December 20, 2013
Dear Gardening Friends,
I
can’t believe this is our final Newsletter for 2013! What an
incredibly full year it has been! The Nursery saw a lot of growth again
this year, and we are so grateful to you, our dear customers, for your
support and friendship!! It means everything to us.
Many
of you know that I spent a fair amount time this year tending to my
beloved Mama who had two hospitalizations, each followed by Skilled
Nursing stays. I want to acknowledge and send big love to my dear hubby
for stepping up each time so I could take care of her. I also want to
thank our superb staff: Sydney, Nitzia, Don Ernesto and Elliot (even
though he recently moved on to full time work) for having my back! I’m
also grateful to you all for your prayers, kind words of support, and
for being so flexible regarding appointment times!! I’m happy to report
she is now back home, healthy as a horse, and in the company of new
live-in Caregivers! She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever known – and my
complete Hero.
Holiday Food Drive Delayed...(until the Spring Kick-Off!)
Getting my Mom settled meant we weren’t able to hold our Annual Holiday Sale & Food Drive for the Los Angeles Food Bank…this
was disappointing because in the last 15 years or so, this was only the
second time we haven’t. But if the Spirit moves you, please contact
them through the link below and make a monetary donation to support
their critically important work, now its 40th year!!
For every $1 donated they distribute enough food
for 4 meals!
We just donated $100, and it makes me happy to know that that translates into 400 meals for our fellow Angelenos.
So, please dig deep as the need is great, and many thanks!
The Heirloom Tomato Survey
…and PRIZES!!
Big
shout-outs to all who participated in our first ever Tomato Survey!!
The responses were really fun and informative. Deciding the Tomato
Line-Up is the hardest thing we do all year, and your feedback is so
helpful. Based on your comments, we’ve so far added more than a dozen
new varieties for next season and made decisions about a few who were
“on the fence”..
A very interesting Survey finding was
that, like for us, Green Doctors did not perform well for some of you,
but for many others, it got totally rave reviews. I  mentioned
this fact to Mike, one of our Westlake customers, and he said Green
Doctors was a huge hit for him and was, in fact, still producing….the
following weekend he brought us a late-season basket of the little green
beauties, and we devoured them! Oh my gosh, they were so good!!! So,
because of the mixed reviews, and the resultant tasting opportunity,
Green Doctors will return in 2014! Thanks, Mike, for the “11th hour save!!” I can’t wait to give it another try in our own 2014 garden and hope that you will too!!
Don’t forget, everyone
who participated in the Survey will receive a coupon for One Free Tomato
this Spring, and all will be entered into a random drawing for the
chance to win a Free EarthBox and Soil to plant it in!!
Stay Tuned!
We’re shooting for February 1st to announce the complete Tomato & Spring Veggie line-ups, so stay tuned!
…and Save the Date!!
Our Annual Spring
Kick-Off Sale & Food Drive
will be held on
MARCH 15TH & 16TH, 2014
More details in the next Newsletter, but mark your calendars now! This is the Big One, and we hope you plan to join us!!
Meanwhile, back in the Garden…
Meanwhile, dear friends, with more than 3 months to go before we even step a toe into the waters of Spring, please don’t miss out on another round of Cauliflower (how about a color you haven’t grown yet?), Peas (we have 6 varieties to experiment with!), Broccoli (4 varieties here), Cabbage (have you grown the “Cone Head” one yet??)…and if you’re like us, there’s almost never enough Kale or Chard! And Lettuces?? …in their glory this time of year! We’ll continue to sow and sell all our “Fall Veggie” varieties for the duration, so what are you waiting for?
  
Broccoli (From Left to Right): DiCiccio, Broccoli Raab, Purple Peacock, Belstar
Click Here for Broccoli
  
Cold-Weather Peas and Beans: (From Left to Right): Sugar Snap Peas, Fava Beans, Alderman Tall Telephone Shelling Peas
Click Here for Peas & Beans
  
Kales (From Left to Right): Redbor, Rainbow, Lacinato (Dinosaur Kale)
Click Here for Kale
And if you didn’t plant Garlic or Shallots and wish you had, don’t fret! We still have Organic California Early White, Music, and Spanish Roja Garlic and French Red Shallots available--Now 70% off!!
  
It’s Asparagus Time again!!
 January
means the very fleeting return of Asparagus Crowns, and as in years
past, we are taking orders now for “Farmers Friend”. If you've got a
dedicated space to plant these in, you'll be rewarded for up to 20 years
with an annual Spring harvest!
Please Note: these cannot be grown in either EarthBoxes or Smart Pots...they need their own bed. Please refer to our “Helpful Guide” for more growing info BEFORE you order.
We sell them in bundles of 6 crowns for $12 and bundles of 12 crowns for
$22. ALL orders must be pre-paid. We expect shipment around the middle
of January, and you must be able to pick them up and plant them right
away - we bring them to the Markets in a cooler. Asparagus Crowns are
only available this one time per year, so don't miss out!!
DEADLINE TO ORDER & PREPAY:
MONDAY, JANUARY 13th!
Annual Charity Giving Wrap-Up!
In 2013, we expanded the reach of our
charitable seedling & product donations to include these wonderful
groups (and their fine, fearless leaders!!!):
 The Frances Blend Academy for Visually Impaired Children – Myrna Gintel
SLOLA (the Seed Library of Los Angeles) – David King
The Learning Garden at Venice High School – David King
The West Adams Community Garden – Julie Burleigh
Downtown Women’s Center – Hilary Rose
Grow Good & the Bell Shelter Gardens – Brad Pregerson
(Click here to see our Facebook Photo Album from the Bell Shelter)
A New Beginning Women’s Center – Laurie Schechter & Myrna Gintel
Root Down L.A./WE CAN Garden Party – Camille Cimino
Wildwood School Garden Event – Andrea Pett
Santee School Garden – Chef Lisbeth Caiaffa
We were also proud to participate for the 3rd consecutive year in the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society Annual Garden Party, giving 20% of our sales to the Society!
And although we missed our Holiday Food Drive, we had a very successful
Food Drive during our Spring Kick-Off last March which included several
hundred pounds of food and $400 from us in donations!
Two Dog also donated to Habitat for Humanity
for their work in the Philippines after the recent, tragic Hurricane.
One of our awesome customers and her husband hosted a Garage Sale with
all proceeds going to Hurricane Relief, and Habitat for Humanity was one
of their chosen recipients. Nice work, Christine Almarines!
We also donated in support of our long-time customer, Carla Ford’s efforts in the 2013 AIDS Walk.
So many amazing folks doing so much great work!!
Good on ya’all, and thanks for letting us be part of it!!
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