Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

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This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

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Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda McNulty> Well, good evening, and welcome to Making It Grow .

We sure are happy that you can join us tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty, and I'm a Clemson extension agent.

And happy to have this position, too.

It's so much fun.

I come over with my co-host, who's also associated with Clemson, Terasa Lott.

Thanks for being here.

Terasa Lott> Oh, it is my pleasure.

I absolutely love being a part of team, Making It Grow and want everyone at home to know that it truly is a team effort, not just the people that we see here on the panel, but all of the folks behind the scenes that really make the magic happen.

Amanda> Yes, and we're so happy that they come.

And they're, a lot of them know a lot of stuff, too.

<They do.> Amanda> Let them come and sit up here one day.

Yeah, yeah.

At any rate, we also have Vicky Bertagnolli, and you're the hort agent in Aiken, and you work with HGIC.

So quickly tell them a little bit about HGIC, because our hort agents in the counties love to help people but they may be doing something else.

They may be on a trip or, you know, doing a home visit or something.

And so, HGIC can implement, I mean, add to what they are able to do.

Vicky> Yeah.

The...Clemson Home and Garden Information Center really complements the county offices.

And, there's a staff of about ten.

And, we answer lab phone calls, like, like you talk to a human.

And we also answer emails.

And you get a response for an email.

It's not an automated message.

And then, we also have a website where there's hundreds of free fact sheets and blogs, about, <Everything.> Landscape, <Yeah> plants, and then also food safety.

And also some, some, some other health.

Amanda> And, you know, Terasa, the most important thing I ever learned since I became an Extension agent is if you want to look something up and get a research based answer, you put.

Terasa> site - colon.edu.

Amanda> Site - colon edu.

But also, you can put Site - Clemson edu.

<Yep.> And, and if you put in site - colon.edu you might get something from California and from, you know, Timbuktu and all that, but you should look at the ones that are close to us.

We have fact sheets on many things, but if we don't, they'll be, I look at like Maryland or Georgia or, you know, Tennessee or something.

So I'll have an answer that reflects where I live.

Vicky> But try the HGIC first.

<I know> Vicky> You would be surprised at how much information is, is housed on that website.

Amanda> It really is something, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah.

Okay.

I think some of them have your name on them as well.

Vicky> There's a couple of them.

(laughing) Amanda> Well, thanks for being here today with your extensive knowledge.

Okay.

Well, Laura Hair you're a 4-H agent over in Orangeburg and Calhoun and we live in the same town, which is fun.

Because we had, we had to come to Sumter to meet.

Laura> Yes.

<Yeah.> We could have just ridden together.

Amanda> Yeah.

And, 4-H encompasses all kinds of things.

Some people learn to sew, some people, you know, learn to, you know, cook, but also some people learn about gun safety and how to use guns.

And I think you had a kid who actually got to go somewhere and maybe was on a prize-winning team.

Laura> Yes, ma'am.

Over the summer, my son was one of the four chosen.

Amanda> What's his name?

Laura> Landon.

<Okay.> He's 17.

He was one of the four chosen to represent South Carolina- <South Carolina?> Laura> Yes.

The whole state at 4-H nationals in Nebraska.

So, he and Ella, also from Orangeburg on the lease from down near, Dorchester and Gage from Chester area.

The four of them went and they represented South Carolina very well in shotgun sports.

They placed fifth overall.

Amanda> And so there was a female on the team, too.

Laura> Two females.

<Two> Two females and two males.

Amanda> My gracious goodness.

Laura> Yes.

Shotgun sports is, Amanda> The world is changing.

like one of the biggest programs, fastest growing 4-H programs in South Carolina right now.

<How about that.> Vicky> Congratulations Terasa> It's so wonderful to have our kids recognized at the national level.

Amanda> Yeah.

That's pretty exciting.

Laura> And they represented South Carolina very well, Amanda> Did you get to go out there?

Laura> with their personalities.

I did.

It was very nice.

We saw bobwhite quail out in the wild.

Amanda> Really?

Laura> Yeah.

Amanda> Because we don't have them here much.

Laura> Not much.

And they were everywhere out there.

<Really.> Terasa> Wow!

Amanda> Come on.

Do they, well maybe because they don't have fire ants out there.

Vicky> I think the fire ants are dealing with habitat loss.

A lot of it's habitat loss.

Amanda> But I mean, I think the fire ants have probably, not very good for them too, for ground nesting birds.

Vicky> Probably not, but it's going to be a loss of habitat.

Amanda> Yeah.

Oh well.

Well Nebraska has some wide open spaces.

Laura>It does.

It's very pretty.

<Was it pretty?> Lot of corn.

A whole lot of corn.

Amanda> Yeah.

Okay.

I'm so proud of you.

Yeah.

Good for him.

Okay.

Well, Davis Sanders, you came down from South Pleasantburg Nursery up in Greenville, and we are so happy that you come and, you're one of the outdoor people.

So if I come up there and park, I can come up and try to find you and tell you what I'm interested in, I think you can help me, probably.

Davis Sanders> I probably can.

And if I can't, we have somebody else on staff who could.

So.

<Okay.> We've...got a very efficient staff, a lot of knowledgeable people.

We've got a lot of young people that have, that have come to work for us over the past couple of years and, us old timers are, are doing our best to- Amanda> Keep up with the times.

Davis> And to help them take our places when it's time for us to move along.

Amanda> Yep.

I think you all have something coming up that might be fun for people in the area, or if somebody wants to take a road trip.

Davis> Yes we do.

Last year we, we had a fall festival and it was so successful that we're having another one this year on a Saturday, October the 4th.

<Okay.> We're going to have, the same things that we did last year.

We're going to have a petting zoo.

We're going to have a lot of fun activities, a lot of fun activities for the kids, food trucks.

And this year, we're also going to have live music featuring two of our employees, in a band, Louis Keenan, who is our landscape supervisor and our landscape, scheduler, Emma Talley, who, some of you may have heard that name before because Emma appeared on The Voice.

Vicky> Oh, wow.

Amanda> Word in heavens.

Big deal.

Okay, and we're sure that the weather's going to be cooperative?

Davis> Of course, it's October.

October's always nice.

Amanda> October's a pretty nice month, isn't it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, the fair would come in October, and I can remember having to go out and buy a wool sweater and a coat and a pair of long pants to go to the fair, and you don't have to do that anymore.

Davis> No, no you don't.

Amanda> Even if, Oh, goodness, things do change.

Don't they?

Davis> Yes they do.

Amanda> But, we can still look for a beautiful day.

Okay, and tell us again what day it is.

Davis> Saturday, October the 4th.

Amanda> Okay.

Fun.

Well, we're going to have some fun things for y'all to watch with us later.

Carmen Ketron, who is such a dear member of the hort team and went over to talk to a woman in Florence, South Carolina.

You are not going to believe all the succulents and cacti and things she's got in her yard.

This woman is a real collector.

I mean, she collects.

And then, our good friend Jackie McCauley from... Jarrett's Jungle, comes in and talks about terrariums.

And I think there's a real interest in terrariums now.

There's lots of different ways to garden.

Aren't there?

Okay.

Well, Terasa, I think we've got some Gardens of the Week.

Terasa> That's right.

>> Shall we look at see?

Terasa> There are lots of different ways to garden.

This is your time to shine.

You can share what you're doing in your yard, your garden, house plants, or one of the many beautiful places in the great state of South Carolina.

We begin today with Jan Burton, who shared an absolutely magnificent angel wing begonia in Greenwood, and she said it's actually in its original hanging pot, which looks to be now on the ground.

She said hindsight, she probably should have repotted it, but it is absolutely gorgeous.

From Janet Miller, we have a flower garden which she described as winding down in Murrells Inlet, but I have to say for winding down, it sure looks mighty nice.

From Sally Mourateva, a close up of Spotted Bee Balm The purple structures that you see are actually the leaf like bracts, and if you look very closely, you'll see the whirl of tubular flowers that are located in between those bracts.

From Suzanne Allen, she shared that she's drying her bay leaf crop on a cookie sheet, and she's a master gardener, and noted that HGIC has a fact sheet about drying herbs.

And from Tom Smith, we have a swallowtail butterfly visiting a zinnia flower just to our north in western North Carolina.

We thank everyone who submitted photos.

Remember, this is just a random sample.

You can see other submissions by visiting the Making It Grow Facebook page.

And I hope that when you see us make a call for Gardens of the Week, you'll post your photos there in the comments.

Amanda> And I remember sometimes you talk about other beautiful places in the state.

Sometimes somebody will just see a beautiful tree or a flower somewhere where they were out visiting.

So, it doesn't have to be a whole landscape.

It can just be an individual plant.

Right?

Terasa> Some of the most beautiful photos are very close up photos, almost macro photos.

Amanda> Okay, well, thank you so very, very much.

Oh, well, can we help somebody with a question?

Terasa> I sure hope so.

That's what we're here for.

We begin with Carl in North Augusta, who said, I found this leaf on the ground under a hickory tree.

What is on the leaf?

And we do have some photos, to go with that.

Amanda> Well, I see Vicky is pulling something out from the table behind her, so I'm guessing that she's going to help us.

Vicky> Yeah, I brought a specimen in here, and this, these are really cool.

So, there's.

As of 2008, there were 63 different species of gall midges that are known to feed on North American hickories.

Amanda> Oh, just on that tree.

Vicky> Just on that tree.

Amanda> Whoa!

Vicky> Midges are little fly.

And, what happens is, is the when the fly lays the the eggs on here, the larval secretions, whenever they start feeding on the leaf, those salivary secretions cause the host plant to produce this gall, and it surrounds the larva and it produces their food.

And, so there's a possibility that this one could be something like a hickory peach haired gall.

I'm not very versed in these... There's, there's very fine features, but you have to look at to, to differentiate what they are.

And then some of them you can't even do that.

Amanda> But something's going to come out of that gall?

Vicky> There's, it's going to be a little fly.

It's going to come out of this gall.

So what we're going to notice this time of year.

So this is, this was collected at the end of August, the beginning of September, but these are going to start falling to the ground.

And then they'll, they'll overwinter and emerge the next Spring.

<Cool.> And typically they're not, a lot of times it's going to be an esthetic thing.

Because you can't treat some of, you know, a tree like that.

That's, that's way too large.

Amanda> They're not harming it, are they?

Vicky> Most of the time it's esthetic.

As long as the tree is- Amanda> I think it's esthetically pleasing.

Vicky> You know, there's not much to do.

But, these are super common.

We see them on all sorts of plants.

We see them on, like, pecans, have some related insects that, that create galls on those.

And it's, I mean, oak trees, hickory trees, pecans, we're going to see lots of galls.

Amanda> I was wandering through Swan Lake, and I used to take people, you know, on walks through there, and there was an oak tree and had a branch down that came over where there was a little bridge or something.

And I was trying to identify all the structures on the leaves and all.

And there was one.

And I thought, well, what is this?

And, it was fascinating because it was a little gall and I started trying to figure it out.

And I look on other, other oak trees and it wasn't there, and it seemed like there was a specific time of the year that maybe that oak tree was blooming or something.

And so, the I think it was a little wasp that came.

And so I thought, you know, why isn't it on all the oak trees, but, you know, they might go all bloom.

And who, you know, who would ever notice an oak tree bloom at the same time?

And so that specific tree was blooming when those little wasps were looking for a place to go.

How crazy is that?

Vicky> So, one of the things about this, they're saying, oh, you can treat the tree.

But so it goes with the, with this timing thing that you're saying.

So what happens is, is these are attacking the buds when they're getting ready to leaf out.

So timing is important if you're going to do something like this and you know, but you know, this is however many months later, we're onto the Fall, it's going to start dropping leaves.

And so it takes that whole time to, for the leaf tissue to build up into something like this.

And they make all sorts of different shaped structures.

You can't necessarily identify down to species what it is based on the structure, because it can be the same species and the plant has a different reaction to it.

So it makes a different structure.

<Come on.> But I mean, you can get close.

<Wow!> Yeah.

But there's, there's flies.

There's wasps.

There's, there's ones that are related to, to like aphids, I mean, Amanda> It's a fascinating world.

<It's a lot.> Yeah.

Yeah.

The interactions between insects and plants is pretty darn cool.

Vicky> Yeah.

Amanda> Thanks for bringing all that to us.

Oh, okay.

Okay.

Well, Terasa.

Terasa> I got so engrossed in the gall that I forgot we had to come back to a question.

Let's see.

This one comes from Michael in Lesslie, South Carolina.

And Michael said, I'd like my children to get off their screens and outside.

What opportunities are there through 4-H.

I can appreciate that.

And, go back to some of the books.

Last Child in the Woods that, you know, things have changed.

And a lot of folks are spending time indoors and on their technology.

Me too.

I feel like I spend too much time, but I know that there are lots of opportunities through 4-H to get kids outside.

Amanda> And, Laura, I remember, I took a, I was at a meeting one time and Rudy Mancke was going to lead a walk, and we got from here to the other side of the room outside.

I mean, there's so you don't have to be going to some fancy, huge, big place.

Tell me about what y'all do sometimes.

Laura> So there's lots of programs through 4-H.

Of course we talked about shooting sports.

Of course that's outside.

We also have a bunch of natural resource projects.

We have the Honey Bee project and the small garden project.

Both of those registrations opens about February.

Amanda> Okay.

Laura> So we got a few months, but you can look forward to it.

And we also have the wildlife food plot project.

<Yes.> And that project is about to kick off registration, and then the other day.

Amanda> So do they go out and observe what comes... Laura> So with the Wildlife Food Park project, the children get enough seed.

It's the fall signature mix from SouthLand Wildlife Seed in Orangeburg.

And they get enough seed to plant an eighth of an acre.

<Okay.> And they plant that eighth of an acre <That's a good bit.> >> It's a,...pretty good bit.

<It sure is.> Laura> And then they can just observe the wildlife that's on there, if they want to hunt, they can hunt.

If they want to bird watch, they can bird watch and just learn about the wildlife.

And all three of those projects, the small garden project, The Wildlife Food Plot Project, and the Honeybee project, are what we call independent projects.

So they do it with their family and then they turn in a record book.

So they're learning lots of stuff.

Also, you know, we have the gardens in the schools.

That's the way that we like to get kids outside at school.

When we have the 4-H H2O camps during the summer, the children are learning about water and lots of just activities that we go into the schools and do with the kids, camps throughout the summer, after school programs, lots of ways we get the kids outdoors.

Amanda> And so, some of them, like when you get the seeds, you don't have to, be in an active 4-H program.

You can just reach out, and find out about it, perhaps?

And, so, like I say, registration just ended.

It'll be again next summer, but you reach, you'll see it all over Facebook, when it's time.

And you reach out to your 4-H agent and sign up for the project when you get your supplies.

And then you just do it with your family.

Amanda> Fun.

And it gets the family together, too.

Laura> Yes.

It's a great family project.

Vicky> We've had kids in Aiken County do it.

And, they're, they're clever, but just they're very young.

But, the whole family Laura> Yes.

Vicky> does it.

but like, you know, the kids are so small, they can't necessarily write really well.

So their parents will help them write it, but the kids will take the picture.

And then you got a sister, and you know, Laura> The dads and grandparents.

Vicky> The whole family.

Laura.

They love it.

Amanda> Gosh, that's really.

That's kind of lovely.

It really is.

<Oh, yeah.> Oh, thank you so very much.

Okay, well, I guess Davis, doesn't need a question.

I guess he's just going to bring something up, and put it on the table Davis> Yeah.

We're going to start with, this, toad lily.

This is a variegated toad lily.

It's an Asian native, but it's, It does have a valuable place in the, in the American Shade garden.

There, there are a lot of different color forms and leaf forms.

This particular one is called samurai.

Tricyrtis formosana Samurai.

It's got that really pretty, yellow variegation on the edges of the leaf.

The flowers open up into, sort of, a burgundy color.

Amanda> It's a pretty, pretty flower.

Davis> And as it opens up, it becomes more and more lily like.

Those are fairly small flowers generally.

Under landscape conditions, they will, the flowers will be about two inches across.

Blooms in late summer and fall, thrives in moist soil and deep shade.

And, so.

Amanda> Something this beautiful in the shade.

Davis> And it's also, deer and rabbit resistant.

So, so it's, they're very well behaved.

They don't spread.

They don't get aggressive.

It's just happy in its own little spot in the garden.

Amanda> Why in the world do they call it a toad lily?

Davis> That, I'm not sure.

I haven't researched that.

Amanda> Okay we'll have to find out.

Davis> Yeah.

Yeah.

Maybe next time I come, we'll be able to talk about it.

Yeah.

Amanda> I like toads.

Okay.

Has he got another one.?

Davis> I've got another one here.

Now, this is a brand new one.

This one is called Rose gold.

And unfortunately, it's, it's butted now, but it has, it hasn't opened up.

This one was, was, recently patented by Chris Chaney at, Piedmont Irish Farm over in Rock Hill.

Amanda> Oh, it's.

Got some, Yeah, it has some beautiful buds.

Davis> And, those are going to open up into a pink flower.

They start out with sort of a dark purple color.

But as they open, they turn pink, and, the, the, the foliage keeps that chartreuse color all during the growing season.

Amanda> It'll brighten a shady area even when it's not flowering Davis> It will literally light up.

You could probably read a book by it if, if, if you could in a, in a deep shade spot.

But like the, like all the other forms, this one is, rabbit and deer resistant, loves shade, loves moist soil, loves a lot of organic matter.

And it's very carefree.

Amanda>So is it going to go back to the ground in the Winter?

Davis> Yes it is deciduous.

It'll die back completely in the... Amanda> But it might pop up some next year.

Davis> They're not, they're not real late to emerge.

So, so it's kind of got a pretty long presence.

Amanda> Could you divide it if you wanted to, if you wanted to get some more perhaps?

Davis> Yes, yes.

Since they don't spread real aggressively, you wouldn't want to do it too frequently, but...yeah.

Amanda> I understand.

Golly, that is so pretty and doesn't have any insect problems.

Davis> Not that we're aware of.

Amanda> Shhh... Davis> They've been, they've been, in cultivation, in, in the United States for, for probably 200 years, so.

Amanda> No.

No.

Whoa!

Terasa> So, I utilized the technology over here to look up, where does the common name come from?

The Missouri Botanical Gardens says has several possible origins.

The simplest one being the resemblance of the spotted flowers to the skin of some toads.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

How about that?

Davis> I'll buy that for a dollar?

Amanda> Well, thank you for not being out in the yard, planning your family garden and looking on being Austrailian.

(laughing) Although I don't think people with parents would mind if their children were doing educational things, but- Terasa> That's right.

And there are some really cool ways to incorporate technology like iNaturalist, so you can go out and take photographs of things that you're seeing in the natural world, which is actually citizen science and can be used, over the long term to track population changes and things like that.

Amanda> When I don't know what something is.

I just pop it out and there it goes.

And it just wonderful.

There's so many wonderful things that have happened because you can expand your knowledge easily.

Alrighty, well, as I said earlier, Carmen Ketron, went to visit a person, and honestly talk about a yard full of things, get ready.

♪ ♪ >> Hi, I'm Carmen Ketron, the urban horticulture agent in Florence and Darlington counties for Clemson Extension.

We're here in Florence, South Carolina.

At Del and Jan Smith's beautiful urban oasis.

Jan, we met at a fabulous plant swap years ago, and you had some of the funkiest plants and just being here today, It was just a small portion.

Wow, do you have some funky plants!

>> Yeah.

I just love collecting the funky stuff.

I mean, because it's not what everybody else has.

And the first time I laid eyes on any of these aloes or cactus, I said, oh, those are cool.

And it just goes from each type of plant.

You know, I just keep trying to get more and more different kinds.

So that's how I got started.

Carmen> So tell me about your aloes.

Janet> Okay.

I have some aloes right here in front of me.

And every one of them is different.

I have a great big one over there.

You'll see that later.

These I bought from a little lady that had a plant stand along the road up in North Carolina.

Carmen> And it just spoke to you.

Janet> And I thought, those are the coolest thing ever.

I had no idea that the blooms were going to be so incredibly beautiful.

Carmen> When do they bloom?

Janet> These bloom in, sometimes in December, but mostly in January.

And there are very large stalks on them with very brightly colored red and yellow flowers.

Carmen> And after they bloom, what happens?

Janet> They just grow more.

And I cut the bloom stalks off, and these do bloom year after year.

Carmen> I love it.

And is that where you get some of the giveaway plants that I see at all the swaps?

Janet> That's correct.

Aloes will reproduce out the bottom.

They get little pops on them.

These have a stem on them, so they go all the way up and down the stem.

And you just most of them don't have roots.

Now, the ones that are on these type of particular plant, those will have roots on them.

These do not.

You have to pick them off the stem and start them in dirt.

Carmen> Nice.

And I've noticed a bunch of spiky cacti.

When did you get into the cacti?

Janet> I just like the way they look.

I mean, they're just awesome.

And when you get them to bloom, it's just amazing.

The flowers are incredible.

They're so gossamer and they're so colorful.

And the collection that I have over on the other side of the house, they bloom all winter long in my garage.

I enjoy them so much because they're so pretty.

Carmen> Now, when I first met you at one of our first plant swaps, I was drawn to your mangave collection.

Tell me about how you got started with your mangaves.

Janet> I guess it's been about.

Well, probably six or seven years now.

A work colleague of mine brought one in, it was a pop off of the one she had, and I said, "Oh, you know what?

"I saw that in the catalog the other day, "and I was going to buy it, but I didn't want to spend the money."

And here it was, you know, no roots on it, because when you break the pops off of mangaves, they don't have any roots.

You stick them in the dirt and just keep them watered.

And so now I've got huge.

That was the huge one.

That was a start.

And I saw, they got more in one day that were completely different.

I said, oh man, those are so cool.

So I had to get those and it just kind of snowballed along the way.

And not all of them get pops either.

I'm finding that out.

There's just one or two, the Pineapple Express, that one gets loaded and the one that's in front of you, there the cherry chocolate chip, that one gets seeds on it and I have some seedlings coming along.

Carmen> Oh that's fascinating.

When are you putting all of these beautiful tropical plants back in the garage for winter?

Janet> The first few frosts, not so much.

I'll cover stuff, but when we're starting to get below, like 20 down into the 25 or so, it's time to start because we, it takes us a week to get everything in the garage and the greenhouses up in the back.

Carmen> As we walk around the yard, there's a lot of stuff that's also in the ground, especially in the raised beds.

You have quite the vegetable and fruit collection.

Tell me about that.

Janet> Well, my husband has grown up with a vegetable garden a half an acre or more every year.

So when we got married 40 years ago, that was one of the first things we did when we bought our house was built this huge garden in the back.

That's pretty much his project.

And then when we moved down here, we sort of got interested in citrus trees, for some reason.

Stan McKenzie came and talked to the master gardeners at one of the meetings, and I brought the Satsuma tree home.

I planted it out there and we didn't get any oranges for the first few years, but ever since then, it has been bearing like crazy.

It has it's years when it doesn't bear, but that's normal for citrus trees.

But the oranges are incredibly good.

Oh, they're just delicious.

And they're sweet and seedless and easy to peel.

Carmen> Oh, see, everything that you would want in a good orange.

I did notice that we have that, very cool greenhouse structure around the trees.

You use that in winter?

Janet> In the winter time, usually about the end of November.

And it's got fruit on it then, which makes it hard.

We put plastic over that, those hoops, and that keeps my, some of my bromeliads that are on the planted around the base of the tree.

They survive there too.

And we have an Angel trumpet in there which is just starting to come back.

But that keeps the tree.

It'll get nipped if it gets real, real, real cold.

But that little in-ground pond that's in there kind of keeps the air moist and it doesn't freeze as easily.

Carmen And I love your pond.

Tell me a little bit about some of the plants you decided to put in there.

Janet> We weren't going to have a pond when we first moved down here, because we had one up there.

But I came home from work one day and he was out there digging.

(laughs) So I said, well, how big are you going to make it?

He said, well, about 11 foot by 11 foot, so.

<Oh!> So then we went, we got, the water in it and the goldfish.

And then it was time for the plants.

We found a place that is, no, it no longer is there, but I don't even remember the name of it.

But they had Lotus in there, so that was one of the first things.

And then the water lilies came soon after.

And the ones that are around the outside, I just love the carnivorous plants and my husband does too.

So we have about five or six kinds of hardy pictures and Venus Flytrap out there.

Carmen> Now, I will say that one of my favorites is your, porch of succulents.

Now that's fun.

Janet> Those kind of got started because I, I really thought they were cool.

And, I got all these little pots and I thought, you know what?

Nah.

So I put them in the window boxes, and each time I got new ones and they spread like crazy.

So I keep adding more.

And my husband as a boy planted Haworthia because his grandparents owned a greenhouse.

So I've got two or three pots of just the Haworthia, in the different varieties and they spread too.

So that makes more plants for the plant swaps.

<Yeah.> And they're small and people like small windowsill plants.

Carmen> I will say that one of my favorite things looking around your yard is some of the tropical feeling, but not so much native plants.

Like, I love your Oakleaf Hydrangea.

That's fabulous.

Janet> That's one of my favorite plants.

And when it's got full bloom and lots of flowers on it, you could smell it clear out here into the yard.

It's wonderful.

And it gets really, really big.

So almost every year I have to cut it back.

Carmen> And I love all of your palms.

That just gives a fun, like I said before, oasis feel.

Any tricks to your palms?

Janet> Well, when I was up north, I loved to have palm trees in the house.

I was a palm tree nut, every different kind imaginable, but they don't do well in the house.

So when we moved down here, I decided I was going to have as many different kinds that would grow out here.

I started out with the Pindo palms and, Carmen> Classic.

Janet> graduated next to, the Palmetto tree and then the Windmill palm, we had a little problem with because we had some ants that were eating the roots and then the, Needle palm, that was just a scrawny little thing when I planted it.

And they're all, they all just add to it.

Carmen> You have so many.

It's really cool.

Janet> I forgot about the Saw.

Palmettos back in the back.

Carmen> Oh, yeah.

Janet> Now, those came from Florida.

I bought them at a flea market.

(laughs) Carmen> Jan, thank you so much for having us and letting us tour your garden.

For anybody who would want to maybe swap plants with you or tour the garden themselves, how can they get a hold of you?

Janet> They can email me at Smith2261@BellSouth.net , or they can contact this Clemson office and I'll be glad to show them around.

Carmen> Fabulous.

Well, I really appreciate you letting us come here.

Thank you so much.

Janet> You're quite welcome.

I've enjoyed every minute of it.

♪ Amanda> It's so much fun to see people get passionate, passionate, passionate about plants.

And, I think we saw that that was just such so delightful.

And thank you, Carmen, for making a friend.

So hats, hats, hats.

Well, the roadsides are just ablaze with yellow.

So many different yellow things that are out there now, and, you know, and, I just love, goldenrod.

And some people think it makes them sneeze.

Well, it has really heavy, heavy pollen.

So it's... ragweed blooms at the same time.

You'd never see ragweed bloom because it's just completely inconspicuous.

But this, there are, I don't know, hundreds, some wild number of different goldenrods and, a lot of them have, you know, relationships with certain insects that the others don't.

It's a fascinating plant.

Anyway, and then I also, I was looking for watering some plants, which we hadn't had do much lately, and I had a little gum plant coming up.

The ones that makes those little gumballs, that Conrad used to call- Terasa> Oh he had the cutest name for them.

Amanda> Sweet Bumble balls.

Terasa> Bumble balls.

(laughing) Amanda> My 40 year old son, who's a court, you know, a more retired boxer now probably doesn't like to be reminded that he called them sweet bumble balls.

But anyway- Vicky>-They're now sweet when you step on them.

Amanda> Huh?

Vicky> They're not sweet when you step on them Amanda> Well, I know, but they really produce a huge number of seeds, which are good for wildlife.

I just like it.

And, anyway, so I's just thought it be fun- Davis> Spectacular Fall color too.

Amanda> Yeah.

Huh?

Davis> Spectacular Fall color, too.

Amanda> Oh, I was just going to say their Fall color is stunning.

So, you know, you know, if you have a large yard or a place out in the country or something, and you.

I remember when, a million years ago when I was at Clemson, there was some near the library in an area where people didn't walk and people weren't walking barefooted at Clemson, anyway.

And, and they were just... drew your eyes.

They were so exquisite.

Yeah.

Anyway.

Vicky> They have some really interesting bark, too, because it's corky bark and so it can get kind of winged.

<Yeah.> The smaller branches are winged.

<Yeah.> Amanda> You know, so it certainly has its place in our world.

At any rate, so I think we've got some show and tell that you brought.

Vicky> Yeah.

Amanda> Okay.

Oh, look at a write up.

Oh, my Lord, what is this time?

Terasa> She always has such- Vicky>-No one wants to talk about bugs.

No one wants to talk about bugs.

So, this is this is something called a triceratops beetle.

And it's one of the largest beetles that we have in our area.

This is... It's a scarab beetle, but it's related to a Dynastes beetle, which is the large green one that we have, the, the large green ones like this, And these are attracted to lights at night.

So when you, in some of the pictures that I took, you can see that it was like 9:30 or 10:30 at night when I took these pictures and found this beetle.

Amanda> Did you put up a sheet or something outside?

Vicky> No, it just came to the back door.

<Okay.> And I was like, well, you know, of course, while I was out there walking the dogs, I was like, hey, the universe gave me a, gave me a prize.

And so, I had to bring it inside.

And of course, I have to take pictures of it.

And, this is a... A lot of insects, whenever you pick them up, they'll let you know that they're not happy about being picked up.

And this one squeaked a little, little bit, to let me know that it wasn't happy, but, both the males and the females have horns, <Okay.> which a lot of times in your beetles that have horns, the males are going to have larger, more ornate horns than the females.

And that's not the case with this beetle.

<Okay.> You have to look at their, at their genitalia in order to ID if it's a male or a female.

Amanda> I'll leave that up to you.

Vicky> So it's, it's you.

You know, we can't tell, but, you know, it's fascinating just because of the size.

Now, the, the larvae are found in, rotten logs or stumps.

<Okay.> Now the adults are predatory of larvae of other wood inhabiting insects.

So when those adults are in the, in the logs, they're hunting, and that's kind of unusual for something like this.

It's not going to hurt you.

You can see that I'm handling it a lot.

Amanda> Now are they go to spare their larvae?

Vicky> They're not going to eat their own larvae.

<Okay.

I'm Just asking.> But they'll eat other ones.

<Okay.> And so, I mean, it's, it's a really neat beetle.

And when you find it, it's not something you have to be scared of.

And people do keep these in captivity, and they can live.

Up to about two years in captivity.

Amanda> What do you feed them?

Vicky> Whatever their, whatever their native, A lot of, they feed on a lot of oaks.

You can, put in a, some, rotten wood in there for it and let them, let them do their thing there.

<Okay.> And then you can supplement with them with some insects.

Amanda> How fascinating.

<Yeah.> Okay.

Gracious goodness.

Thank you so very, very much.

That's quite a bill.

Vicky> I'm excited about it.

Amanda> I can tell.

Terasa> It made me think of Jurassic Park.

You know, they released a new, new movie this year, like the triceratops you brought.

(laughing) Amanda> Oh.

Who knows.

Okay.

Terasa.

Oh.

Terasa> Back to the questions.

Again, I get so sidetracked by Vicky's critters.

Let's see Mary in Bowman asked.

If I don't have an agriculture background, can I still volunteer with 4-H?

Oh, I know the answer.

We always need volunteers.

Laura Hair> Definitely.

Amanda> Really?

<Definitely.> Laura> You know, I think a lot of people, when they think of 4-H, they think of the old 4-H.

Animals and agriculture.

And it's definitely not just that anymore.

If you have a certain skill or hobby or just something you're passionate about, reach out to your local 4-H agent.

I'm always looking for people to help, and I know all of my other 4-H agents in the state are.

sewing, photography, you know, whatever, whatever skill or asset you could bring to us.

Also, if you say, you know, I want to help 4-H, but I don't really want to work with the kids.

That's okay.

We have other things that you could help with.

Maybe you're really good at writing grants that would help out a 4-H agent.

or, you know, maybe the social media site.

You can take care of that.

There's definitely ways to help out 4-H.

Amanda> And if you're doing a program and people just enjoy working with kids and being active, it doesn't have to be something that they're a specialist in, they can just be there to help.

Laura> Oh yes.

Yeah, definitely.

They say working with kids, is like herding cats.

We can always use people to help reel everybody in.

Terasa> When it comes to Clemson, I mean, there can be one on any interest.

I think I've, there's a fishing club I think getting started in the Lexington area.

There's, like, outdoor explorers for folks who just enjoy being out and exploring nature.

So, I mean, a little bit of everything.

There could be a bird watching Laura> Dogs.

Frogs.

Terasa> Dog showing.

That's right.

Horse clubs.

Vicky> I mean, they've had.

Like small pocket pets like hamsters, guinea pigs Laura> And sewing, you know, sewing and canning and cooking.

All of those are, you know, Everyone does not have those skills.

Amanda> Yeah.

Laura> I cannot sew.

And I have a great volunteer that helps with sewing.

So we definitely appreciate it.

Terasa> Service, summer service oriented.

So they're going to be doing community based projects.

Amanda> And it's interesting because some things that boys might not want to do with the girls would think they didn't want to do, it turns out that they get into doing something.

They say, this is really fun.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So it ones their horizons.

Laura> Yes.

Amanda> That's just wonderful.

That's neat.

Let's see what you've got.

Oh, I can see what this is.

Davis> Yeah.

Amanda> My hat.

Davis> It's just so happens Amanda> Much differently... Davis> Just so happens I brought one of the newer, cultivars of goldenrod.

This one is, Solidago "Little lemon" It's a dwarf form.

It's only going to get about 15 to 18 inches tall.

So you're looking pretty much at a and mature plant there.

You know some of the.

Amanda> It's compact.

Davis> Right?

Very much so.

You know some of the species can get up to 4 or 5 feet, even, even taller.

Amanda> Even a giant one When can.

The top.

Right.

Davis> Right.

But, but this one is, is a good one for a, the smaller garden if you're, if you've got a subdivision garden and you're, you're wanting to attract some late season pollinators.

This is your plant.

Amanda> And of course, the perennial.

Davis> Very durable perennials and since they are natives, they're not prone to a lot of diseases or pests.

They, they've learned to coexist with the environment.

Amanda> And, I was looking at Vicki about these and they get gall sometimes.

Vicky> Yep.

Amanda> And honestly, it's just the most mind boggling thing.

So they get these galls on them that are little round holes for parasites.

They can get kind of big.

<Yeah.> I mean yeah, I mean there's there's an insect in there and, and they're, all kinds of insects make the galls on goldenrod.

And there's some mint there, one kind that does some kind of little tiny fly, eat, they're like 50 kinds of this little fly, And each one of those flies only has one species of goldenrod it goes to.

I mean, how crazy, crazy, crazy.

And then, birds know that there's something.

in those galls.

Vicky> Yes.

Amanda> Is that right?

Vicky> Yes.

Amanda> So they'll come?

Vicky> Yep.

It's not unusual for you to have, like, if you've got, you can have a rotten log and you'll have animals digging in the log because they can hear something chewing or boring, or whatever.

Animals are amazing.

Amanda> Yeah.

Yeah.

That's a wonderful one, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Anyway, so, I just well.

And it doesn't.... It does not make you sneeze.

I promise.

Davis> No it blooms at the same time as ragweed.

Amanda> Yeah.

Ragweed will, perhaps make you sneeze.

(laughing) Okay.

Okay.

So we're now going to, see, have our friend Jackie McCauley talk about terrariums.

Amanda> I'm happy to welcome Jackie McCaulay, from Jarrett's Jungle over in West Columbia, back to Making It Grow .

And, tell everybody a little bit about your shop.

Jackie> Well, hi.

I've been there for 45 years, and, we carry mostly indoor plants.

So if you need something for your house, we can help you with that.

We've got lots of experience, and, you can see anything from an orchid to a bonsai tree to a little mini plant that you might use to build a terrarium, which is one thing that we're here to talk about today.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, we have to start with how the roots is going to drain and how the roots are going to be in it.

So how do we start building the layers that we need?

Jackie> Okay.

Well, to build the layers, there's several different things that you can use.

But, I like to put a little bit of rock or some coarse material at the bottom so that if I do overwater the terrarium, the excess water moisture will have some place to go.

So I'm going to start using something called LECA.

And LECA is used, it's little clay balls that have been then expanded.

And it's lightweight.

<Very.> So being lightweight, you can use it in a glass container.

If you were to use rocks in the bottom, and it gets heavy and you pick it up, the bottom may just drop out of it.

So use something like sand or these little pebbles.

Amanda> Are these available locally?

Jackie> Yes.

You can buy them locally at a good garden center or hardware store.

Some of the pet stores carry them because they're also good for, some people who, you know, might raise frogs, lizards- <Oh, okay.

Sure.> <Not for cats and dogs.> Jackie> Not really for cats and dogs.

You go to the pet store for the reptiles.

<Okay.> to find them.

<Okay.> But- Amanda> Tell me what it was called again.

Jackie> It's called LECA.

Amanda> LECA.

Okay.

<Yeah.> Jackie> And so after you get your Leica in there, you can, go with a little layer of charcoal.

And I used this activated charcoal.

And I also get this from a pet store.

<Okay.> And this keeps the bacteria and the algae and the fungi at the- Amanda> So you don't have to put much in?

Jackie> No, just a just a light layer.

Amanda> Okay.

Jackie> And, you know, spreading it out good is, is a good idea so that the whole area will be covered and carbon just absorbs excess moisture.

<Okay.> Keeps your mold at bay.

You can use as much as you want.

Some people like to see it, so they would put like a big layer.

You can also use sand.

And sand is pretty because you can make a layer that will really show up with the sand.

Amanda> And this is just builders sand?

Jackie> Yeah, this is just builder's sand like you would use for concrete.

And having different layers on the glass also adds to the interest of the terrarium.

<It does.> And you know, it gives you something else to focus on.

Amanda> And this one I think is, Jackie> That's got all sand.

Amanda> Yeah.

And that's lovely.

Jackie> I didn't put any LECA in the bottom of that.

Amanda> But because of the, shape of this one, that worked out very well?

Jackie> Yes it did.

And this is a similar shape.

And then my soil is just simply a peat mix.

It's got vermiculite.

It's got perlite.

It's got peat moss in it.

<Okay.> And it's a sterile mix.

And this, mix I've used for a long time.

And you can use something that's really good for houseplants.

Amanda> Excellent drainage.

Jackie> Yeah, good drainage and something not too heavy, because when you're working in a glass container, once again.

Amanda> You said you had an unfortunate accident.

Jackie> I did.

I broke a very nice container once.

So I'm going to use a piece of driftwood.

I just find wood at the beach or someplace like that.

And I think it just adds a little bit of interest to it.

When you're making a terrarium, you want to make it feel like it's outside.

You know, you want to bring the outside inside.

<All righty.> So you're trying to make like a little garden and, you know, back in the 1840s, this man named Frederick Ward, he, he created a wardian case that enabled Kew Gardens to import a lot of plants from Africa and South America, that he wouldn't have been able to it had he not had it.

A wardian case, is just like a glass box Amanda> Okay.

Jackie> That's been made to transport plants in so that they stay moist and humid because they used to try to bring them back from there and they would die.

Amanda> Some months at sea.

Jackie> They would die.

So he really, created the terrarium even though they didn't call it that.

Then they called it wardian case.

So I've just, didn't mess with the roots any.

They're already in small containers.

Amanda> You took a little bit of the extra soil... Jackie> And I did, I put a little extra soil around it.

And sometimes I like to use a little tool, like a little spool on a stick to tamp down the soil around the plant, just to kind of.

Amanda> Because it's hard to put your down in there and do that.

Jackie> Yeah.

Your hands are too big Amanda> Especially as you get more stuff in there.

Jackie> Right.

And so you want different textures of plants because if you put everything the same, it'll just sort of blend together and be boring.

So you try to pick different leaf textures.

So this is a lot different than the flower that I put in there.

And you also want to use different colors.

So and if it's too large you're just going to make it a little bit smaller by picking or cutting some of your leaves off.

(Amanda laughs) And I was trying to decide if I wanted to use that one or the pink one.

And I think I'm going to go with the pink.

<It's so pretty.> Because I think it'll add a little more color, and it definitely needs some leaves picked off it.

<Yeah.> So I'm going to just make it a little bit smaller by taking some of the lower leaves off.

They'll, they'll grow back from new growth.

And you really don't have to pick off too many, but just some of the larger ones.

Amanda> Do you have a tool that you can use after it's planted, if you need to take more leaves off?

Jackie> Yes.

I use some long handled scissors.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Yeah.

Jackie> And I wish I would have brought them to show you today.

<That's okay.> But you know, you can just buy any kinds of scissors that you can get down there and snip.

And I've even on the, the bottle types, I have created my own tool for that by using like little fingernail scissors.

<Gracious.> Jackie> And, actually putting sticks on them so I can use, you know, clip from a very small space.

Amanda> It's hard enough to create a terrarium, but this is getting way over my head.

Jackie> Yeah, well, we're not doing one of those today, so you don't have to worry about it too much.

All right, so now I've got some color in there.

Now I want, like, a little ground cover at the bottom.

<Oh.> I'm going to use this beautiful little ficus.

Amanda> Isn't it lovely?

Jackie> Yes.

It'll blend in well with the foliage.

It's a nice dark green.

Amanda> And give you a whole another component to the height.

Jackie> And this is going to be like my ground cover.

So I am going to kind of split the roots off a little bit on this one just to flatten them out, see how I just kind of flatten the roots.

I didn't really pull any off.

I just, just made them like a little pancake.

And I think I'm going to use my little tool.

And now I'm going to ease them down in there.

Use that.

And just kind of bring some of your other soil around, Amanda> Getting tucked in well.

Jackie> Yeah, getting... You want to make good contact with the soil.

<Of course> because if you don't, the plants won't really grow very well.

Now, since I have a little color on this side, I'm going to put a little bit of color on the other side.

Amanda> Okay.

Balance.

Jackie> Balance.

That's right.

This is a Fortonia.

Fortonia is also called a nerve plant.

Amanda> A nerve plant?

Jackie> They come in whites and they come in pinks <Alright.> And the fuller you get it the more you have to use your tools.

<Certainly.> because you can't really get your hand down in there like you could in the beginning.

And I'm going to use this, to kind of tamp in around there.

Amanda> Does anybody have, needles and threads, spools anymore?

Jackie> Yeah.

You really need the smaller spools for that.

But that was the only one that I had made up.

And then check it and see if you've got some spots maybe, that you need to add some soil to.

Amanda> And this is easy because we can see right through the glass.

Jackie> And I see a place like up here in the front where I might like to put a rock or some moss.

And so I think I'm going to opt for some moss.

You can use real moss, which, Amanda> but these are dried lichens.

Jackie> Yeah.

I mean, this is a dried lichen, and I find it to be a little more, long lasting.

<Okay.> Now, if you have a yard that's plentiful with moss, you can just go out in your yard at any time.

Amanda>This would mean I don't have to worry about having soil contact either.

Jackie> Right.

And you might need to watch that moss a while, because you might bring in some creepy crawlies in it that you didn't want in your terrarium.

But, you just look around to see where you might need to add a little something for some interest.

A little...I even use things like pecans or, you know, just anything that gives it that sort of a woodsy feel to it.

Amanda> Fine for acorns.

Jackie> Acorns would work.

Amanda> That would be fun.

Jackie> I've seen people make little men out of the acorns, which is really cute, to do things like that.

And you could use, like, an orchid in here.

The plants that stay in a terrarium get really good humidity.

So when you like Maidenhair, ferns that you can't hardly grow in your house if you put them in a terrarium you can grow them.

Amanda> If nothing, it's beautiful.

Jackie> They're so graceful.

<Yeah, yeah.> Jackie> Okay, now we need to water it.

<Okay.> I was about to forget that.

So I use a spray bottle to water it because it's easy to get too much water in a terrarium.

And when you get too much water in it, then you end up with.

Amanda> And your medium was not wet or damp at all?

Jackie> No, it's not.

And you can tell by the colors of the soil, because you can see as it's coming down, the soil gets darker.

So when your terrarium needs water, the soil will be a lighter color and you'll know when to water it.

<Okay.> This also enables you to put different types of plants in your terrarium so that you can water each one individually and not have to- Amanda>-if they have different requirements... Jackie> Yeah, they might have different requirements, Like if you have an African violet or something in there.

So I think that looks really pretty.

Amanda> You were telling me that, this is a nice thing to take to people in a nursing home or a hospital situation, because you sometimes put things in it that make it seem like you're walking through the woodlands.

Jackie> That's right, especially on your larger terrariums.

<Yeah.> You can really get a feel for a forest in there.

And so if someone's shut-in and they can't get outside, it's a lovely thing to give them.

And they do make them in plastic containers, too.

You can go to your pet store and buy a place that sells fish, and they'll have a plastic bowl because I know a lot of the, the, you know, nursing homes and things don't allow glass.

They don't want a lot of glass.

I just think this is lovely the way it is, and it seems so natural.

But some people like to have a little more fun, and I think they're things you can put them in if you want to.

Jackie> Yes, there are.

Some people like to put little colorful things, like, we've got the little mushrooms, you can, put in Amanda> That's kind of sweet.

Yeah.

Jackie> Or we have frogs.

You can put a little frog in there, if you like frogs.

You can even glue them to the glass if you want to, to have them in there.

We've got things like the little turtles, <Different colors things> Yeah, different colored things.

Amanda> And are these just, where do you find all these...little things?

Jackie> I find them different places.

The museum stores or, you know, like our state museum has them.

<Come on.> You can find them lots of places.

Amanda> Isn't that something?

Jackie> Yeah.

Just look in the children's, you know where the toys are.

Amanda> Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, this has just been such fun.

I want to thank you so much for coming and, and expanding our idea about gardening.

Jackie> Well, I've really enjoyed it.

Thank you for having me.

Amanda> I so enjoy going to visit Jackie at her store, but it's great when she comes here and shares her talents with us, too.

And we, might come up to see you at your Fall festival.

But it's always nice when you come down here and share things with us here.

Davis> Always a pleasure.

Amanda> Okay.

What have we got?

Davis> This is a, this is our native, Pachysandra This is our Pachysandra procumbens or Allegheny spurge.

There's a lot of talk always about, non nat-, non-native, invasive plants.

Well, this one is a native, and, in addition to having this luscious green foliage, pretty much year round, sometimes it dies back a bit in a really cold winter, but this one also has fragrant white flowers in the Spring.

Amanda> Does it?

Davis> It thrives in the shade, and, if you're looking for a nice native groundcover, that's not going to be invasive and it's going to be limited by the environment.

This is, this is one of your, one of your choices.

Amanda>And the leaf, the texture of the leaf is wonderful.

It's such a thick, hardy leaf.

It's not a wimp.

Davis> It certainly is.

And this one comes to us from our friends up at, Carolina Native Nursery up in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Amanda> Yeah.

Davis> They've rebounded.

Amanda> They've done wonderfully after the flood.

Davis> Yes.

They certainly have.

Amanda> Well, we give them credits to them and for bringing these wonderful natives to us.

And we thank all of you for bringing all of your knowledge with us.

And we thank you for being with us at home.

And we'll see you next week.

Night, night.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

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This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

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Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.