TDN Newsletter:June 15th, 2012

June 15th, 2012 Happy Father's Day & Summer Solstice Sale   .

Dear Gardening Friends,     Summer is almost here (so hard to believe) and it's time to celebrate Dad this Sunday. We want to wish all the Dads a very Happy Father's Day, with an especial shout-out to all of you who garden with your kids!! There are many of you among our customers, and we say "Good on 'ya!!" Spending time with your kids in the pursuit of homegrown food (and all the fun, planning, teaching, and discovering that goes with it) is a gift of inestimable value - one which they will treasure all their lives. This beautiful photo was sent to us recently by Jared, one of our La Canada customers, and we think it sums it up perfectly! Here he is with his daughter in their garden...happy times!!         And with Summer comes the Solstice... ...and our 1st Annual Summer Solstice Sale & Open House... (I know, I know, it's in the middle of the week, but I can't control the calendar!) If you're available, please come on over for some lemonade, cookies, and a 10% discount on EVERYTHING! We've got lots of veggie & herb seedlings, 50 new Blueberry bushes, and all that you'll need to get your Summer garden groove on.   Of course, all the great products we sell will be 10% off , also: EarthBoxes, Smart Pots, Soil, Worm Castings, Fertilizers, Composts, Books, etc. So, take a long lunch, come with a friend, call in "happy", and join us for a fun day!  Street parking available until 6pm; please bring a flat or box for your goodies. Click the Flyer Below for more Information         Finally, at long last, the Sweet Potato plants will be at the Markets this weekend. As I mentioned before, the entire order was mixed up from the beginning, and what was to be a small order (enough for 4 flats of 4" pots) turned out to be at least double of what we ordered, so we've reduced the price to $4.50 (from $6). We're going to be planting at least 4 of them in our own front yard...can't wait for the Sweet Potato experience!! They need a bit of space, but if you can manage it, do give 'em a try!! And I hope to have a Sweet Potato Growing Guide on our website by the weekend.  ~Click HERE to go to our GROWING GUIDES~   TOMATO REPORT:  We've just begun harvesting ourfirst tomatoes.      Our very early report is that Lancaster County Big Pink (above) is totally living up to its name! And Sunset's Red Horizon (above) is an absolute keeper!! The Roof Top Trial Garden is going really well with LOTS of fruit set on. Stupice came first, and is really tasty and abundant, and the Super Snow Whites are nice and sweet!           Announcing: iPhone Garden Reports!!! We're having fun capturing our customer's enthusiastic garden reports on the ever-present iPhone. We're now uploading these videos to Facebook and YouTube and we will share a few in each newsletter. Two Dog Organic Nursery: Garden Reports from La Canada Farmers Market Two Dog Organic Nursery: Garden Reports -- Karen & Bob of Westlake Village

I know, I'm always asking for feed back, but seriously... please... I'm not kidding... it is so very helpful to hear which varieties you'd want to return next time, and which ones not so much! This goes for everything we grow, actually. Please don't think your opinion won't matter...it really does! Thanks! And along with your comments, we LOVE to get your photos!! They might just wind up here! Please E-mail your comments and photos to twodognursery@gmail.com Oh, and if you're planning on having Halloween Pumpkins...don't delay!!!   They need 100-120 days to mature! And don't forget about carving the name of someone special into the young pumpkin...remember our little neighbor (who sadly moved away) Dashiell? His pumpkin was a joy for all of us!!    CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OF OUR VARIETIES        That's it for now... as always, many thanks, and we'll see you soon!! Jo Anne, Alejandro, Joaquin (who's going back to Buenos Aires on July 4th!!!), Jake & Lalo P.S. For those of you who like more frequent updates & photos, check (and "Like", please) our Facebook page... I post there every day.

TDN Newsletter: May 25th, 2012

May 25th, 2012  Summer Solstice Sale & Berry Update  .

Dear Gardening Friends,    The Berry Planets Have Aligned!! For the first time ever we will have the "Big Four of the Berry World" all at the same time! This weekend, we'll be bringing to the Markets Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, and the Certified Organic Mignonette Strawberries! They all look great and are ready to produce in abundance!     We will be at our Farmers Markets both Saturday and Sunday this Memorial Day weekend, so we hope you include a trip to the Market in your long-weekend plans!  And speaking of Holidays...   SAVE THE DATE:   Wednesday, June 20th   To celebrate the upcoming Summer Solstice, we're planning a Home Nursery Open House & Sale on Wednesday, June 20th from 10am until 6pm. No Food Drive this time, just a Sale with everything 10% off.      What better way to spend some time on the longest day of the year? We'll have lots of new baby tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, corn, okra, pumpkins, winter & summer squash, green beans galore, melons, berries, and by then our Sweet Potato Plants will be ready to go!! It's the perfect time to get out your "second round" of the Summer wonders! And don't forget, if you want Pumpkins for Halloween, late-June is pretty much the deadline for planting out seedlings!      (Photos: Left to Right) BIG MAX PUMPKIN, ISIS CANDY TOMATO, ALI BABA WATERMELON Of course, all the great products we sell will be 10% off , also: EarthBoxes, Smart Pots, Soil, Worm Castings, Fertilizers, Composts,Books, etc. So, take a long lunch, come with a friend, call in "happy", and join us for a fun day!   Street parking available until 6pm; please bring a flat or box for your goodies.       Our location:     914 S. Cloverdale Ave.   Los Angeles, CA 90036 Questions? Call Jo Anne at 323-422-3835 FINAL CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT!! It makes me wistful to make this announcement, (but I must as the business is just growing so fast)...we've decided to discontinue the EarthBox Planting Classes,   with the final Class to be held on: Monday, June 11th at Noon  So if you have a Dad, a Grad, or a Wedding Party you'd like to bring, let us know ASAP as our space is limited. However, we will be happy to schedule Special Private Classes for parties of 4 or more, so call us with your ideas.    But for now, the regularly scheduled Classes come to a close after 2½ years. We're grateful to all of you who have participated (beginning with our Big Bang friends at our first Class given in January 2010!) We've enjoyed each and every one, and we thank you for your sweet notes and comments, too!     CLICK HERE TO SEE PLANTING CLASS INFO       FRUIT TREES    Fruit Trees have been selling like crazy lately...Fuji Apples, Santa Rosa Plums, Gold Kist Apricots, Snow Queen Nectarines, Figs, Little Cados, Meyer Lemons... one of our new Westlake Village customers sent this photo of his lovely daughters having fun planting a Santa Rosa Plum...their faces say it all!! Good on 'ya, Dad & Mom, for bringing this experience into your children's lives! CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR AMAZING COLLECTION OF FRUIT TREES!!

SWEET POTATO UPDATE:   We've finally received our Certified Organic Sweet Potato Slips!! I placed the original order back in December, and it was dropped from their system, then revived, added to, and then shipped when I still wasn't expecting it until a few weeks from now! Whew!! Well, anyway, they're here now, and Joaquin is potting them up into 4" pots so they can root a while...we'll have them ready for the Summer Solstice Sale, and also at our Markets a week or two before that.     We now have 2 varieties: Heirloom Bradshaw (120 days to harvest) and Beauregard (100 days to harvest). The price is $6.00 per plant; each plant should yield one pound of sweet potatoes. I'd suggest getting some of both!! I'll be writing a "Helpful Guide" to growing Sweet Potatoes soon, and it will be on the website by the time they're ready to sell.  CLICK HERE TO BROWSE OUR CATALOG OF HELPFUL GUIDES As you know... ...we're big fans of Green Beans around here! Our Spanish Musica and Royal Burgundy are producing really nicely right now, and I'm about to cook up the first "mess of beans" of the season!! We often hear, "I don't know how to prepare them...", so here is the way we love 'em:   Harvest your beans daily & store in the crisper drawer of the fridge until you've got at least ¾ lb. of beans.     Wash, remove the ends, and snap into pieces.   Saute some Garlic (preferably home-grown!) in Olive Oil.  Add in the Beans and cover with water. Add Salt & Pepper to taste. Simmer very low for about 2 hours, checking the water level (yes, 2 hours...this is how they do it in the South, except there they'd use bacon grease.) After the first hour & a half, add in a handful of Organic Slivered Almonds and a good dose of White Wine Vinegar and cook the last half hour. They will be fork-tender, meaty, earthy, and fabulous!! Honestly, I could eat these every day! We grow 5-6 EarthBoxes of Green Beans (different varieties) throughout Spring and Summer, planting the final one in August; this insures we'll have a nice big pot of beans every week!!   ANOTHER REQUEST FOR BAGS: Just as a reminder, we do love receiving your handled paper grocery bags...they are the perfect way to transport seedlings with their tall sides and flat bottoms! Thank you very much!! That's it for now; we do hope you'll plan to come to our First Annual Summer Solstice Sale, and we'll see you at the Markets! Many thanks, as always, and HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!! Jo Anne, Alex, Joaquin, Jake & Lalo