Well, I will be interested in what others come up with but if you want to be able to both container gardening and protect the crops, the only thing that comes to mind right off the top is going with a mix of, large moveable pots on small roller tables that can be brought inside in a pinch, for the smaller crops, large cold frames that can be closed up in weather, I would really think about going to something that you can raise and lower the sides as required for starting and growing based on sunlight and plant growth and I took a course a couple years ago at a seedy saturday, and one of the things offered was for folks with limited strength or space to do this idea but it would transfer to meet most of your needs as long as you build to get them though a doorway and into the house as needed, plus it allows you to rotate your plants for even sun growth and while requiring a good amount of water as you are very heavily planting the soil, it can produce very well if done correctly.

this site has some heavy duty ones but they are excellent example of all of the above rolled into one.

http://greenovisionmovablegardens.blogspot.ca/

This might help. This is a self-watering container made from a 45 gal plastic barrel. Materials are a barrel, some landscape cloth, some seed starting mat (for the wicks), a couple of 1 1/4 PVC pipes, some styrofoam filler or gravel, 1 styrofoam strip (float) 2 ft rope (for handles). I use one for an herb garden that comes inside for the winter with parsley, a bay leaf bush, oregano, sage, rosemary. Oregano doesn't like the moisture so much but everything else thrives. This is easily large enough for a tomato plant and a few other things too. Fits through a doorway and not so heavy that you can't drag it up a few stairs once you dump some water out of the overflow hole.
That album should be public. Let me know if you can't view it.
http://s828.beta.photobucket.com/user/Indyyeti/library/garden

Not so pretty but I found some plastic pots that look like half barrels. Cut a plastic 45 gal barrel top to fit inside and the same procedure applies.

Totally ripping this plan off http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f14/raised-beds-greenhouse-roofs-15071/

I have a few large pots filled with various things on my back deck: one has herbs like rosemary (that's 3 years old), parsley (4 years old), thyme, and other herbs that I stick in for the summer like basil. I have an old 'crazy carpet' snow slide that I put these huge pots on and drag to the door. Inside I drag them over my wood floors on a big bath towel over to the window for the winter (crazy carpet works better on carpet). I've also grown cherry tomatoes in a container. I have a few of those decorative 'butterflies', etc. on a long metal stick in my pots and if it's going to hail/storm, I just cover the plants and these decorative features hold up the sheet. Under really bad weather conditions, I drag the delicate pots under my eves right beside the house.
LoneHowler, you can build up poor soil with raised beds filled with good compost, aged manure, topsoil mixed together. You can buy all of these in bags from retailers to get home in the back of your car.