Introduction to Sylvan Gardens
Our goal is to provide you with information to help you grow all or some of your vegetables. We'll have very frequent updates in which we'll talk about increasing your yield, pest and disease prevention, preserving your harvest, recipes, what to grow, indoor gardening, hydroponics, composting, nutritional values of various vegetables, herb gardens and everything else we can think of (or that you suggest) that relates to gardening. We will also add information on finding and collecting edible plants in the wild.
We'll even update existing articles with the latest information so don't forget to check back on older articles from time to time as well.
We started growing as much of our own vegetables as we could because we wanted to have a healthier diet, to avoid commercial pesticides and chemicals, to reduce our carbon footprint, to save money, and because it's just plain fun! Whatever it is that motivates you to garden, you'll find something helpful at Sylvangardens.com. We'll share what works for us, what didn't work, our favorite tools, seed varieties, methods, and much more. The menu to the left of the page will guide you to all of our articles and scroll down this page for our most recent updates.
Updates from Sylvan Gardens
September 20th
We've just added a new page about biochar. Biochar is a great organic way to increase your garden's yield. Researchers have reported yileds 3 to 8 times greater simply by adding biochar to the soil. Biochar is natural, organic, and free! Triple your garden's yield for free? OK, I'm in. we'll be adding some homemade biochar to our soil in some of our garden beds here at Sylvan Gardens and we'll keep you posted on the results of our experiment. Meanwhile, the new page on biochar has tons of information including four embedded videos that tell you everything you need to know about biochar. It's actually an ancient technique used for centuries by the great civilizations of South America. It is only now being investigated and measured. Researchers were astounded to see how effective it is. You will be too.
September 12th -Update
The Blueberries are done. Those left on the bushes are withering and suitable only for the birds. Next year make your plans to pick more During July and early August! Meanwhile here are some tips on Cold-Hardy Plants for Northern Climates. The plants listed here are mostly flowers with some trees and shrubs mixed in.
August 23rd -End of Season Update
There are some blueberries left, but the season is winding down. There is not much time left to get up to Little Blue Job Mountain and pick your blueberries. Bring some moquito repellant for the hike. Once at the top of the mountain, the wind does a pretty good job of keeping them at bay (and if it's sunny you'll have no problem), but the hike through the woods is getting a bit buggy.
July 7th - Update -Blueberry Season!
We have picked over four pounds of blueberries since July 1st! Blueberries are in high season. There are probably enough berries on top of Little Blue Job Mountain for 15-20 people to spend 10-12 hours a day picking for the whole season. Remember, this used to be a commercial blueberry farm, so there are plenty for all and more coming ripe every day.
July 1st - Blueberries are Ready at Little Blue Job Mountain!
We also saw an adult black bear July 1st about a mile away from the blueberry fields, so get your blueberries before the bear does. Actually, don't worry there are more than enough for all. We picked nearly a pound of blueberries without getting five feet into the fields. The blueberries and admission to Blue Job Mountain State Park are always free. Little Blue Job Mountain is located in Strafford, NH. In case you didn't see it, we've added a strawberry page and will soon be adding a blueberry page as well. We've also added a links page, if you'd like us to link to your gardening site, drop me an email at brad@sylvangardens.com.
Email us with your comments or topics that you'd like to see covered here! |