I'm going to do just a few veggies in containers; patio tomato, some herbs, maybe some green beans in one, lettuces/chard.
So, I noticed they have some "Organic" soil at the stores for vegetables, for use "in ground". Is that just a bunch of hokum? I don't see they have "organic" soil for containers, just good old potting mix. But they've made me paranoid now that plain old potting mix is filled with evil!
Seriously, what might I best use for growing edible veggies in containers?
I use cheapest bagged top soil and add limestone for tomatoes and garden fertilizer throughout the season. In the spring, I'll skim off top which may have seedlings from bird feeder, etc. and add more top soil. Makes no sense to me to grow your own but spend more for materials than vegetables are worth.
I vote for mixing your own dirt, even if you end up buying constituents. For "just a few", though you might do as well just to buy the mix. You might buy just one unit of the mix and see how it compares mechanically to your garden earth when in containers. Seems to me you could devise some sort of comparative compaction/drainage measurement. Subjective, yes, but surely you believe your own lying eyes! LOL ;-) IME, you shouldn't expect much nutritionally from sto'-bought unless nutrients are shown on the package. Chives, garlic chives, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, bay, tomatoes (indeterminate and determinate), eggplant, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, all are among plants that I grow in containers that range in size from quart-sized terra cotta to halves of 60-gallon "olive" barrels, top-load washing machine tub and basket (separately) and one very temporary 46-gal plastic storage bin. Except for the bay, everything is in exactly the same soil as is in my raised beds. I use a bottom layer of pine straw to improve drainage; doing so may be unnecessary, but I do it, anyway. Save for the jalapenos, all or some part of the containerized soil is changed completely as frequently as each "season" for some but at least every two-three years. Down here, with prudent handling, indoor-outdoor jalapenos (in at night for most of winter) grow for years and years until the year that I misjudge the overnight low ;-0 The same bottom-heating (solar gain) that debilitates containerized plants during the warm season also allows me, in most years, to overwinter at least a few bell peppers and eggplant, which resume production very early, although, the peppers recover more slowly. As practical matters, I've found overheating of the soil and restrictive container volume (root crowding, in general, even in the raised beds) to have the strongest influence over whether my plants thrive. Tomatoes are very sensitive to overheating, even in the fall. I use pine straw to protect containers and beds.
I'm guessing you mean outdoors. But Nothings going to happen. The organic thing is about people getting away from pesticides . Potting soil is just fine. I'm only a mediocre gardener, but I have done a lot of edible plants in containers using potting soil and soiless mixes. To have stuff in the winter. If I was going to do this . With little cash expenditures. I d use a mix of potting soil, Or with the slow release fertilizer. And a bunch of gravel in the bottom for drainage. Start them in small containers , then put the whole plant and its root ball into a bigger container when it fills the smaller pot up. And get bigger containers then you think you need for the tomatoes. . This will prevent root binding. And stunting of growth. You need to water a lot, as the soil dries out fast. and have good drainage. And a general fertilizer.
If I wanted to spend a bit more. Id use the same potting mix to start . Add about 20% perlite, and 50% worm castings in the bigger container. Add some other additives like bone meal, blood meal, a little lime, kelp, seeweed, Then Id use a fish based fertilizer mixed in water for the life of the plants .
If you get bugs, Id use Neem oil sprayed on the leaves.
I've got a few things growing in containers and my impression so far is that containers are more sensitive to watering. Water from a heavy rain cant run off or spread as it would if it was in ground. And containered plants can't reach for water. Commercial mixes attempt to compensate for that by being lighter and more absorbent, and are more tolerant of over watering and infrequent watering. For the lightest mixes there is a lot of stuff in there that you would never find in the garden (like vermiculite).
I don't have any real recommendations other than to be careful that you have good drainage and good soil. Potted plants have less resilience to soil with poor water characteristics (particularly in small pots) but it is also easier to fill it with good soil. Soil in the garden can get better year over year as it gets amended and the worms work it, containers typically don't have that option.
So, use the same good soil you would in the garden, if you could. Keep a closer watch on soil moisture and watering.
And bear in mind that I'm "feeling" my way through this so I may not have this exactly right!
Jeff
that all pretty much makes sense... and it jives with my experience.
So what about re-using soil from last years containerized plants, by dumping it all into a wheel-barrow, mixing it all up and amending it with some compost and peat? Are there any issues from re-using soil that was simply left out all winter? If none of the plantings from last year were sick or diseased, I'm thinking it's an okay way to go?
It will be just fine so long as you had no disease. In good gardening spots the soil has been used for generations. Steve
This is a fragment of one issue within the organic sphere and your statement dismisses the whole sphere of organic culturing of food, plants and everything. Organic does not rule out the use of insecticides, but does minimize them, restricts them to specific types and (more on this when I have time to rant a bit) targets them very closely to limit collateral damage.
Organic, means certified organic, no toxic sludge, no urban grass clippings containing herbicides, ect.
Organic may not be important for ornamentals, but could be for plants that you consume, or if you have special health issues. Our local landscape materials provider sells organic compost in bulk at reasonable prices. Whether they have bulk organic potting soil is another matter, but people are doing raised gardens, so you never know.
Organic potting soil isn't hard to come by. It's just a Google away. Or check with local University Extension offices, Master Gardeners, or look for a nursery that you can trust.
I've been happy with Gardener and Bloome Potting Soil and only just now realized that it is organic.
Their sales locator is
If you are familiar with the history of your soil, maybe the best would be to mix it with the "in ground" organic potting soil that you found.
If worse comes to worse, Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil seems to be ubiquitous, but because of the damage that their other products have caused, I would try to avoid them.
That's what I do. Pots sit uncovered on deck all winter. Just finished putting out seedlings and all looks good.
I'm 'growing organic tomatoes'
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