Beginner Gardening: Pot planting; also question re. old fertilizer, 1 by deva_flowers

deva_flowers wrote:
Hi,

The last 2 years I planted veggies in my backyard and also in pots on my porch. This year I'm thinking of doing pot planting intead of planting in the garden. Getting big pots and planters.

Is potting soil enough for planters/pots? I would add fertilizer to it. Should I use some of the soil from the garden mixed in with store bought potting soil?

I was watching a video on CNN on gardening just yesterday. Should I make sure all my pots have holes on the bottom? - I'm going to doublecheck that the pots I already have have holes. Is it important to put gravel or cloth on the bottom of the pot?

I have fertilzer that I bought I believe two years ago, and possibly last year. Is it still usable and just as potent for this year?

Thank you,
Deva