Soil

hi there im a complete novice to growing, but i would just like a basic explanation of what soil to use and what fertilizer, does it have to be a specific one or can i use any plant fertilizer?

Can i use any soil as long as i add perlite?
do i start off with normal soil and then add fertilizer or what?

Read up first. There are soils that are full of nutes. There are ones with less. Or you can be like me and make your own mix with minimal nutes and then start adding them sooner. There are lots of brands of nutes you can by, most have some sort of feeding schedule you can follow, though use less than they recommend.

You need to read up, see what direction it takes you, and then figure out some specific questions.

Soils like miracle grow, fox farms and others (not trying to compare them) contain nutes so you need not add any for a while.

I use a mix of cheap potting soil, perlite, vermiculite, and peat moss with no nutes. I add in some dolomite lime to help moderate ph. i use Dyna Gro grow, bloom, kln, protekt and mag plus. I also add in Home and Garden drip clean. But that is just my method.

I have no idea what you mean by normal soil. i would not grab dirt from your backyard, add perlite, and think it is good to go...