I have arthritis. (Who doesn't, huh?) Mine is worst in my hips and knees. I thought I was going to have to give up gardening but last year my brilliant husband, who loves popping veggies from the vine into his mouth when he comes in from work, came up with a wonderful idea for me.

I use a livestock feed bunker as an intensive bed.  I paid a little less than $150 for it at a farmer's supply store. I rarely have to bend over but mostly I sit in a lawn chair next to it to work on plants in it. This year I'm getting myself another one so I can grow twice as much!

It's a little tricky because I plant things really close together. He drilled one inch holes in the bottom every 18" for drainage. Then we lined the bottom with river rock purchased from WalMart. On top of that I filled it with a mixture of potting soil, composted horse manure, and good old Oklahoma dirt. Then I hand fertilized each plant monthly with Miracle Gro liquid.

End of season...

This season I added some fireplace charred wood to soak up any contaminants. In January I planted seed peas in it and coivered it with a plastic tarp to keep them warm 'til they germinated. Up to last week I covered them at night to keep them from freezing. Peas thrive in cold weather.