TDN Newsletter: 5-22-15

Dear Gardening Friends, Happy Memorial Day!!  Seems early, but here it is!!  We hope you enjoy this important long weekend - with at least some part of it spent in your garden! We’ll be in the Farmers Markets, as usual.        Sweet Potato Update: Great news!!  Our Certified Organic Sweet Potato “slips” are due to arrive this week, and a couple weeks after we plant them up, they’ll be available!  We will offer Beauregard and All Purple again this year; they will be very limited, so please don’t miss out!  You can expect to yield roughly 2 pounds of sweet potatoes per plant. They are $6 each and you can buy them here:    SWEET POTATOES on TWODOGNURSERY.COM      They’re easy to grow, and the leaves are edible and nutritious… I usually throw a few into our breakfast smoothies.  They are, of course, Certified Organic.  We've written up a “Helpful Guide” on how to grow them…   CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE  SWEET POTATO GROWING GUIDE It’s an entirely different process than growing regular Potatoes, and it includes “curing” them to convert their starch into sugar; I found this to be extremely easy, just leaving them in our oven with only the pilot light lit, and bowls of water underneath, for 12 days. Oh.so.sweet!     Peruvian Purple Fingerling Potatoes!     We just  got in another batch of Certified Organic Seed Potatoes and this time, for the first time ever, we have the extraordinary Peruvian Purple Fingerlings! We also have our "regular faves" - Yukon Gold, Colorado Rose and Russian Banana Fingerlings.           Both Sweet Potatoes & regular Potatoes do so well in Smart Pots, and are really fun to grow. Here’s our “Helpful Guide” on planting the regular Potatoes...   HOW TO GROW ORGANIC POTATOES  JUNE OPEN HOUSE! Our Open Houses have been a lot of fun, and we’re happy to invite you (and your Gardening Friends) to our next one:   Wednesday, June 3rd 10am until 5pm at the Two Dog Organic Home Nursery 914 S. Cloverdale Ave Los Angeles 90036   CLICK HERE TO GO THE FACEBOOK EVENT FOR MORE INFORMATION It’s not a Sale, but there will be Lemonade!     Extended Sale on 1.5 cubic foot Black Gold Waterhold Potting Soil...   We’re extending the Sale on the fabulous OMRI-listed Black Gold Waterhold Potting Soil through June 3rd, which includes the June Open House.  Stock up!!!   CLICK HERE FOR PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

VOLUNTARY PRODUCT RECALL… This is a first for us, but we want to let you know about an issue that’s come up regarding the Down to Earth Acid Fertilizer that we’ve been selling for Blueberries for the last year or so…  A customer recently brought to our attention that the ingredients include “cottonseed meal”, and he inquired if we knew if it was Genetically Modified or not.  We knew the overall product wasn’t “Certified Organic” or “OMRI listed”, but we thought that that was because it is primarily a fertilizer for Rhododendrons and Camellias… So, we contacted the manufacturer right away and were informed that since the cottonseed meal is purchased by them “as a commodity”, it most likely would be genetically modified.   I related this to our customer, and he asked whether his blueberries had been altered by this product.  (Of course, I thought immediately about our three huge, 5-year-old Blueberry bushes out front!!!) In search of that answer, I spent the 2 weeks making phone calls and emailing the following Agriculture Professionals:    • Down to Earth, who is the Fertilizer Manufacturer • Our Organic Certifier, CCOF  • Our primary Inspector at the L.A. County Ag. Department • The Ag. Department’s PhD. Plant Pathologist & Soil Biologist • One of our long time Organic Vendors who is a professional Consultant to the Citrus & Avocado growers in Ventura County • The original Grower of the Blueberry bushes that we sell • Dr. Earth, from whom we buy the Acid Lovers Potting Soil • OMRI (the Organic Materials Review Institute) The unequivocal consensus was that the fully dried and ground cottonseed meal contained in the Acid Mix fertilizer could NOT alter the genetics of the Blueberries; indeed, as the L.A. County PhD. Plant Pathologist pointed out, “the two are from entirely different families, and therefore, would be incompatible for hybridization”.  Yay!!  And sigh of relief. This was great to find out, but we still needed a Blueberry Fertilizer…  It turns out that Dr. Earth makes one (which I confirmed is “OMRI Listed”, which means it meets the standards of the National Organic Program, which is part of the USDA) that is the companion to the Dr. Earth Acid Lovers Soil which we already recommend for planting the Blueberries.  They say on all their packaging “No GMOs”, so we are going to stock theirs from now on.         So, we welcome you to return your Down to Earth Acid Mix (opened or not), if you like, and we’ll happily replace it with the Dr. Earth Acid Lovers Fertilizer, at no charge.  You can bring it to the Nursery or to the Farmers Market.  We truly apologize for our oversight when selecting this product and any concerns it may have caused you! A humble clarification… Even though the customer who originally inquired about the Fertilizer did so in a polite manner, and was patient while I tried to sort this all out, he did say that he “thought he could trust us, as we always say we are Certified Organic”… which sorta stung… So, I wanted to take this opportunity to explain what being “Certified Organic” really means. We are Certified Organic by CCOF, and have been so since 2010.  This means that we cannot use anything “Not Allowed” by the National Organic Program (which is overseen by the USDA) in our own production.  This also means we cannot use seeds which are Genetically Modified or treated in any way (yikes!! Not that we would!).   We are, and always have been, in total compliance with the County, State and Federal Agriculture Agencies who inspect us regularly.   However, it doesn't mean that we cannot sell something which is not Organic…there are rules and regulations about signage and “separation” to which we adhere.  But sometimes a thing simply doesn’t exist “Organic”. For example, it’s right there at the top of our Fruits & Berries website page that “Our Trees and Berries are Not Organic”. This is because there are no wholesalers growing them organically!  We absolutely would have them if they were available.  But as trees and berries are long-term propositions (and eventually do become “Organic” if grown in a strictly Organic manner), we chose to offer them - and our customers love them!   So, in terms of the Blueberry Fertilizer, even if we had known it contained GMO cottonseed meal, we would not be breaking any of the rules of our Organic Status simply by selling it.  If, on the other hand, we actually grew our own Organic Blueberry stock, and used a GMO fertilizer on them, we absolutely would be in very hot water with all the Ag Agencies!! So, at the Farmers Markets, for instance, we always have our Certified Organic Veggie & Herb Seedlings inside our tents, and our Berries & Fruit Trees outside the tents… this constitutes the required “separation” of Organic and Non-Organic.  And since we don’t do any sort of spraying or treatments to the Berries and Fruit Trees ourselves, there is no chance of “contamination”.     Please feel free to ask us any questions you might have on this subject, as it is a bit complicated.  And please accept our apology for not having realized from the beginning that the Acid Mix Fertilizer could be problematic.  We’ll have the Dr. Earth Acid Lovers Fertilizer in stock in the next few days, and will be bringing it to the Markets every weekend.   P.S.  Something Important I did Learn about pH…     Something important that I learned while trying to sort out the Fertilizer issue is that container-grown Blueberries will not maintain their acidity forever, as our Los Angeles City water has a pH of about 8.0.  As we know, Blueberries need to have a pH of between 4.3 and 5.5.  So, even if we plant the Blueberries with all the right “Acid Loving” ingredients (see our Helpful Guide here), eventually the pH will rise too high for them to be optimally productive.  What we can simply do is mix up a diluted Distilled Vinegar solution (2 tbsp. Vinegar per gallon of water) and drench the soil a few times a year.  The original Grower of our Blueberries said this is what all the professional Growers do to maintain the low acid pH of their crops.  Simple!!  I’m going to drench ours this week! Having said all that, Alex did make another Blueberry run a few days ago, bringing back 60 Sharpblues and Emeralds; they’re gorgeous and selling like mad already!  It’s one of the best investments you can make, and you’ll love them year-round, and most especially during those Spring months where you just stand there eating them in your pajamas right off the bushes!!     Well, that’s it for now…   We hope to see you here on the 3rd for the Open House and at the Markets, and as always,  Many Thanks and Happy Harvests! Jo Anne, Alex, Jake, Lalo & Charlie

TDN Newsletter: 5-1-15

Dear Gardening Friends,   First and foremost, Happy Mother’s Day!!   We hope all of you lovely Mother-Gardeners have a great day, with hearts content and hands in the soil!!

May Open House!! Our May Open House will be held here at the home Nursery on  Wednesday, May 6th  from 10am until 5pm 914 S. Cloverdale Ave. Los Angeles, 90036   Sale on Soil!!   It’s not an overall Sale…however, we will be giving 20% off the fabulous Black Gold Waterhold Potting Soil - 1.5 cubic foot bags of Certified Organic goodness!!    Sale runs through May 10th Last month’s Open House was a rousing success and a really fun day.  We hope to see even more of you here next week!!!  We have tons of gorgeous organic inventory! Street parking is available.   Please bring your friends, your Mom, but not your pets!  Thanks!! At Long Last….Fuyus!!!   We’re thrilled to announce that after a wait of nearly 2 years, we will finally have 5-gallon Fuyu Persimmon Trees for sale!! They will be here in time for the Open House!   Big Berry “Top 5”!!     We currently have the “Top 5” Berries in stock!   This rarely happens, but we have Blueberries, Boysenberries, Blackberries, Raspberries and our latest round of 900 Sequoia Strawberries ready to go!        Alex made a “Blueberry Run” a week ago, so we currently have lots of gorgeous Mistys and Sharpblues that are loaded with fruit!!     The other day, Alex caught Charlie scouting the ripest ones!!     CLICK HERE FOR CHARLIE'S VIDEO! New Batch of Heirloom Tomatoes!!   Our next 600 Organic Heirloom Tomatoes are ready and waiting!     See them all here                The Spring/Summer season is a long one… We’re still getting our 40 EarthBoxes and 27 Smart Pots fully transitioned (although 7 of them are full of Strawberries, which last years!).  And there’s lots of time for “succession planting”.   In the spirit of the " Mother of all Creation"...  we'd like to ask you to join us in making a donation, of whatever you can afford, to Doctors Without Boarders,  for their critical work in Nepal.  We will have a Donation Box here at the Open House and can then mail everything in together.  Click to read more about their vital efforts! That’s it for now...   Many thanks, and as always, Happy Harvests!! Jo Anne, Alex, Lalo, Jake & Charlie

TDN Newsletter: 4-3-15

April 3rd, 2015 Dear Gardening Friends,   Happy April!   Seems impossible, but it’s here already!  Easter, Passover, all the lovely traditions of early Spring… and oh, yes, and our Annual Spring Sale & Food Drive!    This year, we had the best Sale and the best Food Drive ever!  It was really hot, but Alex and Charles put up our Market tents, and that helped; folks were patient with the heat and the crowd, and everyone had a great time. Alex and I really want to thank everybody who came and who brought so much food and who purchased so much product and so many seedlings, berries & trees!!  Also, a special thanks to those of you who drove in from our Market locations. Our Food Drive goal was to fill 4 large donation boxes reaching the required 400 lb. minimum the Food Bank has in order to do a pick-up; I put the word out, and folks were arriving with 20- and 50 lb. bags of rice, tons of dried legumes and canned fruit… our final collection weighed in at 539 lbs!!!  It was a beautiful sight!   Plus, along with our own 5% of Sale donation and some customers’ checks, we also delivered $536 in monetary donations!  The Food Bank can provide 4 meals with every $1 donated, so this means we enabled them to serve 2,144 meals, AND stock the local Food Pantries!! Yay, and thanks again to all who helped!! It takes us months to get ready for the Season Kick-Off, and as always, we’re way too busy to take any photos during the Sale weekend...…suffice it to say we were swamped on Saturday, and had a very good day on Sunday, even though the LA Marathon make it tricky for some folks to get here. One photo we did get was of our very long time customer (going all the way back to the Larchmont Farmers Market days), Tim Johnson, was our EarthBox Winner from the random drawing of those customers who participated in our Annual Tomato Survey last Fall.  If you haven’t redeemed your Free Tomato Coupon for taking the Survey, it’s still OK to do so, even though the “expiration date” has come and gone.   We've been working on our own garden out front…it’s a big job changing out so many EarthBoxes and Smart Pots!  Of course, we get lots of help from Charles, our assistant, who is also joining us at the Farmers Markets these days. Harvesting from our Fall crops is ongoing: I harvested most of our “Conehead” Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbages, Franklin Brussels Sprouts and Leeks today. They are in the oven roasting, with Beets, Potatoes & Carrots as I type this! Smells heavenly!!          We’ve gotten at least a dozen Tomatoes planted already, plus 2 kinds of Beans, Cucumbers, Strawberries, and more Strawberries, Hot & Sweet Peppers, Walla Walla Onions and Edible Flowers. Still to go are Melons, Squash, Corn and Sweet Potatoes.  It takes a village, and at least a month!!         Speaking of Strawberries… My determination to have lots of strawberries to offer has paid off!  We've re-ordered the baby crowns several times over, and are about to receive one last (huge) order of the Sequoias, so we’ll have them for some time to come.  The lovely French Mara Des Bois had to be ordered 3 times!  We currently have just 7 or 8 six-packs of those still available; we planted ours out early, and oh boy, are they delicious!  If you’re interested, email us ASAP!   HEADS-UP LOCAL PEEPS!! Announcing... SPRING and SUMMER  OPEN HOUSES!!! Every time we have an event here at the Home Nursery, I wish we could do more of them! We have so many local customers who can’t drive out to our Markets, and sometimes it’s hard to schedule an appointment with us…as most of you know, I spend 3 days/evenings a week with my Mama (who just turned 93!), and with one 12-hour bookkeeping day, all the production scheduling, ordering, writing the Newsletter, updating the website and the 2 Market days, our time in the Nursery is just so limited!!   So, beginning on April 15th, we plan to hold a monthly “Wednesday Open House”…not a Sale, but just a day to come without an appointment, share some lemonade, and get what you need for an awesome Spring/Summer garden!! So, please plan to join us, and bring your gardening friends!!   April Open House at the Two Dog Home Nursery 914 S. Cloverdale Ave. Los Angeles  90036 April 15th (a little relief on “Tax Day”!) No appointment necessary! from 10am until 4pm   No Pets Please!!   By then, we’ll have Melons, “Winter Squash”, Okra, Amaranth & Corn ready, too!   We’ll announce the dates for May, June & July in subsequent Newsletters!   I shot this little video at our warehouse yesterday.   I already put this up on Facebook, but I’ll share it here, too… “Think having an Organic Nursery is all about tiny seeds and baby plants? Not if you want to be a One-Stop Shop for your customers!! Here's my multi-talented hubby forklifting in 13 pallets of carefully curated Organic Soil, Worm Castings, Seedling Mix & Compost into our warehouse. From the warehouse to the Nursery, to the truck, to the Markets, to your cars...he gets a workout!”   CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE TO WATCH THE VIDEO!!   We bring in big orders like this very regularly, and we hope you will remember us when you have soil, compost, & fertilizer needs. We really appreciate your support of this 7-day-a-week, hard working, family owned & run business, now in it’s 6th year!!   That’s it for now… we do hope to see you here on the 15th, and as always, at the Markets! Happy gardening, and many thanks, Jo Anne, Alex, Jake, Lalo & Charlie

TDN Newsletter: 3-07-15

Don't Forget!!!   Annual Spring Kick-Off Sale & Food Drive NEXT WEEKEND!!! March 14th & 15th 10am - 3pm at the Two Dog Home Nursery 914 S. Cloverdale Ave. Los Angeles, CA  90036 (we will not be in the Markets that weekend)   Friends, please don’t forget that our our Annual Spring Sale is also our most important Food Drive (benefiting the Los Angeles Food Bank). We hope you're putting aside some quality packaged or canned food for your Food Drive donation, which will earn you 10% off EVERYTHING we sell! Plus, it's a lovely way to begin this season of such abundance with a grateful heart!  And if you participated in our Tomato Survey, DON'T FORGET YOUR COUPON!   In addition to this year's 51 varieties of Certified Organic Heirloom Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Eggplants, Seed Potatoes and Summer Squash, we’ll also have several varieties of Basil, gorgeous Lettuces, Kale, Chard, Carrots and, my favorite, Green Beans galore!   Plus our fabulous Blueberries, Strawberries & Fruit Trees!! We’ll also be very well stocked on EarthBoxes & Stands, Smart Pots, Soils, Compost and all Organic amendments!   The Tomatoes are alphabetized on the driveway, starting with Amos Coli up by the garage, and ending with Zebra Rita and the Tomatillos down by the gate. Make your Wish List now!!                  Street parking is available. Bring all your Gardening Friends, but please, no pets...thanks!   Sale prices will be given at the Sale only.  Regular pricing applies to all Pre-Orders.   CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVENT!