Discussion Board

I'm just starting out growing a few herbs and some veggies in containers. I bought everything I needed to do so this weekend, except for soil. I definitely want something organic, but am lost in deciding on what to choose, exactly. I spent a couple of hours researching this issue yesterday and ended up even more confused than when I began!

Any suggestions (brand names) would be appreciated!

What kind of containers please? My half barrels, which had permanent homes, were never moved, and never emptied, had soil from the garden in them. In my floral hanging baskets I used a basket mix from Fertilome, because that's what my local garden center sold. I also added a water holding polymer to the hanging baskets and terracotta pots, because then I only had to water them once a day instead of twice. The perennial herbs (oregano and chives) had permanent places in the garden. The annuals (basil, parsleys, cilantro) rotated locations, sometimes in the half barrels, sometimes in the garden. The dill had a patch in the garden, as I let it reseed itself. The mint went in one of the half barrels, to help to keep it from invading everything else. That's not to say it didn't, mowed over mint in the lawn smells very nice.........

I bought a planter that grows tomatoes upside down (not a topsy turvey, but an actual planter), with space to grow herbs or other flowers on the top. It is similar to this one:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gardendesk.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54efed408883401127915129728a4-pi&imgrefurl=http://www.gardendesk.com/2009/02/do-upside-down-tomato-planters-work.html&h=500&w=500&sz=66&tbnid=AEuCTxue9Udt3M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=90&zoom=1&docid=apcjl7HDfgqHyM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=s52VT5OBDO-r2AX3t4WLBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CKkBEPUBMAE&dur=43

Good for you for starting your own little garden! I garden and believe everything tastes better and is better for us. Probably because it's fresher, no pesticides and has a dose of love in it!

Generic "potting soil" will work fine. I know there are some specialty mixes specifically for veggies but that's not really necessary. Most plants are pretty forgiving...just remember to water them!

Thank you, Lexus!