How Many Plants Per Container?

by Mike Lieberman · 39 comments

You are getting ready to start your seeds.

Or you might be making your wish list of plants to buy…

…but you’re not sure how many can fit into a container.

That’s exactly what some of you told me that you were going through.

You don’t want to have a tray filled with 30 nicely labeled kale seedlings and only three containers to put them in.

That would be a waste of your time and money.

To help you out, I created a simple to follow chart.

Know how many plants per container

From the survey you filled out a few weeks ago, I took the vegetables that you said you wanted to grow and noted approximately how many of that plant can fit into a 12″ container.

Download the chart (pdf).

Now you can know how many seeds to start or plants to buy in seconds.

I chose 12″ because that’s the same size as the 5-gallon containers used to make self-watering containers.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the highest yield, it’s just the approximate amount of plants per container.

Your Turn

Did this information change how many plants you planned on having? After you downloaded the chart, in the comments below let me know how many containers you will have in this year and what you will grow in them.

Photo courtesy of MissMessie on Flickr.


  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1582957229 Karen R. Davis

    awesome information, thanks!

  • RaeEvans

    I’m thinking about 1 grape (or maybe cherry) tomato, 1 roma tomato, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 orange bell pepper,  2 cukes, 1 zucchini, 1 yellow crookneck, 1 fingerling eggplant, 1 brussles sprout, 3 or 4 herbs (rosemary, basil, mint, thyme, sage…how many of these and what combinations to you recommend in a 12″ container?)

  • Dawn in NYC

    What about berries? I’ve got 2 raspberry plants and 2 blueberry plants. Can I do 2 in each bucket?

  • http://www.YourOrganicLife.com/ Danika

    This is so awesome, thanks Mike!

  • seattlelite

    Yes, I too would love to know more about berries. 

  • Insanad

    If someone taped  your hands to your hips would you go nuts and not be able to talk?  Thanks for the great tips. I’ve been guilty of overcrowding my plants many times because they start off so small and the empty space around them LOOKS like it needs to be filled but they do so much better and yield a healthier crop when they have plenty of root and top space. 

  • Susan Allen

    I have a container about 8 inches wide and 24 inches long that has 20 or so spinach plants (my favorite veggie) in it. These plants have been growing since last summer — in a greenhouse to overwinter. I’ve had fresh spinach every couple of weeks all winter from the same plants. I cut off the outer leaves making sure to leave at two inner leaves on each plant. In a couple weeks I harvest the same plants again in the same way. Definitely getting my money’s worth out of those few seeds!  I plan to get a couple more similar containers and plant them a week or so apart so I can have fresh spinach every week next winter.

  • Yankee_rose1955

    I had problems with my garden soil last year,(nematodes) and am planting less in the garden and more in pots this year. I’ve already overplanted the tomatoes, lol I have at least 12 different kinds-I went nuts on the Heirloom seeds-so many unusual tomatoes, so little time!

  • Susan Allen

    I also have chocolate mint, peppermint, tarragon, rosemary, parsley, oregano, and lemon balm that spent the winter in the greenhouse — this is the first winter that I’ve had one. It’s only 6×6, but it’s better than nothing. I will have three or four containers with tomatoes, a couple with cucumbers, one with cantaloupe, and will probably try one with broccoli — never thought of trying that before. I’ll also have a few with lettuce. Sometimes I wish I still lived in the Mojave Desert so I could grow veggies pretty much all year!

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Great assortment.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    I hear that.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Word. Will get on that.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Hahaha. Possibly. I’ve been overcrowding for a while too.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Word. My pleasure.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    The larger and vining vegetables are best one per container.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Glad you found it useful.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=658385714 Micron Cat

    Hey Mike, I downloaded your chart for my 2nd grade teachers, who are starting to garden for the first time – with children – and don’t have a clue.  :)  I’ve got the raised bed put together for them, and I showed them how to grid it off for square foot gardening – this list will be excellent for that purpose.  Thanks!

  • LindaJean

    I am trying potatoes, marigolds, carrots, Paris lettuce, tomatoes, mini bell peppers, tom thumb peas, strawberries, pineapple sage, globe basil, peppermint , sweet mint and lavender.  Thinning seedlings has been the hardest thing.  I have given away several tom thumb pea plants to interested children and parents in my apartment complex. It looks as if I will be doing the same thing with the tomatoes, and bell peppers. Right now I am in the hardening process for most of the plants.  The fun part is setting on the patio in the evenings.  Now that I have an idea of how many plants per container I know how many starter plants to give away.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Word. My pleasure.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    That’s awesome.

  • Dixied35

    I am going to show this chart to my son who built me two 2′ x 10′ raised gardens lat year, and then was disappointed when I planted very few veggie plants in each.  He thought there should be more after all his work!  Well, to appease him, I doubled the amount and wound up with too many veggies competing with each other-lol! This year, I’m going to go by the 12″ sq. method and he is agreeing – but not very enthusiastically.  This chart will be proof that we (you and I) are correct. Thanks! ((((hugs))))) ♥

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Break the news to him gently. No one likes being told they are wrong ;-)

  • why_me

    i’m no expert but garden on a roof terrace in central europe. i plant multiple plants per container – for instance : carrots with mange-tout  i.e.  some things that grow into the soil and others that grow into the air.

    i’m sure i could get better crops but i am lazy and what i get has been enough to see us through the summers

    the table was a great help – i will try to apply it but include my vertical concept

  • Dragonden1

    Thank you you have no idea how i have searched for this info :-)

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Yes. Can definitely plant multiple things together. I wanted to keep things as simple as possible to make it practical and actionable.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Same here. That’s why I created it — to benefit you.

  • Kitcia Amaya

    This is wonderful imformation… thank you so much.

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    glad you likes.

  • Redwallmom

    This is great info.  I wish I had known since I started about 40 tomato plants.  As a first time gardener I had no idea how many would grow.  I’m going to scrounge around and find more containers.  Also, I have a small plot in my tiny backyard and this has helped me to decide what to put in the ground and what in containers.  Thanks so much.

  • Patth9

    Thanks, this is most helpful.  I may have missed the answer to my next question, but how tall should a 12″ container be?

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Get on that. Keep me updated.

  • Shayna

    Would like to know how you came up with the chart?  How do you know 9 bok choy plants will work in a 12″ container?  Trial and error?

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Yes and through approximations based on how they grow in raised beds.

  • Emmaleejune325

    this is super helpful! thanks :)

  • Christina David

    Oh, lifesaver! This is just what I was looking for. I know I could fit a ton of carrots, radishes and mixed greens in each of those ginormous buckets but no clear cut info based on experience. Can’t wait to see the fall planting ideas

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Word. Make sure you sign up for updates because I’m going to be releasing an online fall gardening course soon!

  • Mrf9871

    Excited to have found your blog/s.
    I’ve just planned a ‘square-foot’ garden this year.  I’ve two 4×10 rows.  stringing off 2′x2′ sections in each.  I didn’t plan to leave much space between plants but, didn’t want to overcrowd to the point of reducing crop/s.
    Your info is excellent.  Kudos
    Thx 
    Mary

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

    Word. Glad to connect!

  • Jen McNew

    Hello, we just moved to St Maarten in the Caribbean and are starting a container garden on our porch. SO we are basically summer ALL year. We get sunlight in various places all day. One side AM and one side PM. There is one area that gets light all day.

    We have (due to budget) just the black plastic containers for now. One giant (i think its 24-36″ not sure)pot with cucumber and squash which are both doing FANTASTICALLY.

    Other than that we’ve had some problems.

    Radishes that didnt yield very well.

    Mustard Greens that just look like junk.

    And we’ve started some cherry tomatoes and snap peas which are all off to a great start but i am not sure how many plants i should keep to a pot. They are in 12″ and 16″ pots.

    Any suggestions would be AWESOME!