As for your Shasta daisy I would go with your second idea of planting it into the ground and then moving it in the spring when it’s permanent spot becomes available. This will give the roots a chance to spread out which will help the plant become healthier. Most perennials take to transplanting quite well as long as the roots are kept watered during the time they are growing new roots. I have put some potted plants into the ground over the winter knowing I want to move them the next year but it was for different reasons. The daisy will move just fine.

Old potting mixes: I wouldn’t reuse the flower mix with the tomatoes. Growing healthy strong veggies is too important to take a chance with any problems such as a sleeping disease that may be present in the soil. The healthier your soil the more nutrition your veggies will have. Plus I wouldn’t use Miracle Grow with vegetables. Their potting mixes have synthetic fertilizers, which are not allowed in organic growing. Johnny’s Selected Seeds www.johnnyseeds.com and Peaceful Valley Farm Supply www.groworganic.com have organic potting and growing mediums. The investment into good healthy soil is well worth it. Contact these companies and ask for their catalogs, you will enjoy them immensely. If you want more information about why you should care about organic growing conditions go to the Tip of the Week for October 7, 2002.

Unfortunately it is hard to find local stores that will carry organic growing mediums, most people need to mail order them. We are currently looking for a local source for the large amount we will need next spring but all we can find are the two mentioned above.

You could make your own potting mix for container-grown veggies but will need to find local suppliers for the ingredients. A good mix would be:

Compost (if you buy it, read the bag for organic conditions)
Green Sand (not just sand, it has many nutrients in it, call around garden centers for it)
Perlite
Peat Moss
Garden Soil

I am not so picky about flowers, I don’t eat them, and so to reuse the soil from either the toms or flowers is O.K. unless you are trying to grow flowers suitable for contests. Add fresh soil and good compost to the old mix though. Plants use up a tremendous amount of nutrients during the growth process and it will be depleted. You could also use the old soil in perennial and flowerbeds to condition the soil.

Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
You can get a pretty dwarf one from Johnnys (see above) called Toto.

Hope I got all the questions,
Bye, Diane