TDN Newsletter: 9-12-14

September 24, 2014 Dear Gardening Friends, Happy Fall!!  The nights (if not the days, yet!) are getting cooler and the days shorter.  I always say this is a short season, but if we start now, we can easily do a couple rounds of all our Fall favorites before it’s Tomato Time again.  We’re planting out some of our first Kales, Broccoli, Cauliflowers and Collards in the garden today. We’re still harvesting Summer, too; the second set of Tomatoes are producing, and we’re still getting some Cucumbers and Beans.  We harvested a big Smart Pot of Yukon Gold Potatoes last week and today the last of the Sugar Baby Watermelons.  The garden looks like heck, but I know in a month, everything will be new again!   Glass Gem “Grandbabies”!   The Glass Gem Popcorn we grew this Summer from seeds saved from our initial planting last year turned out great! I didn’t know what to expect since we did all that hand-pollinating, but the ears were amazingly colorful.  It was supremely gratifying to see the second generation results! I hope those of you who grew it from our seedlings this year had fun.

Garlic and Shallots...   We just received our Garlic and French Red Shallots, and oh boy, are they big and wonderful this year!  I’ve already chosen ours, and with the help of my Mama and her Caregiver, we got them all bagged up and ready to come to the Markets this weekend!!  Remember, they are always one-time ordering for me, so don’t miss out!! Important Dates & Updates! So speaking of the Markets… here are some important dates: We WILL be in both our Markets THIS weekend,  September 27 & 28th. Then we’re leaving for Argentina for Alex’s Mom’s 80th Birthday… he’ll be gone 2 weeks, but I’m only going for 1 week… I haven’t been in over 8 years, and I love my “Suegra”!! So we will NOT be in either Market for two weeks straight, October 4th, 5th, 11th & 12th. ______ CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO GO TO THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE   However, we’ve decided to expand our Annual Fall Kick-Off Sale to the whole weekend of October 11th and 12th, here at our home-based Nursery. Come either day, bring your gardening friends, and enjoy a 10% discount on absolutely everything. We’ll be open from 10am until 3pm.   Then we’re back on our regular Market Schedule starting October 18th & 19th. P.S. Head’s Up, La Canada Customers: starting October 4th, the Farmers Market is moving across the street to Memorial Park for a couple months. We don’t know yet where our tents will be situated, but we have asked to have a curb-side location like we currently have, so we can easily load up your soils, trees, EarthBoxes, etc!!   Speaking of Trees... Finally, the Little Cado (true dwarf Avocado) RETURNS!!  We’ll have them this weekend!  YAY, we’ve missed them!!!   Fully Updated Fall Page...   With the awful heatwave we just had, we took a “soft launch” approach to Fall seedlings, so not 100% of everything is available just yet, but most is, and nearly everything will be ready by the Sale!! Have a look at our updated Fall Veggies page on the website to see everything we’re offering… CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR UPDATED FALL VEGETABLE PAGE That should do it for now, friends. We do hope to see you soon at the Market or at our Sale.  Wishing us all Happy Fall Harvests, and as always, many thanks! Jo Anne, Alex, Lalo, Jake and (fostering, still) Charlie!!

Copyright © 2014 Two Dog Organic Nursery, All rights reserved.

TDN Newsletter: 8-15-2014

Fall Scheudle and Remembering a Friend View this email in your browser

Dear Gardening Friends, We’ve arrived at the Dog Days of Summer, and we’re coming to that “in-between” place in the Garden where it’s-getting-late-but-is-still-too-early… Just this week, we’ve begun to sow the very first Fall babies. And I’ve ordered all the Garlic & Shallots and Onion & Leek Seedlings. We’ve got a dozen or so exciting New items this year including Golden Snow Peas from India, Purple Pak Choi and Red Turnips from Japan! The Fall Veggies page on the website will be updated soon to include all the new varieties.

Fall Veggie Market Debut!! September 20th and 21st Annual Fall Kick-Off Sale! October 12th 10am until 3pm at our Home Nursery In Memoriam...   With great sadness, I want to acknowledge the passing of a very dear, 40-year-friend, Jeff Calcara…who in a certain way, most of you “knew” too. Jeff was the architect of our Two Dog Nursery website, which has now received close to 30,000 visits. Not a week goes by when someone doesn’t compliment the site for its informative and colorful content, but also for it’s ease of navigation. I spent countless hours working side by side with Jeff striving to achieve just that…simple, inspiring, user-friendly content. He also taught me how to create the variety signage we use at the Markets.   Earlier, we also developed the site for our other business, La Paloma Design, Inc. (lapalomadesign.com) We had not worked on the La Paloma site for several years because of the rapid growth of the Nursery, but his work was always excellent. But before any of us even had computers, Jeff and I became friends in the mid-70s when I was living in Encinitas and attending UCSD. We were both part of a music group, which I eventually managed, once “real” singers came on board. We were a very close-knit group, including Jeff’s beloved wife of almost 40 years, Virginia. Together they had a beautiful life and 2 truly outstanding children, and most recently, their very first Grandson.   Jeff continued with music, got his Masters from San Diego State, studied Classical Guitar with the world-renown Romero Brothers, did countless hours of volunteer service, was an absolute technical wiz and devotee of all-things-Apple! Earlier this month he lost his year-long battle with Oral Cancer (which took my Dad in 2008), and his Memorial Service is this Sunday, the 17th, in Encinitas. I will be going to the Service, and Alex (excellent hubby that he is) will cover the Westlake Village Market by himself. We both will be in La Canada tomorrow, though. During the last year, Jeff recorded these two guitar pieces, the second being an original composition (he composed more than 60 Classical works.) If you’re so inclined, have a listen, and perhaps send him a smile next time you peruse the Two Dog website. Over The Rainbow performed by Jeff Calcara Prelude in C, Composed and Performed by Jeff Calcara That’s it for now. We hope to see you soon, and as always, Happy Harvests! Jo Anne, Alex, Jake & Lalo   Copyright © 2014 Two Dog Organic Nursery, All rights reserved.

TDN Newsletter: 10-2-13

Glass Gem Corn Adventure Video & Our 2013 Annual Fall Kick-Off Sale Reminder

Dear Gardening Friends, Just a quick reminder to join us for our Annual Fall Kick-Off Sale this Sunday, October 6th. We'll be open from 10am until 4pm, and everything (plants, trees, products, soils) will be 10% off.   Plus, our good friends at Great Big Plants have once again supplied us with Trial Size bottles of their wonderful Liquid Compost Concentrate, so the first 24 customers will receive one free as a Gift with Purchase!  Thanks Great Big Plants!! The Two Dog Home Nursery: 914 S. Cloverdale Ave. Los Angeles, CA  90036 Major Cross-Streets:  Olympic Blvd. & La Brea Ave. 323-422-3835 No Pets, please. Street parking available. Car pool with your gardening pals!!              For More Information please click here to visit our Facebook Event GLASS GEM CORN ADVENTURE VIDEO And at very long last, we'd like to share the video of our Glass Gem Corn Adventure!!  This was the most incredible learning experience of our whole gardening history!  We so hope you enjoy this video and plan to make a space for the Glass Gem in your Spring 2014 garden!!  You will love it!!    Glass Gem Corn Adventure             SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL!!   The Bell Homeless Shelter Garden       And finally, we want to share some lovely words and photos from our friend, Brad Pregerson (also a cousin of our ace Nursery Assistant, Elliot), who does incredible work at the Bell Homeless Shelter: Dear Jo Anne and Alejandro, Attached are some pictures from our latest crop from the Bell Homeless  Shelter garden.  All the veggies came from plants purchased from Two Dog.  The tomato plants, as you can see from the pictures, have been prolific.  My team and I have delivered pounds of tomatoes and cucumbers to the Shelter's kitchen each week.   As I have mentioned to you before, the Bell Shelter is the largest homeless shelter west of the Mississippi serving veterans and homeless men and women.  The Shelter's kitchen serves approximately 6,000 meals per week.  Their budget for fresh produce is a mere $300 per week, so the kitchen staff is forced to purchase the lowest grade fruits and vegetables.  Thus, the food served at the Shelter is marginal.  My non-profit, GrowGood, seeks to transform the one-acre vacant lot across from the Shelter into a garden that can provide fruits and veggies to the Shelter's kitchen as well as therapeutic and job training opportunities for the Shelter's more than 350 residents.    We are grateful for all your support and for supplying us with healthy wonderful plants, so we can continue our mission to serve the residents and staff of Bell Shelter.   Sincerely, Brad Pregerson              You're welcome, Brad!! "Good on ya" for the work you do, and we look forward to helping you with continued bountiful harvests! And if any of our Two Dog friends are inspired to help out, please contact Brad through his non-profit, Grow-Good.org.  Many thanks!

That's it for now! We hope to see you this coming Sunday!  Jo Anne, Alex, Jake & Lalo

TDN Newsletter: 10-20-13

September 20, 2013  Annual Fall Kick-Off Sale Announcement! plus some other Fun News!!

Dear Gardening Friends, So here we are in the Dog Days of Summer...Our garden is slowing down and looking fairly ratty, and we've begun the seasonal transformation... We've had a very abundant season, though, and we hope you have, too! From the many wonderful comments and photos you've sent, we surmise that you did.   Here are some photos of our Summer Harvests!         2013 Winter Tomatoes are a hit!! Our "Winter Tomato" line has been received with great enthusiasm, and we plan to have them available until the end of October. We're growing all 5 "new" varieties, and 3 old faves, in our own Fall Garden, each in their own EarthBox. We had great success this year growing them one to an EarthBox; we'll always grow them this way now, with the exception of Cherry Tomatoes, which we'll still double up... The "Winter Tomato Open House" we held last month to kick-off this new venture was surprisingly well attended (especially for a 90 degree Wednesday)!! We're grateful to all of you who came out, and especially those who traveled the distance from our Farmers Markets locations, and even from Seal Beach! Thank you, thank you! Your support means everything. Click the image above to see the line-up! SAVE THE DATE!!! Our Annual Fall Kick-Off Sale   at the Two Dog Home Nursery   Sunday, October 6th  10am until 4pm EVERYTHING - all Organic Seedlings, Fruit Trees, Berry Bushes, EarthBoxes, Smart Pots, Soils & Fertilizers 10% OFF!!  Jake & Lalo will be here hosting you,   and we'll have Cookies & Lemonade, too! See more particulars here on our Facebook Event      Don't miss it!! And bring a friend :-)   OUR BABIES VENTURE OUT!!!       Alex & I are proud to announce that the "Grow Native Nursery", located on the campus of the V.A. in Westwood, has come to us to provide their first-ever edible seedlings! In case you are not familiar with Grow Native, they are the "offspring" of the venerable Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. They employ Veterans in their on-site vegetable gardens, thus prompting their customers to ask, "Where are your edible seedlings?"... Until now, like their parent organization, they have only sold Native plants, but beginning with their Fall Event on October 5th, they will be carrying our own Two Dog Certified Organic babies!   In their own words, "Grow Native Nursery works with the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System to maximize veteran's opportunities in the sustainable horticulture industry. We are a not-for-profit nursery helping to support the conservation work of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden."  You can see their website here: http://rsabg.org/grow-native-nursery We so appreciate their Mission, and we're looking forward to a really great relationship!!   Trees and plants always look like the people they live with, somehow. ~Zora Neale Hurston Up Next: Potatoes & Garlic  Our Certified Organic Fall Potatoes have just arrived, and we'll have them at the Markets this weekend!! New for us this year is the gorgeous "Purple Majesty" Loaded with anti-oxidant Anthocyanins, these are deep purple through and through!        And, we just received our Certified Organic Garlic & French Red Shallots! And great news: "Music" Garlic is back!! This extremely popular variety was unavailable last year due to an industry-wide crop failure...so happy to see it return!   Also, we were finally able to get "Spanish Roja",   a very gourmet variety, after a 2 year wait! They are so easy to grow in Smart Pots, and you can get all the details here:  HELPFUL GUIDES: GROWING ORGANIC GARLIC   Brassicas, Brassicas,   ...and some NEW Brassicas!! We've just begun bringing the early Brassicas to the Markets, and with each    weekend, more will come. Popular Demand has never been greater, and we're so happy to see everyone gardening year-round! A new variety we just discovered, which is sure to be a hit, is called "Rainbow  Lacinato"...it's a cross between the much-loved Lacinato and Redbor Kales. We just received the Certified Organic seeds, and are sowing a ton of it!  Stay tuned! CLICK HERE TO BROWSE OUR   KALE SELECTION We've also switched to a shorter "Days to Harvest" variety of Brussels Sprouts  called "Franklin" ... they'll be ready nearly 3 weeks earlier than our previous selection.       And our Pac Choi this year is a smaller variety called "Win Win"...the name says it all! CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR ENTIRE FALL/WINTER LINE-UP Customer's Corner... We love getting your photos and hearing about your garden adventures!! Our customer, Susan from Westlake, wrote us recently: "HI...just wanted to say I was so impressed with the corn we planted...I loved seeing the cycle and how much water it takes to grow corn or everything else for that matter. Gives me a new appreciation for those farmers out there. Corn was so sweet...I loved it. Time for a new project!" (This was Susan's first year growing in the EarthBox; she grew Tomatoes & Corn!) Customer's Harvests...   (Above) Our Client Lydia's Harvest  from a large project in Malibu (Above) Customer Jaimelynn's beautiful daughter harvesting Sun Gold tomatoes (Above) Our Customer Beth has two strong helpers who are very proud of their new blueberry bushes!  Please send us your photos and videos! You could be featured in our next newsletter! twodognursery@gmail.com

Well, that's it for now... Do mark your calendars for Oct. 6th, and check out our   "Winter Tomatoes" & "Fall Veggie" Website Pages to get your shopping list ready! We hope to see you here! CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR FALL "VEGGIES" AND "WINTER TOMATOES" PAGES Thanks, as always, and Happy Harvests! Jo Anne, Alex, Jake & Lalo