Attempting my first grow next year and want to do it outdoors. I was planning on using a large rubbermaid bin in the ground so each plant has its own soil. Can I just use normal soil for little sprouts or is there a special mix I should use to ensure a good nutrient bed (and to ensure at least a few females)? Thanks!
it may just be superstition on my part, but I always use a seed starting mix (finely sieved peatmoss) for my initial medium. I would recommend NOT burying containers. If you're going to grow in the ground, just dig a good-sized hole (2' X 2' X 3') and enrich the soil you excavate. Being a regular gardener, I have a good supply of compost that I use in my plots. If you don't have any readily available, you can buy composted cow manure that will work well when mixed w/ the native soil. If you will be growing in a remote spot and don't want to haul 40# bags of cow poop, you could dig your holes and layer raked up leaves (No Pine needles) and dirt until your hole is filled. Let that decompose over the winter and in the spring, you should have decent soil in which to plant your seedlings.
I like oldschools plan...Im going to dig my holes in early fall, and fill them with composted material plus some fresh horse poop, return the hole soil to the mix, and stir it up real good and cover with dead field grass and leaves. This would allow for the rest of fall, winter, and most of spring for the holes to balance out. Next May I'll transplant my starts into thier holes. In my area containers would overheat and dry out the soil in july and august. Maybe smart pots would work for container grows.