This came up on the Container gardening forum not too long ago and the best answer was one from kippie:

I have found that you don't need to do rows in a container .. your providing all the water and nutrients to the plants, and you don't need to walk down rows to tend them. I just look at the recommended plant spacing and make sure that the plants have 1.5 x that spacing on each side.

Say for example the spacing on a bush bean says that you can plant each seed 2" apart with a row spacing of 1 foot 6" ... you would just plant each bean seed so that it is 3" apart from the other bean seeds in each direction =)

Some of the other suggestions made in that post were to cut the spacing recommended on the envelope in half.

Personally with spinach and radishes for example I wouldn't worry about rows all that much. It just wastes space in a container. I'd just plant half the container with thickly scattered spinach seeds and 1/2 of it with scattered radish seeds and then thin out both as needed once they come up - just as you would in the garden bed. You'll get more production that way.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Rows in container gardening question

ROW SPACING is a farming-like gardening, in big scale.
Even in in-garden planting may not use that "ROW" convept.
It may provide ease of operation, but certaily does not make
an efficeint use of land.
So in a container planting you just keep those plant-to-pant spacings
of 6" or whatever it is, and forget about the rows all togetheer.

The square foot gardening forum might give you some ideas you could use in your containers. Here's a chart from their FAQs

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant spacing

This link may help. I haven't tried it, but the demo looks interesting. And it's free.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Planner

Thank you for the link. Unfortunately I believe that is in regards to container gardening.

I did look at the link that somebody else gave and I posted that. However I'm still confused. Somebody did make a comment that you can grow twice as much as in a container garden then you can with traditional row format in the ground.

Does that mean I could reduce the row spacing and plant spacing I put for the vegetables I intend to grow by half? If I did this, would I be overcrowding the container?

My last question is since I'm growing two different varieties of vegetables in each container, would I use the row spacing for the 2nd vegetable that is being grown as opposed to the row spacing for the first vegetable?

By this I mean, my first container is spinach and radishes. Since I'm not doing two rows of spinach, then would I use the row spacing for radishes?

Unfortunately I believe that is in regards to container gardening.

Container gardening is what you are doing so that link is perfect for you. Plus that link is for containers of various sizes OR for in-ground beds. You simply put in the size of your container or your garden and it answers all your questions.

Does that mean I could reduce the row spacing and plant spacing I put for the vegetables I intend to grow by half? If I did this, would I be overcrowding the container?

Yes that is answered above. You cut the spacing on the packet in half - Example: instead of 6 inches you'd use 3 inches etc. And no it is not over-crowding the container. Containers are meant to grow more in less space because you are supplying extra nutrients and water.

My last question is since I'm growing two different varieties of vegetables in each container, would I use the row spacing for the 2nd vegetable that is being grown as opposed to the row spacing for the first vegetable?

As explained by the previous posts you aren't going to use either row spacing. Row spacing is not relevant to container gardening.

That is what is so good about the link Susan gave you - it shows you exactly how many plants of each vegetable you plant in each square foot of your container. It is really quite easy to use. One of your Earthboxes for example is approximately 1'x2' so the link shows you
to plant 16 radish plants and 9 spinach plants. You can actually plant a few more because of the true size 18"x30" so 20 radishes and 12 spinach. Simple. ;)

Dave

>> I did look at the link that somebody else gave and I posted that. However I'm still confused. Somebody did make a comment that you can grow twice as much as in a container garden then you can with traditional row format in the ground. I'm thinking this is an old husband's tale, but I will not have proof for maybe 8-9 months. But consider:

Lots of people, at least people I know, grow hot peppers in 5-gallon containers. They take up a tad less than a square foot of space. Plus, the roots in the container cannot grow through the sides, into areas that other roots do not inhabit.

Most spacing recommendations are based on tests growing fo-od commercially, that is, plant it, cultivate it once during the growing season, then harvest it. They do not take into consideration growers who will amend their soil at levels far in excess what commercial growers do, who tend to their crops on a semi-daily or weekly basis, who stake or trellis plants to increase production.

Another aspect: hydroponics. One can grow six tomato plants is six square feet of space. Yes, they provide nutrients and oxygen to the roots. And it works for container growers. I posit there is no reason it cannot work in conventional gardens!

I plan on trying it this year, at least in parts of different gardens. Tomatoes placed no mo-re than 15" apart in rows, with the rows 12" apart. I'll track production and post it.

Mike

I'm a little confused regarding some plant spacing with some vegetables in containers.

I checked the plant spacing with cucumbers, zucchini, and butternut squash. It says you're supposed to plant 4-6 seeds in hills 36" apart and space the seeds in the hills 3" apart.

However I've been told since I'm doing container gardening,
that hills aren't necessary. My question is, what should I use with the plant spacing, the 36" or the 3"?

The cucumber has a spread of 24" and the butternut squash about 36" (I don't know for the zucchini).

Also, I have a question about the number of plants that can be grown in the container in regards to the plant spacing with the butternut squash, cucumber, and butternut.
I know with the first plant I plant the plant spacing wouldn't apply since it's just one plant. However, since
the the plant spacing would be 18" and the length of my container is 31-1/2", how many plants could I plant from seed after I plant my first seed, two or three?

This is in regards to all of them, since they all the same spacing with the plants.

Sorry but I think we have already answered this above. And the link Susan gave you above makes it even more clear if you explore it a bit. Honestly kawaiineko_gardener, you are worrying way too much about all of this. It really isn't that complicated so relax and enjoy it a bit. ;)

In a 31" wide container you could do 2 plants comfortably, or 3 plants and be a bit crowded and have to water and feed alot more. 2-3 cucumber plants, or 2-3 squash plants or 2-3 zucchini plants. Earthbox claims you can do four of each but if you read through their forums most experienced gardeners there will tell you that is far too crowded unless you are growing dwarf varieties.

Try 4 if you want to since you can always pull one if needed.

Dave

Can you recommend some dwarf bush varieties of
pickling cucumbers and standard slicer cucumbers?

The variety of pickling cucumber I have is called pickle bush; would this be considered a dwarf variety?

Bush Pickle Hybrid and Little Leaf are both dwarf pickle types. Spacemaster 80 and Bush Crop are both dwarf slicers. Picklebush isn't a dwarf but it is classed as compact so it's vines are 2-3 feet long rather than 18" like the dwarfs.

Dave

Well I have some questions regarding soil temperature in a container. The temperatures during the day where I live are perfect for cool weather veggies; 50's to mid 60's.

Unfortunately, the nighttime temperatures are still dropping too low for even cool weather vegetables to be able to grow without problems (30's to mid 40's).

Now I know that like with row spacing, soil temperature in containers is different than if you're planting stuff in the ground. I am assuming that because the soil is in a container the soil temperature is raised as a result.
The question is, by how many degrees? This is without soil temperature aids of any kind (row covers, bottle cloches, cold frames, and/or covering the soil with black plastic mulch).

Would the temperature be raised enough to the point where I could grow cool weather vegetables in containers now where I live? I live in Northern Michigan, the upper part of the lower peninsula. The snow has melted for the most part.

The air temperatures day or night are not relevant to the soil temperatures. There is no way anyone but you can tell you what the soil temperature is in your containers. It depends on the size of the container, the shape of the container, the color of the container, the moisture level in the soil, the type of soil and how well it drains, the sun exposure it gets, how deep it is, etc.

So just like the rest of us, you have to measure your own soil temperatures in your own containers to know what it is and find out how much it fluctuates from day to day.

All kinds of past discussions here on how to do it that a search will pull up for you.

Dave

I can tell you that information. My containers are 30 and 32 gallon containers; I would consider them medium in size, since they're just storage containers, but I'm not sure.

They're rectangular in shape, and are

medium blue in color. Since the color is darker, I know they'll absorb more heat.

The dimensions for my containers are:

Length: 31-1/2"
Width- 19"
Height-17" (this is also the depth for my containers)

My earthboxes are rectangular in shape, and they are
basically the same color as a terra cotta potter.
Each can hold 2 cubic feet of potting material, and they're
medium in size.

one thing to note; I made a mistake with the color. They're silver/gray in color not blue. sorry.

Are you posting under 2 different accounts here now? I assume you know that the Guidelines prohibit multiple accounts? Of course they also recommend that you don't include your email in your posts.

Sorry but I wasn't asking for the dimensions of your containers. My point was that there is no way anyone can tell you what the soil temperature is in them. Not unless we come to your house and measure it ourselves. ;)

Measuring your soil temperature in your containers is something you have to do for yourself. Measuring and charting your soil temperature is a routine part of gardening. It is easy to do and you can find all sorts of info on how to do it on the internet.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: How to measure soil temperature

Dave,

The easiest way I found was to visit the local supermarket and pick up a cheap fo-od thermometer - it's about six inches tall, with a pointed end and measures from about 50-350 degrees. Stick it in the middle of a container and read the temp.

Mike

I think he needs more help than anyone here could give!
He was on a pea delusion earlier.

the old account I had, I forgot my password for it, and couldn't recover the password when I asked for it via this site (nor could I reset it).

As a result, I had to create a new account.

As per why I put my e-mail address, if I don't enter that as part of the information with making a follow-up post, it won't let me make my post to this thread.

Strange since we still see new posts under both names but that is admins problem. But if I don't enter that as part of the information with making a follow-up post, it won't let me make my post to this thread. just isn't correct. See email address on anyone else's posts? If it were true then we would all have to use our email addresses to post not just you, and admin sure wouldn't instruct us to not post the email address in public.

Anyone can post a follow-up to any post, even the original poster. You just can't do it within 10 mins. of the original because the system reads it as a duplicate and blocks it. To avoid that problem, all you have to do is make any link of minor change in the Subject line.

Dave