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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> Years ago, I build a oval shaped, tiered strawberry bed out of
> dry-stacked rocks. 

Not necessarily recommending this design, just including it for variety's 
sake:

A tiered strawberry bed has no more planting surface than the same dimensions 
perfectly flat.  True, the plants can hang over a bit giving a bit more 
foliage area, but the actual planting area doesn't change.  The advantage, as 
 see 
it, besides the affective, is that it is easier to each the plants in an 
elevated center than the center of a flat bed.

I've done the tiered beds and the one single disadvantage was water.  The top 
tier could get bone dry in a hurry.  My design solution was to keep all the 
plants only slightly raised (or rather the paths slightly depressed) and make 
sure there was a good place to squat within easy reach of all the plants.   

The current strawberry bed is 16'x6 1/2'  and in the center of the bed are 
three great flat stones (about 28" square) level with the growing medium.  
The 
berry grower need only reach 18" into the bed from the side and then step 3' 
onto one of the stones and every other plant is within 18".

This winter I've expaned the patch by laying a 2' stone path all around it 
and then putting in a 2' strawberry bed all around that.  On the very outside 
perimeter of the whole thing (now about 24'  x 14') I'm puttin in a wire 
fence 
augmented at the bottom with poultry wire.  Over the top go light frames 
strung 
with black fishing line through which birds just will not go and yet the 
frames are easily set aside when one want's to attend the patch.

In good years that's way too many strawberries. but this is offset somewhat 
by the fact that the whole thing is planted in only day neutral plants which 
only set on a few berries at a time but produce continually until frost bits 
back the blossoms.  This year that was the second week in November.