Question about pots size in relationship with season duration and transplant strategy

[luvmesump3pp3rz]

i always buy seedlings from the big box stores because i don`t have indoor space to start from seed. they come in 3 inch to 4.5 inch pots. i believe bonnieplants seeds directly into these pots, sometimes there will be more than one plant per pot and they don`t cull. after the threat of frost is gone i plant directly into 5 gallon buckets and get good production every year. i have also planted into the ground and i see no difference in growth. in watering yes, i see a difference. in the ground they don`t dry out as fast as containers. i see no benefit to keep transplanting to slightly larger containers. the less you disturb the plant, the better. 

 

[rick_bender]

It's not. The soil in the container is very different from the soil in the ground. There are many other factors that make it different. Soil compaction can change a lot of things. But I've honestly never seen any "ground" that looks remotely anything like what I have in my containers. Just being honest

So what do you think is best between the two ?

An interesting thing I discovered from the weed guys, in the "no till" style, they try to recreate a whole ecosystem of life in large pots (like 30 gals) with beneficial insects, cover crops, microbes etc. They just top water and the system carries itself, kinda. (just saying to fuel the topic, I'm not interested by this style but your remark made me think about this)