Nice detail on this. I've tried growing all kinds of garden food (in beds, raised beds, pots on the ground, pots on the deck, etc) at various points over the years. Bigger pots always do better (especially for very hungry plants like squash/zucchini). Over here in Florida though...there are a lot of hungry animals that like to steal my produce, so I've had to wrap everything with wire netting.

Still, nothing better than taking fruit off your own vines!