how many in a container?

[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

We have a smallish deck this year and I'm trying to plan what I can grow in pots. I read I should do 1 tomato plant in a 20 gal container but wasn't able to find much info on other plants.

So, for each of these what size container and how many plants in each? Or could someone point me to a siite w/ this info?

bell peppers
hot peppers
zuchinni
green beans
cucumber
eggplant
broccoli
cauliflower
spinach
romaine

I won't have space for all of these, but want to maximize the space as much as possible.

[bluebirdiemama]

bell peppers, zuchinni- i would put one plant per 20 gallon container
hot peppers, green beans- you could probably get away with a rectangular planter, with one plant per 2.5 to 3 feet

i would deff advise you to give each plant the space it needs, even though you are trying to max. return. If your plants are crowded, they wont produce much

oh!, for bell peppers, i think they are 80-90 days? not sure
but if youare in a colder climate you can put black anti weed stuff down to make the soil warmer and have happier plants

[Indigo73]

I have done - one tomato plant per 5 gallon bucket, two green pepper plant per 5 gallon bucket, three zucchini per 5 gallon bucket & three string bean plants per 5 gallon bucket with tons of success.

Check out our small space gardening thread from last year. Lots of resources in the first post. http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1054982

[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

Thank you!

That thread looks like it has lots of great information to read through.

I look forward to joining the 2010 thread as I try to container garden on our 10x11ft deck!

[GardenStream]

You've gotten some good ideas for the space required to grow things, but I didn't see anyone mentioning companion planting. Things like your tomatoes will take a while to need all the space they have. I have had really good success planting things like lettuce, radishes, peas, and green onions in the big containers along with the tomatoes or peppers. You will be harvesting them before the main plant gets big enough to need that space.

[Indigo73]

I didn't do much companion planting as my lettuce, carrots, radishes, etc. where planted, replanted and replanted again... or in the lettuces / spinach / herbs case snipped by the serving in the baby stage for yummy salads and let go to regrow for the next salad.

I did also surround my veggie buckets with smaller flower buckets (1-2 gallon sized) - marigolds, tansy, etc. to keep the pests at bay.

I personally kept my containers smaller so they could be moved during mowing. Although one year I used a kiddie pool for shallower plantings (greens mostly) with great success. (Sorry no pictures)