I know it may seem ridiculous to spend the money but to drive around and find the ingredients for Al's, sift and then store all the extra I think I am willing to plunk down the money - especially since I only have the 3 plants.....but then again I will have to repot....worth thinking about further....why doesn't anyone make and sell Al's ???

shipping is expensive ON THE GRITTY components, especially the chicken grit (no. 2 cherrystone)

usually, a heavy hand with perlite and mg av (african violet) mix is nice for adenium, add a small handful of floor dry, and it is even better. I plant my plants, and then i sprinkle chicken grit on top to keep the perlite from floating out ...

I'd go with cactus. Personally, I am not fond of sand in my mix, but it is the closest to what I normally do. Typically, I mix in some organic soil for young plants instead of the sand. My usual mix is Perlite, Coconut Coir, some organic soil (usually what came with potted plants) and some crushed or small lava rock. Sometimes I add into that some long release fertilizer like ozmocote or miraclegro Shake'n'feed for palms/cacti (not too much). This is really cheap and drains well. The more expensive rocks are unnecessary IMO.

You should check out Jericson's threads for his Organic Mix though. . . It's amazing!

... jericson is in hawaii, and that is a game changer … imho

Outside of pine fines, you should be able to find locally or order for cheap all the components. Grit can be had <$10 for 25-50lbs.