Hello and thank you for your question. There are several places to purchase quality soil in Benton County. You can check out Garland's and Shonnard's which will have a similar selection of soils (and all will be great quality). You can let them know you will be planting in a raised bed and they can suggest the best soil for your needs. You can also purchase soil from The Bark Place and Home Depot but they might not have as many choices as the first two nurseries. Here are the websites for the nurseries: https://www.garlandnursery.com/what-we-sell/garden-supplies/soils/compost-and-mulch/

https://www.shonnards.com

http://thebarkplace.net/soil_composts.html

As far as growing nightshades, any good draining garden soil will work great for nightshades. If you want you can purchase some organic compost while you're purchasing your soil and add that in to your bed (generally 1"-3" of compost mixed in will be nice for a raised bed). Then just make sure to fertilize your plants throughout the season to keep them healthy. This website describes what fertilizers you will want to add for each kind of vegetable in the nightshade family. https://extension.wsu.edu/snohomish/nightshades/

I hope this helps! Enjoy your new garden bed. 

Allison S.

OSU Extension Master Gardener

Hi Peggy,

Bagged garden soil is actually recommended for raised beds (which your converted animal trough technically is). You can buy soil in bulk if you need a lot of it, and it can be delivered by places like The Bark Place. However, I think for what you are going to be doing, buying bags to fill the trough will work great. There are many different blends of soils out there, some more suited to vegetables and others suited for indoor plants or even cacti. This is where the experts at the nursery can really point you in the right direction. Just make sure to choose a soil that is well-draining and high in organic matter. Feel free to check out this website for more information about starting a raised bed. https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/fs270/html

Please let me know if you have any other questions. 

Allison S. 

OSU Master Gardener