have any of you done this before? and how is the productivity compared to in ground.

organicislandfarmer,
I love your corn in EarthBox - no shower cap and 3 rows! I tend to do my own thing with EB also. 3 rows of corn (and other things) with the fertilizer mixed into the potting mix and not in one strip.

DL

The earthbox instructions said two rows of 8 so thats what I did. I also put the fer down the middle as instructed. I didnt want to poke 8 holes in the shower cap and I add additional manure as they grow anyway. They will be regulated to lettuces in the fall as I am switching to the larger earthtainers I have seen pics of. I agree that more dirt = better production ceteris paribus! However I only want plants that are @4' tall and add diluted fert to my water buckets all season long so I feel extra dirt around the roots doesnt help me much. I will see what my roots look like this fall when I switch out to my new seedling. If they are root bound then I know going to the larger containers is a good idea.

However, before I added raised bed for the veggies (took a few years to clean up all the Ivy someone planted), I planted tomato in 15 gallon pots . They grew ok. Then the raised beds finally came along. All tomato are getting at least ten times more and better harvest and much better flavor in the bed. But if you have to do tomato in small pots, try some variety that's bred for the patio (I think they're called... patio tomato?).

Other things like herbs and peppers actually handled 5 gals all right (some did better in pots). I've never grown Okra. But I assume like eggplants, the dwarf and smaller variety usually does better in smaller pots than the regular kinds.

Dan

i picked pretty large varieties because i wasent expecting having them in pots.
tomatoes: cherokee purple,fuzzy peach,gregories altai,berkley tye dye,azoychka and black krim.
eggplants: black beauty
habeneros:chocolate,paper lantern,orange
okra:emrald

Tomatoes were never good in containers compared to ground. Taste and yield were always lower. Tried both 5 gallon and 20 gallon self watering containers.

Eggplants absolutely love containers much better than in the ground. 3 plants to a 5 gallon bucket is fine. Never plant eggplants in ground anymore.

Peppers are OK in containers. It is easier to control the soil/mix wetness in containers to make sure they don't get too wet, which peppers don't like. (Eggplants love it wet & hot).

Squash in a container was a total dud for me. Green beans were great. Did it in containers for years, but switched to garden bed after I added new beds.

Basil & herbs only go in containers.

Try looking at the Container chat board here at gardenweb. They have lots of good info.