I plan to start a small vegetable garden soon in my backyard. I live in central Florida, have plenty of sunshine and decent temps for plants. I will only be planting (a) watermelons (b) various peppers (c) various herbs and (d) cucumbers. What I need to know…
(1) Is it alright to use packaged manure as your planting soil? It’s relatively cheap (about 2.00 a bag) and I assume it does the job. Or do I have to buy the super expensive stuff that costs $9.00 a bag and has numerous growing agents and chemicals?
(2) When should I fertilize and how often? What should I use for the fertilizer?
(3) Is there anything I should know seeing how I’m a novice to this hobby?
(4) should I attempt to plant some of the vegetable plants and herbs in the ground or in large planting pots?

