tomatoe, peppers and herbs/spice also do very well in contianers. for yrs I grew 6 toms on my front steps one on each stair with a cage as I had no yard and was renting. now my toms in the garden get away from me every year ;), I ALWAYS promis my self to do better with my pruning THIS YEAR. you can check out container gardening forum for more tips. also intensive or sq foot gardening makes the most of the space you have. really packs the plants in. most of all enjoy, use trial and error. we all learn as we go. (a bit of humor in your outlook helps)

I have some large planters from annual displays over the years. But I think I need deeper planters. Years ago, I
gardened with great success, but it has been too many years. I've never done container veggies, nor any small space gardening.

Where does one get the earth boxes that I hear about?
And do they work well?
Pondy

Perhaps the best place for EarthBoxes is the Earthbox website.

Most other places don't sell just the bare bones kit, but instead insist you purchase the expensive kit which includes fertilizer and potting mix.

If you order more than 1, call them to order instead of doing it online. Their online cart charges around $8 for shipping a box and that price doesn't drop when you buy more than 1, it's the same shipping for each even though they just stack them all in the same box. If you call and order they can reduce the charge.

If you're going to plant heirloom tomatoes, container gardening is probably not your best option. Are your tomatoes determinate or indeterminate? The indeterminate (which most heirlooms are) plants will need room to sprawl and vine and grow. Here is what I would do with your space.

I would first put a trellis of some kind up the back of the garden- in front of the rock wall. (I'm assuming the 9 feet is along your wall.) Then, I would plant my tomato plants 1 foot apart along that trellis. So with 9 feet of space, I'd plant 9 tomato plants along the trellis. With proper care and pruning, those 9 tomato plants will yield you a ton of tomatoes. Then you can use the four feet in front of the tomatoes for other vegetables and plants.

Of course, I've continuously had terrible luck with container gardening. The tomatoes I tried in containers all fell to blossom end rot and were horrible. I've since switched to square foot gardening, which, I have to say,sounds absolutely perfect for the size of space that you have there.

Justa, I am going to order at least one earth box. Just to see if it works well for me. Hey 10, did you ever try the boxes on your steps?

Mrswaz, I will do as you suggest. I even have a large trellis which I can attach on the garage. This should be an interesting planting season.

Many thanks for all the advice. Pondy.

Why not just grow in 5 gallon buckets ? much cheaper. as long as you don't mind watering daily in hot weather.you need drain holes in or near bottom and light airy soil.I am growing both determinate and inderterminate this way .for more info check out container growing , If you are set on grow boxes check out tutorials on making your own as they are expensive as you are paying for the name