The Dirt: Container Gardening - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Fresh, homegrown produce -- there is nothing more satisfying than harvesting your own tomatoes or fresh lettuce from the backyard.

"If you want to go into tomatoes, peppers, things like that, one way to start these early is to do it in containers," said English Gardens Vice President Rick Vespa.  "The beauty of a container ... is you can move it somewhere safe and warm if it gets too cold.  Tomatoes are not real tolerant of cold temperatures."

Vespa added that you need to use the right size container and to "make sure you use a container that's got good drainage in it.  A drainage hole at the bottom is key."

"Also, your herbs are coming on, and those are things, again, you can grow in pots.  It's really neat to do a container of herbs right outside the kitchen door and you can harvest whenever you need some," Vespa said.

Many people like the idea of not having a lot of pesticides in their food.  How do you go about making sure that what you're growing on your back patio or in the garden is as fresh and as safe as possible?

"First of all, you can use organic soils.  We have organic soils, organic fertilizers, and if you need to spray with anything, there are soaps and things like that you can use that are completely safe and chemical free."