are a major food crop.
All parts of the coconut tree are useable.
My base mix is 50% cinders. (porous lava rock)
25% coconut (small coco chips and coir)
25% plain potting soil ( not the fancy stuff with added fertilizer and wetting agents). Just inexpensive bagged potting soil.
For slow release minerals I add dolomite, Lonfosco, green sand and charcoal/ash.
For my cactus I add 30% pearlite to my basic mix.
Whatever mix you use you should plan on re-potting every three years or so.
