Planting out the tomatoes/ zucchini

TeeAy

1st time wannabe vege gardener here!  I'm wanting to try tomato and zucchini plants and due to no existing beds I dug up a section of the soil in the garden up to 12-15 inches depth. Soil was very dense/  compacted and lots of stones- I removed lots but not all.  

I've got multi purpose compost, the contents of 3 gro bags, fish /blood/bone fertiliser and a Verve Peat-free Manure 50l.    So just wondering... do I remove some of the existing soil and add these in or do I use these to fully replace the existing soil?    

Is there a recommended order of what 'layers' they are put in down (or just mixed in together!).  I might be overthinking it lol   

I'm also going to put a tomato plant in a container - can I put all these mediums into the container also, or are some not suitable? 

thanks!

-taff

I would  mix a mix of all of them together for all pots and dirt. Can't go wrong then

Mix a gro bag, some dirt, some manure together and use that, see how you go, you can sprinkle the bfb on top when they need a bit of feed or you can sprinkle it midway up the pot/in the hole...

Unless the compost i really good I'd leave it for mulching or for part filling pots or mulching pots. The compost standard of normal stuff this year is awful. 

KajiKita

I would keep all existing soil, sprinkle and loosely dig in the FB&B, plant your plants and then water really well. Then mulch thickly around the plants to the size you expect them to spread out to, with all / any of the composts you’ve mentioned.

Good luck 😊

KK

fatbelly

I'd mix the whole lot. Unless your tomato is outdoor specific or you have a very hot summer where you are I think it might struggle. The only time Ive had success was when I was in an office which had a sun trap flat roof, and then I used grobags. 

If zucchini = courgette, then they are gross feeders -i used to grow them in partly rotted manure and they went mad.

twopenny

Another who thinks mix it up.
They only grow for a short season so they'll grow anyway.
Put some small canes in behind them when you plant.

I always water them in the pot first, dig the hole and pour water in that.
Plant in, cover, press firmly around and then water well from the top so the soil goes round the roots and there are no air pockets .
Thanks to several generations of Gardeners World that comes from 😉