Waist high is pretty high and planting boxes go unless the lady is under 5' tall. :)

You can't grown much greens in window boxes. Maybe a few leaf lettuce plants.

Hi Arjo,
I have great success with a simple, yet cunning design :)
Its larger than you need but easily scaled down. Its capable of growing into a jungle with dwarf tomato`s, so herbs and salads wouldn`t be any problem.

Lets see if i can get a few pictures to appear..it`ll be a first if they do :)

Heres the empty bed,
{{gwi:295932}}

and here`s the tomato jungle,
{{gwi:295933}}

That's pretty much precisely what I'm looking for, do you have any side-angle shots so I can see how you put it all together?

Hi Arjo
Here`s a few pics which should make it easy to see whats what. Bera in mind this isn`t a normal raised bed..its a bit special :)

The top is a simple rectangular frame attached to 4 legs (2ft sections of 3x3 fence post)
{{gwi:295934}}

The black material in the photo is weedbarrier (1m-1.2m wide) and you form a "loop" so it hangs down inside the timber frame.

{{gwi:295936}}

Below the weedbarrier loop is a waterproof tarp loop that acts as a gutter to collect and direct runoff to a container located at the end of the bed.. it doesn`t waste water :)

The compost (200L in this one) goes in the weedbarrier "hammock" and is impossible to overwater..it simply drains through and drips into the tarp gutter below. You can tell how wet or dry the compost is by squeezing the bottom of the weedbarrier loop. I guess a 4ft x 2ft bed wouldn`t need more than 80-100L of compost to fill it.

{{gwi:295937}}

The best thing about the design (apart from saving water) is that the roots have access to oxygen from above, below and the sides and is probably the reason things grow so well.

Hope this helps a little

I almost forgot to mention there are also two timber crossbraces which prevent the weight of the compost from pulling the side rails inwards, you can see them in the last pic amongst the foliage.
The pics were taken last year.. the wettest year on record :)

well, you have inspired me too hex. Square Foot Garden site has a few ideas too. Click Mel's Column and then click Deck Garden. http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
thank-you for your detail!
~tom

more info, but hex's design is superior : HG-601

Here is a link that might be useful: umd.edu

Here`s a last pic detailing the crossbraces plus an irrigation pipe which was quite a useful addition..unlike the hoops. Its ready to go for this years tomato plants (Tumbling Toms)
{{gwi:295938}}

Its a good design for concrete patio`s (or maybe just a temporary bed) as the water doesn`t run all over the place..be careful your collection bucket doesn`t overflow though :)