I plant strawberries for 1 season only (and this is not uncommon here in Germany). Get good runners from the best bearers (usually the lousy bearers have the best runners and vice versa, but as they are clones of the mother plant you'd get lousy bearers). Early August they are cut and planted on a sunny patch watered well. And in late Aug. to mid Sept they are planted in their new patch. And next spring good harvest of large fruits, in our area the 1st year harvest is the best: healthiest plants, biggest berries, highest yield. Rinse and repeat. Planting space 1 foot or slightly more between rows and 1 foot or slightly less in the row. Try to get a good cultivar, I live with quite loamy/clay soil here >>TeniraAnd strawberries are hungry and thirsty, on lighter soils a good manure digging in and good water supply will increase yields. I harvest +-1/2 pound per plant in a decent year (a nasty late frost counts as bad year). In 2nd and 3rd year yields are still decent.

While they may look like mere Rubbermaid containers....there is a lot of "Science" that went into my design of them. Go to this link below. I am in the San Jose / Los Gatos area. Raybo Here is a link that might be useful: EarthTainer III Website

I really didn't use a recipe for the soup. I melted 1/2c. butter in a sauce pan, added 3 small shallots and one garlic glove finely minced. Then course chopped about a pound or so of mushrooms and added those. Covered and let simmer for about 10 minutes or so. I added about 1/4 c. of heavy cream and about 1/2 c. chicken broth, then pureed with my stick blender. Then dissolved 1/3 c. flour in about 1 1/2c. mild and added to soup to thicken. Then I added in just a few more pieces of chopped mushrooms for "chewiness", not very many, probably not even 1/4 c. Sliced crossways a cap of a mushroom for garnish and a few fresh chives. And here's the "Puff" recipe I used. I found that I needed to bake it another minute or two. Probably just my oven, but try one and make sure they're done all the way through. Ours were just a tiny bit doughy in the center. Golden Chanterelle Puffs Makes about 35 puffs Chanterelle puffs are a light and elegant party food. Serve them with a white wine such as traminer, riesling, or sauvignon blanc.  1 cup chicken broth  1/2 pound chanterelles, minced  1/2 cup (1 stick ) butter  1/2 teaspoon salt  1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour  3 eggs Heat the chicken broth in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the chanterelles, butter, and salt and allow to come to a boil. Stir in the flour, mixing constantly until the mixture is smooth and almost leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat. Beat one egg at a time into the mixture. Drop tablespoons of the dough onto a buttered cookie sheet, spacing the spoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Bake in a preheated 450º oven for 15 minutes or until firm and golden. Cool the puffs on a rack. --Louise Freedman Deanna

countryladies14, It is my first year growing a garden and I was wondering if I could please send you a sase and get a couple types of seeds I would be very grateful and would trade you some thing in return once the plants start producing.