Soil contamination by heavy metals poses an increasing risk to human health and food safety and lead and cadmium are two heavy metals that are common in contaminated soil, can be easily uptaken by plants, and pose significant human health risks. This study investigates how the composition of 10 different potting soils impacts lead and cadmium uptake in Ocimum basilicum, sweet basil. While previous studies have associated isolated soil parameters with lead and cadmium uptake, the interaction of these parameters is not well studied. Furthermore, few, if any, studies test on soils that are available to the average consumer. The plants were grown for 10 weeks at high and moderate contamination levels. The aboveground plant mass, belowground plant mass, and soil samples will undergo acid digestion and then the heavy metal concentration will be obtained through Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry. Soil organic matter content, pH, cation exchange capacity, water holding capacity, and nutrient content will also be measured. The results of these tests are expected to find correlations between heavy metal treatment, aggregated soil properties, and plant heavy metal uptake. By linking these aggregated soil properties to heavy metal uptake, this study will provide further insight into how soil chemistry impacts heavy metal uptake and allow for possible recommendations for specific potting soils to use in areas with high contaminant deposition.