There's no reason you can't sub dill, especially since you are freezing it. I think the amount will be personal taste!! For me, I wouldn't want as much dill as basil, but depends on how much you like dill. You could also do some without any herbs and add what strikes your fancy at meal time! Sorry, not much help. Deanna

Never mind - I crushed and pureed them in a food mill, have 2 half gallons of puree in fridge to use for soup on Sat if they say they need it - if not, will it be OK to can Sat AM or do I need to do it Friday night (should be home about 10pm)? Or I suppose it's best to freeze Friday morning and then thaw to use Sat or whenever I can get around to canning it? I took 2 pies out of the freezer Thursday night so now I have room.

Thanks for your input, Dave. I'm actually trying to see if I can adapt my previously favorite Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup recipe to be safe for canning. I have been making, freezing, and swooning over this soup for 3 years. My freezer is now full, and I've got about 6 more pounds of almost ripe San Marzano tomatoes; I find less-than-ripe tomatoes don't hurt this recipe at all. It seems pretty close to Katie's but with one unacceptable difference- namely the 5 TBS of olive oil. So I was hoping by backing off on that and roasting the onions vs. sauteeing them I'd end up with something that tastes as good but is safe to can. Adapted from Epicurious recipe: 4 lb tomatoes, halved lengthwise 6 garlic cloves, left unpeeled 3 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled 2 teaspoons sugar 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350F. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, in 1 layer in a large shallow baking pan and add garlic to pan. Drizzle tomatoes with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes and garlic 1 hour, then cool in pan on a rack. Peel garlic. Cook onion, oregano, and sugar in olive oil in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, and stock and simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Puree soup in batches in a blender. Kathy

As long as you don't have to do the lifting and toting then cost becomes the primary consideration. (For most of us it is the back. ;) So if you can afford it then Choice 1 may be the best after all. As I said above I'd go with Choice 2 because it HAS to be much cheaper and it is likely a good base to start with but there is no way to know what may need to be added because so many things are sold labeled as "topsoil" - some are ok and some are crap. So many things are sold as "mulch" and the same rules apply. As to manure - has it been composted? Most likely so. Fill the bed with Choice 2 and then add several bags of the compost from Lowes, 1 bale of the peat, and a good dose of slow-release fertilizer all mixed in well and you should be ok for the first year. More compost will be needed each year after. Without seeing the stuff that's the best I can do but keep in mind that landscapers are always trying to sell you fancy expensive mixes you don't need so don't buy into everything he says. ;) Dave