twodogfarm.biz

We are a family operation. Mark and Nibby Bartle own, manage and work on the farm. Our children, Miles and Lily,also help out in the summer.

Mark and Nibby farmed with Molino Creek Farming Collective for 15 years before starting our own farm in 2001. We chose the name Two Dog for our dogs and from a line in a children's picture book ("one cake, two dogs...").

Mark does the tractor work and the Heart of the City farmers market which is twice a week throughout our growing season. He is very knowledgeable about many things and has an excellent memory (History MA,UC Berkeley '80). He has worked part time at New Leaf in the produce department since Lily was born.

Nibby does all the greenhouse work, the plantings and all the lettuce harvest. She does Alemany farmers market and some early morning deliveries during the tomato season. She plays mandolin and violin and plays twice a month with informal Celtic music sessions. She takes the photographs. Off-season she is the volunteer field trip bus driver for Pacific School in Davenport. She is vegan and is excited about cooking.

Miles is 16 and a junior at Santa Cruz High. He takes the metro bus from Davenport. He does the heavy lifting for his mom at the Alemany market. He plays violin with his mom and likes to play Celtic music too . He reads fantasy books and likes video games.

Lily is 11 and is in 6th grade at Pacific School in Davenport. She says she wants to be a farmer when she grows up and grow flowers . She has her yellow belt in the martial art Aikido.

We hire a few people to help us. Aaron is back for his 3rd season with us. We often depend on him. Sawato worked with his dad doing landscaping and is catching on to farming quickly. Maroka is his sister and runs the produce section at one of the New Leafs and is learning another aspect of vegetables. Chris also works produce and grew up in Hawaii. We're happy to have such a good crew.

Our farm is certified organic through California Certified Organic Farmers and we believe strongly in ecological sustainability and crop diversity.
We grow a winter cover crop and rotate summer crops to improve soil fertility.
We adhere to CCOF's guidelines and only use natural fertilizers and tractor- and hand-weed. We use no GMO seeds and use as many organic seeds as possible.