TDN Newsletter: 3-7-2014

View this email in your browser March 7th, 2014 Dear Gardening Friends,   The Tomatoes are coming, the Tomatoes are coming!!    …and the Peppers, Eggplants, Cucumbers, and Summer Squash, too!!!         This weekend we will debut all these Spring/Summer favorites at both Farmers Markets!  Please check out 2014 “Heirloom Tomato” page: http://twodognursery.com/tomatos.html and our newly updated 2014 “Spring Veggies” page: http://twodognursery.com/veggies-spring.html to see all the exciting new varieties.         Don't Forget!!!   Annual Spring Kick-Off Sale and Food Drive on March 15th and 16th (we will not be in the Markets that weekend)   And don’t forget…next weekend is our Annual Spring Kick-Off Sale & Food Drive (benefiting the L.A. Food Bank). We hope you are putting aside some quality packaged or canned food for the donation (which gets you in for your 10% discount!), and making your “Wish List” for the Sale.  If you participated in our Tomato Survey, don’t forget your coupon either!   In addition to the above mentioned veggies, we’ll also have LOTS of Basil (several varieties), French Tarragon, a new Spring Spinach variety, and Green Beans galore!  Additionally, we’ll have many kinds of Kale, Chard, Beets & Carrots, plus our fabulous Blueberries & Fruit Trees. We’re also very well stocked on EarthBoxes & Stands, Smart Pots, Soils, Compost and all amendments!   The Tomatoes are alphabetized on the driveway, starting with Abe Lincoln up by the garage, and ending with Zebra Rita by the gate. We’ll have plenty of boxes on hand.                Street parking is available… and please, no pets. Jake & Lalo rule this joint!!   Sale prices will be given at the Sale only. Regular pricing will apply to all Pre-Orders. Pre-Orders should be picked up before or during the Sale weekend.   CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVENT! That’s it for now… we look forward to seeing you very soon! Happy harvests, Jo Anne, Alex, Jake & Lalo   Copyright © 2014 Two Dog Organic Nursery, All rights reserved. Hi! Just a reminder that you're receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in Two Dog Organic Nursery. Don't forget to add twodognursery@gmail.com to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox! Our mailing address is: Two Dog Organic Nursery 914 S Cloverdale Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

TDN Newsletter: 2-1-14

February 1st, 2014 Dear Gardening Friends,  With great excitement for a fabulous season, we proudly announce that our...   2014 Heirloom Tomato line-up is LIVE on our website! Click to see it now! Of the 52 total varieties, 23 of them are new to us!  Many have been waiting for a spot to open up, and some are brand new to the tomato scene in general, like Blue Beauty and Blue Berries Cherry, 2 gorgeous Open-Pollinated offerings from the breeder who gave us the incredibly popular  Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye! We have some new big Reds, 2 new Greens, a new Black, a new Orange, a new big White, several new varieties in the Yellow category including “Yellow Submarine”, which promises to finally be a flavorful Yellow Pear, plus 2 new Cherries, making for a total of an even dozen. Pre-Orders are officially open NOW!   Tomato plants should be ready for purchase by the weekend of March 8th .          And please plan to join us for our   Annual Spring Kick-Off Sale and Food Drive on March 15th and 16th (we will not be in the Markets that weekend).  At the Sale, everything will be 10% off…that’s plants, soils and products (with your mandatory food donation)…but Please note that the   Sale prices will be given at the Sale only. Regular pricing will apply to all Pre-Orders. Pre-Orders should be picked up before or during the Sale weekend. We do hope that you will still contribute to the Food Drive even if you didn’t receive the Sale pricing. Organizing and staging tons of pre-orders last year was a lot of work, and it helped us have a less crazed Sale weekend last year, to be sure, but it also hurt our Food Drive.  The need is great, Angelenos, so let’s all pitch in to make the Drive a really successful one!! As always, at the end of the weekend, Alex & I will donate 5% of the total profits to the Food Bank in a monetary donation. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVENT! We’ve updated the 10-page “Helpful Growing Tips” which covers everything  you need to know about growing tomatoes!  Topics include:  Location, Planting, Fertilizing, Watering, Staking, Pruning, Common Problems, etc. Please read it over if you’ve got questions about growing your tomatoes…you should be able to find your answers there!    CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR HELPFUL GUIDES And, the Tomato Survey Winner is… The winner of our drawing for one free EarthBox and Black Gold Potting Soil is:   Michelle Kelso!!! Yay, Michelle!  (aka “Quin’s Mom”!!)  We’ll see you at the Sale!   We thank everybody who participated in our recent Tomato Survey!  You received your coupons for One free Tomato Plant in our last Newsletter. Please bring them with you either to the Sale or to the Market to collect your plant! Next up: the 2014 Spring Veggies page!  Lots of exciting new veggie varieties joining us this year, too!  Stay tuned to the website for it to launch! That’s it for now.  As always, thank you for your business, and Happy Harvests!!   Jo Anne, Alex, Jake & Lalo   Copyright © 2014 Two Dog Organic Nursery, All rights reserved. Hi! Just a reminder that you're receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in Two Dog Organic Nursery. Don't forget to add twodognursery@gmail.com to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox! Our mailing address is: Two Dog Organic Nursery 914 S Cloverdale Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

TDN Newsletter: 8-23-13

"Fall/Winter Heirloom Tomato"  Open House Reminder!!             Please plan to join us on   Wednesday, August 28, 2013 10am to 3pm    for our 1st Annual "Fall/WinterTomato" Open House!  Enjoy cookies & lemonade, meet the "Two Dogs" (Jake & Lalo), take advantage of some Special Offers (see below)  and help us launch our 1st ever Fall/Winter Tomato line-up!  CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE FALL/WINTER TOMATO VARIETIES!    914 S. Cloverdale Ave.  Los Angeles  90036  323-422-3835  (Click here for directions)    ...No room in your garden yet for new Tomatoes,  you say?? So, why not take advantage of these 3 Special Offers: 10% OFF EarthBoxes and   15% OFF Great Big Tomatoes!  You will LOVE the results!! AND a nifty "Gift with Purchase"!!  The first 24 customers who make a purchase at the Open House will receive a FREE 4oz. bottle of Great Big Plants...enough for a full gallon of this excellent Certified Organic Liquid Compost!    We use it to water-in every seed we sow!!   Thanks to our good friends at Great Big Plants for their support and generosity!! See more about these 2 great products here! It's going to be a fun day...bring a friend.  Street Parking's available. Hope to see you soon!  Jo Anne, Alex, Jake & Lalo

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TDN Newsletter: 6-7-13

First Ever "Fall-Winter" Tomato Line-Up!  June 7, 2013

Dear Gardening Friends, We hope this finds you happy and in "full harvest mode" in your gardens!  While thinking about this Newsletter, it occurred to me that so far, this has been a year of trying big new things here at the Nursery.  And here's possibly the biggest one:   ANNOUNCING OUR FIRST EVER   "FALL-WINTER" TOMATO LINE-UP!! We get so many requests for them, and we know that many of the varieties which we already grow will do well in the cooler climate, so we decided to jump in! Click here to see the full line-up: Click the image above to see the line-up!  Pre-Sale Winter Tomatoes     As of today, they are available for Pre-Sale on our website with pick-ups beginning at our upcoming Winter Tomato Open House on Wednesday, August 26th, here at the Home Nursery. Click here for details. They'll also be available on our regular Wednesdays and Fridays at the Nursery, plus at our Farmers Markets on the weekends. We'll have some of the gorgeous Purple/Blacks, some exciting new Reds, a stunning Orange (you know how we love our Orange tomatoes!!), and a beautiful new Bi-Color, 16 in all. We do hope you'll try them with us, and then report your results!! We all learn best when we share our growing experiences!   (Above from L to R: Anna Russian, Valencia, and Vorlon)    We've been enjoying a great Summer season and have expanded to 36 EarthBoxes and 26 Smart Pots. This has been possible, of course, because we now have more help here at the Nursery; our assistant, Elliot, has been a tremendous help in getting my ever-expanding wish list planted and logged!  Most recently, he planted two more EarthBoxes of Beans (Dragon Tongue and Royal Burgundy) and another EB of Summer Squash...yes, there's still time!   Tomato Harvest  Our experiment of planting just one large-fruited tomato variety in an EarthBox has been a huge success...we are trying out Japanese Black Trifele, Kellogg's Breakfast and Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye this way, and WOW, the production has been fantastic!  We've harvested close to 40 tomatoes from Japanese Black Trifele already!  Planting 2 smaller-fruited varieties per EarthBox works just fine; our Sun Golds and Gardener's Delights have been incredibly abundant...we will definitely continue this method with our Winter varieties!   "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." ~Mohandas K. Gandhi  We also planted many of our new veggie varieties this season: Dragon Tongue, Blue Coco and Black Turtle Beans, Little Fingers Eggplant (oh my gosh, they are prolific!!!), Candy Roaster, Bush Buttercup and Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Winter Squash, Small Sugar Pumpkin (we have 4 just now turning orange!) and Crimson Sweet Watermelon (we have two sizing up nicely right now!)   Photos from Left to Right: Watermelon, Butternut Squash, Little Fingers Eggplant  Seeing so much EarthBox production, I got to wondering whether they would all like a fertilizer boost... I mean, some of the plants are enormous, and it IS a small amount of soil... so we are experimenting now by reaching up under the mulch covers and adding Black Gold Tomato & Veggie Fertilizer, and then watering it all in real well with Great Big Tomatoes Liquid Compost.  We'll be watching to see if we get a noticeable boost in production and will let you know in the next Newsletter. Corn Update!   Of course, another big experiment has been the Hand-Pollination of not only our Glass Gem Popcorn, but our Bon Jour as well!! Wow, what an education!  We're working with Sydney on a fun and informative video about the procedures involved.  Stay tuned!!             Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!! Another experiment we're about to undertake: I got to thinking, while looking at this beautiful crop of Yukon Gold Potato plants, that it would be so nice if Smart Pot made a taller bag.... I mean, in the ground, you'd keep hilling the potato vines for as long as you could (more vines underground means more potatoes)...so, I called 'em up!  They are really great folks, and they immediately asked what dimensions I had in mind, and I told them 24" diameter x 24" high.  That's basically their 30-gallon pot, but with 9 more inches of height. I told them I'd count the harvest from this standard 30-gallon, and compare it to the yield from their custom sized sample and report it all in our Newsletter. They liked the idea and made it up lickity split, and it arrived today! Next week we'll plant out a round of Yukons in it, and we'll let you (and Smart Pot) know the results as soon as we have them. Thanks, Smart Pot!! Jumping into some Food Preservation!     Click Here to go to the Facebook Photo Gallery!  Alex eats a lot of jam, and I love to grow a ton of beans...it's as simple as that! And we grow way too many tomatoes to be able to eat or give away. We've been saying for several Summers now that we're going to start canning and freezing. Well, about a month ago, Sydney and I took a Canning Class at the Urban Homestead in Pasadena; it was a really info-packed evening, and we came away with jars of 3 different types of canned food: Apricot Jam, Canned Peaches and Dilly Beans...each requiring a different process to make. I didn't want to lose the enthusiasm, so that very weekend, Alex and I began our canning career making Blackberry and Strawberry Jams. The next weekend, we canned Peaches and made Peach Jam. And the next weekend, we made more Canned Peaches, more Strawberry Jam, and a few jars of Strawberry Preserves!! Click Here to go to the Facebook Photo Gallery! Meanwhile, I've now frozen three 2-lb. bags of fresh Green Beans (all varieties) and one 3-lb. bag of Heirloom Tomatoes.  What fun!  And it's so pretty to look at! Click Here to go to the Facebook Photo Gallery!    Click Here to go to the Facebook Photo Gallery!

Next up on our to-do list:  Pickled Peppers, Pickled Beets, and preserving our Garlic harvest!  I recently harvested our Garlic Crop for this year...came out pretty well. It's "curing" in the garage now, and I've decided to try a method of preserving I found on the Internet on a lovely blog called Barefoot in the Kitchen.  (This link also includes a little video on that amazing 10-second garlic peeling method you might have heard about on NPR.) Basically, you peel and wash & dry the cloves, pack them into sterile canning jars, cover with boiling white vinegar, seal and water bathe for 10 minutes.They say the garlic's natural oils don't allow the vinegar flavor to penetrate, and that garlic will keep for up to a year.          I'm very excited about the prospect of having ready garlic on hand all year!  We'll post photos of it next Newsletter!   Now for the Not-So-Nice: As always, at this time of the year, we get lots of glorious reviews (and photos) about our customers own gardens. AND we also get the same questions and concerns over and over. We've covered these points pretty extensively in our Tomato Tips on the website, but here's some quick comments:   Blossom End Rot -Very common. Result of insufficient calcium in the soil. Even happens in the EarthBox from time to time. Some varieties are more susceptible. Can be corrected by adding more Dolomite Lime, but don't delay!     Tomato Hornworms - This crazy looking creature has a voracious appetite  and can defoliate a huge tomato plant practically overnight. In our region of the country, we are actually plagued with the Tobacco Hornworm. They can eat up your peppers, too. Keep a keen eye out for the worm's poop, and then check the foliage just above... Check frequently, and hand pick!!   Known by lots of different names, this Cabbage Moth is a little devil on  wings! It flits around the garden, pretending to be a pretty butterfly, lights momentarily, lays eggs, and wham!! Your basil, lettuce and other delicates are chewed to bits!! We've lost a fair amount of inventory to these guys. Try to swat them out of the garden (Alex keeps a racquet nearby), look for the poop and hand pick these little inchworms. Customer's Brag Book: Even though our Market friend, Robin, didn't "grow" his little friend, we must start the Brag Book this month with Winston!!  I swooned, he is so cute!! He's a little Pot Bellied Pig, and he got to come to the Market with his Dad a few weeks ago. The peaches we canned were grown by Robin and his family!           (Above) Winston the Pig!! ~Click on the photos for larger image~     (Above) Todd's new horseshoe bed ~Click on the photos for larger image~             (Above) Westlake customers, Jim and Tami's amazing harvest  ~Click on the photos for larger image~  (Above) La Canada Customer, Mark's abundant tomato harvest ~Click on the photos for larger image~   (Above)  Westlake Customer, Leslie's tomatoes and pumpkin ~Click on the photos for larger image~   Our "Welcome Summer" Open House was a lovely affair!  Jake & Lalo had their usual good time soaking up the love.  We do hope you will join us for the Winter Tomato Open House next month!!        That's it for now, stay tuned for updates, and as always, happy harvests!! Jo Anne, Alex, Jake and Lalo