Why do we grow in buckets and limit the plants growth?

ryan,
your thoughts are right in line with so many before you...a good thing. There is a theory I believe is true called 'overpotting'. The basic idea is that filling an area with soil will essentially be one layer, no matter how big an area. Overpotting can lead to slower growth.
Growing in the ground is different because of the soil composition in layers. Your plants life in dirt, be it a 5 gallon bucket or a 4x6 bed, is finite and you need to find the correct amount of soil for the plant.
Factors to consider are veg time and room size. CAn you have massive plant in your space? CAn you afford the extra veg time the roots will need to fill the potting area? If you veg in the same space you flower, and don't have anyone but yourself waiting for chop day, then veg 3 months in 100 gallon g. cans and for a 3 pounder indoors. Or do some beds. Setup is easy. Put down a tarp, build box, fill with a few inches of stone and put some 1" pvc pipes cut to the top of box ( this will let water that seeps through to evap) then fill with soil mix and plant as many plant as you like. I'd do 6-10 depending on strain attributes.
They're are many other creative options to explore if you cannot afford the extra veg time in the flower room.
Good luck and be safe

So how many could I get in a 4x6 area? I was thinking of creating either six or eight plant flower beds, how large would that have to be?

Also someone was telling me to use two buckets for each plant, drill holes into the one it's growing in, that way the water doesn't sit in there, is that due to over watering or is this not a good idea(He called it Scag root or something..?)? This would make the flower bed part suck if I needed to drain anything, or flush how could you, do you make a drain at the bottom?

Ever consider smart pots? I had a 65g in my 4x4 tent and it worked wonders. They make them in all sizes so it's pretty easy to cover large areas. Essentially the same as a raised bed.



That's a 3' diameter but you can find them in much larger sizes.

What would be the difference in that in what I'm talking about or the bucket?

Smart pots are nice simply due to the low cost and ease. That 65gal was only $12 and I want to say the 200g are ~$20. Fabric pots are nice because they breathe well and if you over water a bit it'll just be wicked up through the bottom so as long as you never overfeed you don't need any elaborate drainage systems.

i grew 12' tall sativas in 5gal buckets..................how is that "limited?"

ryan, how many plants depends both on the plants and how long you can veg for. Under one light I would aim for 6-10. I have seen many good yields this way. 2+ per 1000 watt hps is no problem with healthy vigorous genetics. I would veg for two weeks in the bed before switch to flower. For water control the pvc 'chimney's' coupled with some heat and low room humidity should cause all water that drains through the bed to evaporate before it causes root rot etc. Beds should be about 2' feet deep maybe 20" would be ok. another option is large containers like tupperware storage sitting on top of 2x4's with gutters underneath and holes drilled to line up with the gutters. a drained water gets vacuumed out.
IMHO after all this you'll find a 5 gallon is fine for a 14 week life span in it, or longer as with scroglodyte's montser sativa's.