"Strawberry Bed Protection......"

As you may remember, I constructed 2- 4'x4'x2' high raised beds and transplanted strawberry plants from a low raised bed.  I lost so many strawberries to chipmunks this past Spring, I wanted to try and prevent it from happening again next Spring.  Little did I know how many of the strawberry plants that I had found when cleaning out the beds last year and consolidating all of them into one bed, that many, if not all, were ever-bearing strawberry plants.  I also bought and planted June bearing strawberry plants, so now they are a mixed batch in each bed.

I decided to build bed "toppers" using hardware cloth attached to 2"x2" wooden frames.  I began constructing them late last week and finished them up this morning.

Here is the first one with the frame almost finished.  It only lacked the top center support.

The hardware cloth being stapled to the top of the frame.  Let me say, "stapling" is NOT one of my favorite things to do and my right hand proves it with my first blister in years!

Number one is completed and number 2 begun.......

The first one with the top up and out of the way in the "harvesting" position.  ;)

Both completed and in "protection mode".

The weight of the top will hold it easily in place while picking strawberries.

Now, I can only hope that the chipmunks do not burrow up from underneath the raised bed frame.  These were completed just in time, too, because the ever-bearing strawberries are now blossoming and setting fruit.  :)  They are a little behind the other ever-bearing strawberry plants still in the low raised bed, due to their being transplanted......... or, at least, I "assume" that is the reason.  ;)