Your right in assuming that normal PVC will not bend enough, I have tried to bend 1/2" into a hoop to cover a 4' wide bed and it won't work. 1/2" CPVC will bend if you want. What I plan to do, for a 4' x 10' bed, is put a PVC beam down the center and let the netting hang like a tent.
For two plants, why not a post with a cap?

Mike

Thanks for the reply Mike,

"For two plants, why not a post with a cap?" You lost me there. Can you explain?

My bed is only a 4' X 6' bed with the 2 strawberry plants in a corner. I was thinking that the hoops with netting around would be the best solution.

Sorry about that..
For only two plants why not just bend some chicken wire into a cage and set it over the plants. This would be easy to remove when you need to weed or pick strawberries. Are you looking to cover the entire bed or just the strawberries?

Mike

Just the plants..........that sounds like a good idea. I'll test it out. I just want some spacing between the netting/wire and the plants as an added buffer.

I use the light permeable cloth its easy and keeps the birds out since they cant see the strawberries

I like Mel's wire cubes, myself--1/1, press in a few inches, and have plenty of coverage. You could make a slightly larger one to cover several squares and still be only 12-18 inches high. Not hard to handle or store, and with a small grid wire or a mesh cover, it will suit you exactly.

Here is a link that might be useful: Simple How-To for Mel's Cube

Thanks for all of the responses. I ended up using 2 five ft sections of 1/2 inch cpvc and forming archs with them by inserting each end into 3/4 inch pvc "sleeves" that I cut at 45 degree angles and put into the ground. I then covered with some plastic netting using 20 gague wiring I found in the hardware dept at the home supply store.

thanks

My father built a cage out of PVC to go over his strawberry beds -- it wasn't a hoop type structure -but more of a square cage. He made it about 8-10 inches high and it was the full size of the bed--which was huge-- probably 10 foot by 12 foot- he strung the bird netting over it to keep the birds out and anchored the netting down in strategic places with some rocks/boards etc. It worked quite well to keep them away from it -kept squirrels out too. He just flipped it over when it was time to weed or pick and flopped it back in place when he was done--then took it apart for winter storage in the garage.