Here in the wine country, our container of choice is half wine barrels (are they whiskey barrels in other regions?). Per pot, I'd say you could plant two tomatoes, peppers you could go about 5(?), 3 cucumbers, and you could make a teepee of pole beans. I think they recommend about 4 beans per stake, so that would be 12 bean plants? Or if you were planning bush beans, I'd say they're about the same as peppers. Maybe 5 a pot.

You'd need about 3 cu yards of soil to fill a half barrel. I use a mix of potting soil and steer manure in mine.

For a bit of whimsy, I stained mine:

{{gwi:25024}}

There are lots of options out there, though. I'm sure others will have ideas as well. Good luck! I'd love to hear how it turns out for you!

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

I think loribee had a typo and meant 3 cubic foot not 3 cubic yards. ;)

Curt

Oh dear! Yes, I did! Thanks for catching that!

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

I love the wine barrel idea. Yes we call them whiskey barrels here in Michigan. Atleast my family does. The only problem Im seeing now... is the cost of them. I'm thinking that it will be a little out of my price range. It might be cheaper to convince my husband to build me four large square planters of the same size. We will see. Thanks for the idea and keep them coming!
P.S. I love your blog!!! I asked my husband to find me the landscape software you used. How neat!!!

If you have a recycling center or collection point near you, you can often find 45-55 gallon plastic barrels that can be cut in half and have holes drilled in the bottom of them for drainage.

I have several that were apple juice barrels (make sure it was a non-toxic liquid in them) cut in half and painted that make very nice planters.

Farm and feed stores also sell large plastic tubs with rope handles that make good containers, and any of the Rubbermaid storage totes can be converted to containers too.

As a general rule when it comes to container gardening, especially if you want more than one or 2 plants in it, then the bigger the better.

It costs a bit to buy all the soil-less potting mix to fill them so be sure to factor that into your budget too.

And be sure to check out the Container Gardening forum here for even more helpful tips.

Dave

Ditto everything everyone above said. Plus, bush beans can be grown in 3 or 4 gallon plastic buckets. Just drill drainage holes on the bottom. I grew three bush bean plants in each bucket and staggered my planting by two weeks to give me a successive harvest. Worked well.

There is an entire container forum on this site. The soil type is a consideration and lots of ideas there.

Dan