Container's Sizes and Spacing Between Plants

One of the  first thing, while starting container gardening started bothering me is what should be the size of the containers for each vegetable. What I found from different resources and self experience is .. Three things matter.  One is volume of the media and second is depth of the container.  Some plants do have deep roots and don't do well in shallow pots even if the volume is good. So when I will write about the container I will write about the required volume and depth . Yet again, The volume required  is really a relative thing. I used much smaller volume than required for some plants, they grew less, but fruits early. Positive stress, they are called. In other words, what I mean to say , if you find a container that is little smaller or, bigger  than the prescribed volume, you can safely go for that.

Another important and the third aspect one should not ignore is spacing of the plants. Overcrowding affects the health of the plants, more diseases, less growth and less crops. Don't be greedy, as I was! Maintain the recommended spacing . Below is a chart , which I gathered from the net plus own experience.

Vegetable	Suggested Minimum Pot Size	Spacing between plants
Beans, green	9-15 liters; 8-12 inches deep	2-3 inches (provide supports)
Beans, lima	9-15 liters; 8-12 inches deep	2-3 inches (provide supports)
Beets	1.5 to 9 liters; 8-12 inches deep	2-3 inches
Broccoli	12-15 liters	1 plant per container
Brussels Sprout	12-15 liters	1 plant per container
Cabbage	12-15 liters; 8-12 inches deep	12-18 inches between heads
Carrots	1 liters to 3 liters; 8-12 inches deep	2-3 inches
Chard, Swiss	1.5  liters; 8-12 inches deep	4-6 inches
Collards	12 inches deep	4-6 inches
Corn	21 inches wide, 12-14 inches deep	2-3 plants per container, 6 inches apart
Cucumbers	12-15 liters; 3-9 litres (dwarf)	14-18 inches (provide supports)
Eggplant	9-15 liters	1 plant per container
Horseradish	15 liters; 24-30 inches deep	1 plant per container
Kale	9-15 liters; 8 inches wide X 8 inches deep	4-6 inches
Leaf Lettuce	1 -9 liters; 4-6 inches deep	4-6 inches
Mustard Greens	9-15 liters; 8 inches wide X 8 inches deep	4-6 inches
Onions, green	1litre  to 9 liters	2-3 inches
Onions, yellow/sweet	15 liters	3-5 per container
Peas	12-15 liters; 12 inches deep	3-4 inches (provide supports)
Peppers	9-15 liters	1 plant per container
Potatoes	3-60 liters	space plants 6" apart
Pumpkins	12 inches deep, 4 foot wide	1 plant per container
Radishes	3-15 liters; 4-6 inches deep	2-3 inches
Spinach	9-15 liters; 8 inches wide X 8 inches deep	4-6 inches
Squash, summer	6-12 liters; 24 inches deep	1-3 plants per container
Squash, winter	9-15 liters; 24 inches deep	1 plant per container
Tomatoes, full-sized	12-15 liters	1 plant per container (support)
Tomatoes, cherry	5-15 liters	1 plant per container (support)
Turnips	1 to 9 liters; 10-12 inches deep	3-4 inches