Garden carts are amazing work horses on small farms.  The standard design, made of plywood and conduit with 26” wheels, are incredibly durable and versatile.  For years there are a few modifications I’ve been wanting to make for special situations.  

    Above are my first two modified carts.  The parts are cheap, less than $100 if you use salvage wheels and steel, but the cutting and welding take a while so they cost a bit more than the standard garden cart if you add in the labor.  These are custom built to straddle beds on a farm and provide enough clearance to be pulled over low crops like lettuce, carrots, greens, etc.  The handle is set at a height that allows the user to lift easily and the bed is nearly flat when it is pulled so bins don’t tip over backwards when it’s being pulled.

    The one on the right was originally designed to hitch to a potato lifter.  Towing it behind the lifter with empty bins that can be filled by hand as the tractor drives.  This saves a lot of energy for the people harvesting on a farm that’s big enough to own a lifter, but not quite big enough to want to run a full sized potato harvester.