Potting mix to grow herbs in pots

[marigoldflower]

Please don't judge me as I know this will sound cheap

I have some leftover cactus potting soil and I was planning to grow some rosemary in a pot. (I don't have masses of space to keep leftover multipurpose soil bags or a garden to properly grow herbs ATM)

Is there anything I need to take into account regarding potting mixes to plant edible plants in, or would any of them be safe (thinking mainly of whether they are going to contain anything toxic or not be sterile enough for this purpose)

I try to avoid those supermarket pots with herbs in, as IME they usually come with some sort of bug and I find them a bit disgusting.

Similarly for fertiliser, would fruit and vegetable organic fertiliser be safe to use?

I would use it, you’re not being cheap at all. Don’t worry, soil isn’t sterile, and isn’t meant to be.
Rosemary likes poor soil, so you shouldn’t need to fertilise it.

Thank you! EllaBlaire

Rosemary does well in quite poor soil, and doesn't like to have wet roots so the cactus mix would probably suit it quite well. It grows naturally in scrub type land around the Med, and these landscapes can be quite hard growing conditions.

It's quite important to have a good size pot to plant out in - 3 or 4 times as big as the pot you bought it in if you want it to flourish well.

Most herbs are happy in poor soil. The supermarket herbs are ok if you repot them.

If you are reusing compost, try not to use soil that has previously been used for flower bulbs for edible crops.

Re fertiliser, a tomato fertiliser will do for edibles. but a veg one will be better. Look at the NPK ratio. A higher N is better for green plants, and a higher K for fruiting crops and flowers.