I'd suggest a 16" pot at the bare minimum for a single vine, but bigger would be better. I've had reasonably good results growing butternuts and other large vining squash two to a pot in 20" pots, but I'm thinking about moving up to 24" pots this year.

To help you going forward, here's a rough guide to container widths and their corresponding trade size:

12" pot = 5 gallon

14" pot = 7 gallon

16" pot = 10 gallon

18" pot = 15 gallon

20" pot = 20 gallon

24" pot = 25 gallon

30" pot = 30 gallon

I say "trade size" rather than volume because trade size doesn't equate 1:1 with the actual volume of the pot. For example, 5 gallon pots typically have an actual volume of a little less than 4 gallons. Confusing eh?

Awesome info, Thank you!

Glad I could help!

Hi Ernie,

Today I bought a container from Lowes for growing veggies and herbs in it. Here is the link to the container I bought.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_48620-1606-2345D_1z0wg9r__?productId=3341626&pl=1

Lowes site that this container can hold 2 gallon water in its self-watering system. But it does not list its size in gallons.

Can you tell me what will be the gallon size of this container and can I grow melons in it?

Thank you,

Mindy

In order to determine the precise volume of your container, you'll need to measure the inside dimensions, calculate the volume in cubic inches, and then convert to gallons. One cubic foot (1728 cubic inches) is equal to about 7.5 gallons. Given the outside dimensions, my guess is that it will hold at least 15 gallons of potting mix (probably a little more), which should be sufficient for a couple of melon vines (it's similar in size to a standard EarthBox, and I've seen photos of very healthy melons grown in the those).