<Voice-over> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina is a cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to help consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

The Boyd Foundation supporting outdoor recreational opportunities, the appreciation of wildlife, educational programs and enhancing the quality of life in Columbia, South Carolina and the Midlands at large.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina.

Family owned and operated since 1916.

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

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

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

We're so glad that you could join us tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty.

I'm a Clemson horticulture agent and I get to come over here and learn from our wonderful guest and get to learn from my co-host, Terasa Lott, because, Teresa, you have you're always putting fun things on our Facebook page and I just think you like to find little tidbits that are that are cool.

<Terasa> That is exactly the word that popped into my mind.

These little snippets or tidbits of information.

You never know when that trivia might be useful.

<Amanda> And then also, you oversee the Master Gardener program.

<Terasa> I do.

And you know, a lot of times we talk about just within South Carolina, but it is a national network of volunteers.

<Amanda> Isn't it even international?

<Terasa> It is, yes.

There are a few areas outside of the US, but there were over 84,000 volunteers at the last.

We do, like, an every two year survey.

So over 84,000 volunteers across the United States and Washington, D.C., and about 3 million volunteer hours performed.

I mean, it's a massive program with a lot of impact.

<Amanda> And, you know, it's just funny because they might be standing in line behind somebody at a garden center and say, "Well, you know," they're like, "Oh."

And I say, "Well, I'll tell you what I know about that."

I mean, it's just the chances for opportunities to interact besides just answering phones in offices and things like that.

<Terasa> It's multiplied.

<Christopher> Okay.

Well, Christopher Burtt, you're in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester.

And that's a big area to cover.

So do you try to get around to each one?

And if you run Master Gardener programs, do you do them in different once or how do you go about it?

<Christopher> So we centralize our Master Gardener program.

Charleston being the biggest county, definitely has the biggest draw, but I do try to go around to all the counties.

I will say Charleston, of course, requires most of my attention, but with help of the master gardeners, we are able to get out to most of the areas.

<Amanda> Well, that's fun!

I'm glad you get to do that.

That's a lot of getting around in traffic, though, isn't it?

<Christopher> It sure is.

Now, you don't have your classes downtown.

I guess that's too crowded, isn't it?

<Christopher> No, we do it just out of downtown.

We do it on West Ashley.

It's a little bit easier to get to better parking.

Yes, parking, somewhat of a difficulty sometimes in downtown Charleston.

And Jackie Jordan, you are the hort agent in Fairfield, Kershaw, and Richland.

And is Fairfield beginning to see expansion and growth the way some of the other parts of the state are?

<Jackie> No, it is.

No, no.

<Amanda> I'm glad there's some place.

Oh, I'm kind of glad to hear that something hasn't been just taken over.

Yeah, that's a pretty part of the world, though, isn't it?

<Jackie> Oh, it is, it is a very pretty part of the world.

Yeah.

<Amanda> And so there, do you have more small farmers or what kind of people?

<Jackie> I do, I've got a couple of small farmers who grow mixed vegetables on 1 to 3 acres, and then they'll sell them at the Winnsboro Farmers Market.

<Amanda> Oh, okay.

Well, if anybody's up there and doesn't know about the Winnsboro Farmer's Market, they should find out.

Get absolutely fresh produce.

<Jackie> Oh, yeah.

<Amanda> Okay.

Well, thank you.

And then, Hannah Mikell, you are a row crop agent, agronomy agent.

And it was funny because I learned that, why you call them row crops.

<Hannah> It was easy to explain when I was teaching high school that they all grow in a row.

They're all crops.

And so as we grow them all in rows, it's a row crop, and it's generally one of our mass produce crops like monoculture type thing, like either corn, soybeans, some of our larger commodities that we have in South Carolina.

<Amanda> Sure, which is fun, though.

Yeah.

And a lot of them, people have been farming the same land for hundreds of years, I believe.

<Hannah> Yeah.

Yeah.

There's even some down where you live and they've been granted land from the king.

So this goes back.

I don't know how long ago.

<Amanda> Forever and ever.

<Hannah> Yeah, but those families still have that, that property that has been in their family for years and years.

<Amanda> For generations.

<Hannah> Oh, yeah, yeah.

And I love it.

<Amanda> It's kind of remarkable, isn't it?

<Hannah> Yeah.

<Amanda> Yeah.

Anyway, so we are having our 30th anniversary, so when we stop talking and answering questions or just having a good time, we're going to show you some segments and some of them are from past years, but one that's recent is Austin Jenkins.

We'll have him.

Then we go to 40 Acre Rock and then we do bird banding and Paw Paw.

So that'll be fun coming up and since it is our 30th anniversary, we're going to have a we're going to do a show from the fair, and that will be on October the 18th, about four in the afternoon.

So if you want to come and join us there, we would love to have you in the audience.

It would really be nice to see some see some smiling faces out there.

And you can get those wonderful French fries that you put that special kind of vinegar on.

Oh, gosh, it's just wonderful.

Yeah.

Anyway, Terasa, should we start off with something happy and encouraging?

<Terasa> We should.

This is the "Gardens of the Week" segment.

It's see your opportunity to show us what you're growing in your yard, your garden.

Maybe you visited a beautiful place in South Carolina, or I know we've had a few outside of our from our neighboring states.

It's like a virtual field trip.

Today we start with Brooks Vaughn, and Brooks sent a picture of his mother-in-law's coin plant.

Or you might know it as pancake plant or Chinese money plant.

So this is an indoor plant.

And he was so proud to report that his mother-in-law has a very green thumb.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Terasa> Lacy Wilder shared the stunning colors of her red bud.

This particular one is called flame thrower.

And you can really see why with the foliage.

Jenny McCaffrey sent in her daughter Emma, with her 4-H small garden project in Lexington County.

And Emma happened to be one of the state winners.

Congratulations to Emma and to everyone that participated in that project.

Brenda Gedron shared a large collection of potted plants on her deck.

She said it was really a challenge to keep them all watered, but it was well worth it.

And then finally, Jessica Stafford, as she describes marigolds, marigolds and more of marigolds.

We appreciate all of your submissions, whether you posted them to our Facebook page, sent them to me in Messenger or sent them via email, and I encourage you to see all of the Facebook page submissions.

There were a lot of them.

<Amanda> And I remind people, and even I still sometimes get it wrong because most people think that Terasa is the most, the name that we always think of.

But you are Terasa T-E-R-A-S-A @ Clemson.edu.

<Terasa> That is correct.

<Amanda> And the other person will say, "I don't understand why I'm getting these pictures," because they think she's an organic terrorist or something strange.

(laughs) <Terasa> For me.

Yes.

(laughs) <Amanda> Not horticulture related.

Okay.

Austin Jenkins is a naturalist at USC Sumter.

And, oh he just has so many wonderful things to talk about.

And he came and talked to a good many things and we're going to share them with you as the weeks come.

But this time we talked about cockroaches or palmetto bugs.

I'm talking to Austin Jenkins, who's a naturalist at the University of South Carolina here in Sumter, South Carolina.

And Austin, it's South Carolina.

And cockroaches are just part of life down here.

<Austin> Yep, yep.

And in my house, which is 1880, they just, you know, walk in and out.

And I, you know, I mean, we, you know, I mean, I sweep and, you know, keep the garbage can closed and all that.

But they're just part of the natural world here, aren't they?

<Austin> Palmetto bug, right?

And you know, they, uh... Yeah.

And yeah, I've a degree in entomology, but I'll admit that the one insect I haven't completely warmed up to is the cockroach.

But they don't deserve all the scorn that we give them sometimes.

I mean, they're they're mostly, you know, coming in and scavenging off of, you know, some of the food items and the lack of hygiene that we sometimes have as human beings.

And, you know, they don't actually carry, you know, a lot of disease, mostly when humans have a reaction to them, it's because they're allergic to perhaps the feces of the cockroaches or the presence of the cockroaches, but.

<Amanda> Or the dead bodies in certain horrible situations.

<Austin> Right.

Right.

Right.

And, but you're not going to, you know, contract a disease from, you know, having one run across the floor or even handling one.

And so and only a couple of them, you know, that make their way into our homes.

The American cockroach and the German cockroach are famous in South Carolina inside our homes.

But most cockroaches live out in the forest.

They have important roles there.

One of them is especially to decompose wood.

And so, yeah, they have the ability to do very much like a termite.

So they have a little partnership with a, you know, internal symbiont that helps them digest cellulose.

That's hard to do as an animal.

And so the cockroaches in the forest do that.

And unless we want to walk or trip over logs in the forest, we're thankful for the cockroaches.

<Amanda> So they have real hairy legs and long antennae.

What do they get from those?

<Austin> Yeah, they never shave their legs, but, they just are probably doing mostly that sensory.

So they're out at nighttime, you know, And so vision doesn't work quite as well at night.

And so you go with, you know, elongated appendages such as hairs that are tied to sensory structures, antennae that are extra long.

Those things can help you make your way around in a dark environment.

And spines upon legs are also somewhat protective, too.

- Okay, we ordered a pizza one time and when it came it had an, oh, thing on it, and I knew what that was.

It was not something we wanted on our pizza.

<Austin> Yeah.

So a lot of people will find not so much the cockroach, but the egg case.

And it looks like a little, you know, brown pill that you would have in a pill jar or something like that.

That's a cockroach egg case.

It'll give way to, you know, 20 or 30 little tiny cockroaches when they're ready to hatch.

And it's curious if you look at a cockroach egg case, <Amanda> Yeah?

<Austin> Then go look at a praying mantid egg case, like the Carolina mantid.

<Amanda> Yeah?

<Austin> It looks a lot alike.

And that's because they're closely related.

And, you know, if you use your imagination, which you should be doing, and and look at a cockroach in profile they do resemble, just a little bit, the body structure of a praying mantid.

And so one of their, you know, cousins as well as the termites and termites are sometimes called by entomologists sophisticated cockroaches because they've learned to live together and stuff.

But they're doing the decomposition.

Right?

That that these guys these guys do as well.

So.

<Amanda> Well, I'm going to put these in the trash, and I can always find one if I need one, because it's South Carolina.

<Austin> That's right.

There'll be more.

<Amanda> Thanks, Austin.

<Austin> Absolutely.

<Amanda> Terasa, I guess I feel like it should be the state insect, but I don't think it is.

<Terasa> It is not.

Funny story.

I had never seen a cockroach until I moved to South Carolina.

I moved to attend college and there was a dead one in my dorm room and I seriously reconsidered whether or not I wanted to stay.

(laughter) <Amanda> They are...

I just don't know too many people who get real thrilled about cockroaches.

<Terasa> Outside, but there's just something about when they come indoors.

<Amanda> But they're good little decomposers.

<Terasa> Yeah, that's right.

And everything has a role.

<Amanda> Yes, it does.

It does.

It does.

Anyhow, So now we will try to answer some questions for people.

<Terasa> Let's try.

I think we can help Ody, who is in Pelzer.

Ody shared a photograph with us and said, "I have a running rose that was planted years ago "that is out of control.

"It is a grown up mess.

Is it safe to cut it back at this time of year?"

<Amanda> Huh?

Well, to me, it would seem, Christopher, if it's going that vigorously, maybe you should try to do something that might set it back a little bit.

What's your advice?

<Christopher> Yeah.

So for the most part, when it comes to roses, the best kind of rule that I've always followed is eight weeks before the first frost, don't touch it.

By that point, you stop deadheading, you stop cutting it.

So, even for something like this, where I don't want to necessarily have it regrow too vigorously, I would still wait until the spring.

I really want to wait until the end of February or early March.

<Amanda> Oh, okay.

- Then I would go ahead and cut it back fairly significantly.

I would try to get it to a size that you would prefer and then try to stay on top of pruning roses, roses grow very fast.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Christopher> So, try to stay on top of pruning.

You probably won't get too many blooms next year, but considering how overgrown it is, that might not be a bad thing.

<Amanda> Okay.

All right.

<Terasa> Sometimes we have to sacrifice the flowers a little bit, so.

<Amanda> Okay, but wait?

So not, so go ahead and wait 'til Spring?

<Christopher> Yes.

Don't cut it now.

Definitely don't cut it now.

Wait until the spring.

<Amanda> Okay.

Well, thank you for that good advice.

All right.

Terasa?

<Terasa> Coming in from Elgin, we had a question from Jim who said, "If I want to have pumpkins for Halloween, when would I need to plant them?"

<Amanda> Oh, my goodness.

<Terasa> That's a very good question.

<Amanda> It is.

Jackie?

He may have to go somewhere and get a pumpkin, I don't know.

<Jackie> He's going to have to, He's missed the boat on that one.

Unfortunately, they're a longer growing plant, so you're looking at 110 to 120 days, depending on what variety you particularly want.

So I would start the seeds indoors two weeks before you want to plant them out.

So mid-June, start them indoors, plant them out before the 4th of July.

And then you really have to be careful because we have squash vine borers that will go after the pumpkin vines.

So keep them covered with some insect protecting cloth that are fine weave, that allow the sunlight and the water through but then you're going to have to pollinate when you get the first female flowers.

You get the Q-tip, and, but the good news is, once we get into August, mid-August, the squash vine borers are done.

They've had their two generations, they're done.

And you can pull that insect netting off and you can really keep that pumpkin going.

<Amanda> What about fungal diseases?

I thought they were pretty prone to fungal diseases.

<Jackie> They do you get a lot of fungal diseases, too.

Yeah.

So we can get some least powdery mildew, downy mildew, so, yeah.

<Amanda> I've heard that some of the places that have, like, times when children are supposed to come and get pumpkins, they have to go upstate or to some other states and bring them in and put them in the field because they just couldn't deal with all the fungal pressures.

<Jackie> They do.

But I would still look at some different varieties because they're always coming out with new introductions and you might be able to find a variety that has a fairly good resistance.

<Amanda> Okay, it's just a pack of seeds.

There you go, all right, always good to give things a try.

All right.

Thank you.

Terasa?

<Terasa> I think Hannah's got some things on the table there.

<Amanda> Oh, my goodness.

Well, you do.

Here they are right in front of me.

<Hannah> Uh-huh, yeah.

<Amanda> It's not sweet corn, so I'm not nibbling on it, because I like sweet corn out of the field.

<Hannah> You might lose a tooth on this one.

This is pretty stout here.

It's dried down fairly well, and it would be very hard.

Yeah, but you're right.

This is not sweet corn.

This is still corn.

It's a dent type corn.

<Amanda> And it's interesting when you say "dent" because if you look at it and I imagine we'll get it, it's got a little depression in every single kernel.

A little dent.

<Hannah> It is dented.

<Amanda> Isn't it interesting?

<Hannah> Yeah, that's another thing we use as agronomists.

When we're in the field, we can shuck it back to just see, like, how far along the growth stage is and whenever it enters, when it comes out of milk into dough, and then dent, it will have the dent.

<Amanda> Oh!

<Hannah> So you can see as it's progressed, it's maturing.

<Amanda> So that's a sign of maturity.

<Hannah> Mm-hm.

Yeah.

And I was taking this kernel off to show you whenever it does actually mature, it's called black layer, and that means that it's no longer taking anything from the cob, which is sucking the stalk and down the roots.

Right?

And so there will be a tiny little black thing in here.

It's not truly black, but it's kind of gray.

You can see it, and it just means that it's no longer it's kind of healed off that connection from the cob and it's no longer taking in nutrients.

<Amanda> Wow.

<Hannah> Yeah.

So as a farmer's standpoint, they know like, oh, it's not taking any fertilizer.

We no longer have to water this or really look at it being damaged from having lack of nutrients or anything.

<Amanda> Well, that is amazing!

<Hannah> You want to know another cool fact?

<Amanda> Yeah.

<Hannah> Okay.

So whenever I take and I break these in half, I can see what their moisture is.

And so whenever I think you can see it in this one here, but whenever we get ready to harvest, if you were to harvest a lot of wet corn, like, kind of damp, yeah, and you put that in a big semi and you put that in a grain bin, you're going to wind up with some rotten corn, right?

So one thing we like to do is we can break it and kind of see what our drying is on this and see how dry it is.

The places that we are typically sending our corn and purchasing it from us in the state is around 50% moisture, and so in the field, when we start to harvest our corn, it might be at 21%, 20%, depending on how much corn you have planted, right?

Because you've got to get started sometime.

So by the end of the year, we're at 14 maybe, but at the end of the harvest season.

But that's something that we are able to to kind of understand a better way of when to harvest and when to market our corn and that type of thing.

<Amanda> Okay.

And so tell me what you look at to determine that.

<Hannah> Well, so when you break it, if I had this and I was to break it, then I would take a look right here.

And you can kind of just see how dry it looks on top.

<Amanda> Oh, okay.

<Hannah> And it would be more evident if this is wet.

You'd have a line in it.

<Amanda> Oh, okay.

<Hannah> But this free dry, about 50% moisture, which is one that we would have harvested right now to go to the chicken plant or something like that.

<Amanda> And so we do grow a good bit of corn and most of ours is used as feed for the poultry industry.

<Hannah> That's correct.

Yeah.

I think in a whole if we were to take a couple of the poultry companies in South Carolina, we grind and, you know, feed our own food, they could not they'd have to buy more corn, even in South Carolina's.

We can ship it in from other states in order to grind and have enough fee for our own chickens, yeah.

<Amanda> It's just fascinating how integrated all the different aspects of agriculture are in this state, don't you think?

<Hannah> Yeah, and how we were so reliant on weather.

I mean, if the Midwest has a drought or early or late freeze and they get set behind on their corn, that makes our prices possibly go up and it, it affects a whole lot.

I mean... <Amanda> And then the chicken's gonna cost more when you go to the store.

<Hannah> It could, very well could.

And we've seen that happen, haven't we?

<Amanda> Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

And then, did you say there's kind of a way that you - <Hannah> Yes.

- A parlor trick that you do?

<Hannah> I do, I mean, you know.

<Amanda> Agronomists have weird ideas of what to do <Hannah> My parties right now consist of like five, six, seven or eight year old parties.

Okay, so you know, that's cool to a child, but as you, if you were to go, like, to a barbecue or something, and you're like, "Hey, how many, "I bet I could get you a stick of bubblegum that I can know how many kernels are around this."

And, "No, no way.

Can't be."

And you can tell by it being an even number.

It's always going to be an even number, and generally, we see on our corn like 16, 18, 20 kernels around.

<Amanda> So the better growth you had, the better year you had, the more kernels you'd have.

<Hannah> Right, Right.

So theoretically, whenever that plant is coming up, it's about knee-high, the tops of the leaves are, right?

We've got a lot that's determining how big that plant's going to be.

And so if we limit water, if we limit resources, sunlight even, that plant is forming these ears, these kernels and the kernel is down like in the stalk and it's like, right at ground level.

And so if that plant decides, "Hey, I don't, I'm not going to have enough water for the year," what does that thing do?

It decides to cut the kernels around.

So I could have maybe 12 kernels around which is going to then reduce my bushels.

<Amanda> Wow!

<Hannah> So if our plants just, like, if we think of animals or something at a very young growth stage, if it's limited on the amount of nutrients, then it's going to limit the potential it has.

<Amanda> So it's not because this seed is going to grow bigger corn than somebody else's corn.

<Hannah> No.

<Amanda> It's really the conditions under which it grows.

<Hannah> Correct, yeah.

<Amanda> Well, that's just fascinating.

<Hannah> And then, from there on, I mean, obviously it's going to continue to grow, but we want to spoon feed it and just make sure it has all the proper nutrients it needs to to grow, what we need, the kind of yields that we want.

<Amanda> Oh, it's very complex.

<Hannah> It's so much fun, though.

I like it.

<Amanda> Well, I think that's wonderful.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think it's a big crop for South Carolina farmers.

<Hannah> It is.

It's a money making crop right now.

Our prices are good.

And if we're able to make some yields, then that's a plus for us.

<Amanda> Anything for our farmers.

<Hannah> That's right.

Yeah.

<Amanda> Okay, well, this is a place where you can't grow corn and that's 40 Acre Park.

But there are some very peculiar things that grow there and don't grow almost anywhere else in the world in some cases.

So let's take a trip up there with Dr. John.

♪ We're visiting 40 Acre Rock Heritage Preserve in Lancaster County, South Carolina.

With me is Johnny Stowe of the Department of Natural Resources.

Johnny, what is this big thing we're standing on?

This is a big chunk of granite, and it's one of the biggest of its kind, one of the most special pieces of rock in the world.

It's got plants here that are some of the rarest in the world.

It's a public property.

It's owned by the citizens of South Carolina.

It's here for their use and enjoyment, for hunting, fishing, hiking, photography.

And it's a really, really special place, one of the jewels of the Department of Natural Resources.

And you have plans to even expand what we have here.

And what would you like to see happen?

We would like to see the place a little bit bigger.

This part right here, this 14 acre rock, the term 40 acres goes way back and that we're going to keep that.

But it's actually about 14 acres of bedrock.

It's the core area where the really neat stuff occurs, the rare plants such as these behind us.

But if we need land around it to protect this core area from offsite influences.

<Amanda> Speaking of good outside influences, I think that John Nelson is over there and I'm going to join him in a little bit of botanizing on this wonderful place.

<Johnny> John's the expert on these plants and I hope you all enjoy your time out here.

♪ <Amanda> John, as I look around, I see so many colors and shapes and flower structures and I just don't see how a big, flat, hot granite rock can have all this going on.

How did it happen?

<John> Well, Amanda, you'd think that a place like a flat rock would be very boring and monotonous.

But in this case, we have quite a number of habitats right on top of the rock itself, not only the very high and dry habitats, but very wet ones.

That is temporary pools that fill up with rainwater during the springtime alternately wet and dry.

Right now, most of them are drying out, but the next time it rains, it'll be wet again.

- Well, what's one of the plants that has found that special niche living in that?

<John> Well, the perhaps the most special plant here is called pool sprite.

It's one of the smallest flowering plants in the world.

It's also one of the rarest.

It only occurs in this habitat on Earth and only in the southeastern United States.

And in South Carolina, there's only a very, very few places where you can find it.

And this is one of them.

<Amanda> Little pool sprite.

And then over here, it looks like a green carpet.

It'd be a wonderful place to rub your hand and see how soft it feels.

Is it a kind of grass that's up here?

<John> It looks like grass, doesn't it?

Looks like it's been mowed almost.

But no, it's not a grass.

In fact, most of that grassy looking stuff is a fern relative.

It's actually a little mysterious plant called Merlin's Grass, and it reproduces by spores.

It doesn't even make flowers or seeds.

<Amanda> Oh, Merlin, because of the magician.

That's so magical.

<John> Very mysterious.

<Amanda> And then, of course, we've got these great big circles of red like bull's eyes up here.

<John> Sure, and a lot of these pools there will be this very specialized, succulent plant that's called our pine.

And it does.

It has a very long scientific name.

We won't worry about that right now.

But it is a beautiful little plant that has brilliant red foliage and very tiny white flowers.

<Amanda> In the world of botany, I don't think you can ever get too far away from a sunflower family member, at least I think that's what I'm seeing.

<John> What a wonderful family it is, too.

It sure is.

A member of the Asteraceae.

It's a plant that people like to call mule's ears because the foliage is very soft and fuzzy.

Like if you're feeling a mule's ears.

And it's also related very closely to a number of the Senecios that people like to grow.

<Amanda> John, I think that we're in a treasure trove.

I'd like for you to take me around and point out some of these other fascinating plants.

Amanda, Let's go see some of it.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ It's not only fascinating at the top of 40 Acre Rock, but there's another parking lot that's down much lower and that walks around a water feature of some sort.

And that was fascinating, too, with all kinds of completely different plants, I mean, very lush and green.

So it's a great place to go.

You have to walk, though.

You can't just drive up there and be in the parking lot.

Okay.

Well, I was in Calhoun County.

We have a pollinator garden next to the library, which is just so cool.

And I was over there looking around and I found the white thing is bone set.

And if you don't know about bone set, you should look it up because they used to think it helped people who had broken their bones or something.

But it has great pollinators on it.

If you have it in your yard, you'll enjoy that.

And then ironweed is a beautiful purple one.

And I believe that it's kind of from out in the Midwest or someplace.

And I thought maybe the soils were higher in iron, I don't know.

Some funky reason for the name.

Look it up.

It's fun to look it up.

And then we also have from the pollinator garden, oxeye sunflower, we were looking at, we think that's what it is.

But sometimes, if you're talking to botanists they'll say D-Y-C which means darn yellow composites because there are just so many of them.

So sometimes they just say, "Oh, that's one of those DYC's," which is kind of fun.

All righty.

Terasa?

<Terasa> Andrew from Charleston would like some help.

It seems there is a prevalent weed that he is seeing throughout the city of Charleston.

He says it doesn't have a lot of distinguishing features, but it does have a fragrance when he rubs his hands across the leaves, could we identify it for him?

<Amanda> Goodness gracious.

And did he have to squish 'em up or did he just rub it?

(laughter) <Amanda> Well, Christopher?

<Christopher> So I, of course, looked ahead and said, "This is a really cool weed."

So, of course, weed being a relative term.

So this is called Rabbit's Tobacco, or Sweet Everlasting.

It's actually got several different names.

It's got a long history in medicinal properties and ethno botany.

But for the moment, back in the day when everybody's parents smoked cigarettes, kids like me and Tony used to collect it and we would try to make a cigarette out of it.

<Christopher> Yes, which I don't recommend, though.

It was used at one time to treat asthma, though.

I don't know how much that actually works, but it is a really cool plant, so it is also one of those asters or composites.

It has really neat flowers.

Those flowers will actually start to form at the top.

They come out dry so they have a dry outer layer, so they make really good cut flowers and it does have kind of a sweet smell to it when you kind of bruise the foliage.

But it is a very important rich kind of pollinator plant that grows in really dry conditions.

And it is also a host plant for the American Lady Butterfly.

And so another good thing to have.

But again, it's one of those really cool.

It's got a long history with the Native Americans.

It was chewed.

It was eaten.

It was used in teas and a variety of other things.

And so it's definitely one of those plants that I think is really fun to have around.

<Amanda> I used to just see it all the time and I don't run into it much anymore.

Is this one that you might find at a nursery?

A native plant nursery like roots and shoots or something?

<Christopher> Yeah, you might.

So this actually would be something that you can find occasionally.

Again, it's, I think most are going to see it more as a weed as of right now.

But as we progress, I think understanding the medicinal properties and really just understanding kind of the benefits.

<Amanda> For a larval host.

<Christopher> Yeah, benefits for pollenators.

<Amanda> Is it so weedy that it's going to take over your garden if you plant one?

<Christopher> No, it's going to have a very specific niche.

It likes very dry.

And the reason why you see it a lot in Charleston is it likes that harsh urban environment.

<Amanda> Oh, okay.

So depending on your garden, or maybe you might have a place near your house that you could cultivate.

I think that would be nice.

Yeah.

Since it doesn't, we're losing habitat space, I think.

<Christopher> Exactly.

And it's a good one to have.

<Amanda> Well, everybody loves birds and everybody wants to know where they go.

It is stunning where those birds go sometimes.

The monarchs are interesting.

But those birds!

And then, I've learned that dragonflies, some of them go a million miles, too.

Anyway, so let's watch some bird banding.

♪ I'm at the South Carolina National Guard McCray Training Center near Columbia, South Carolina.

With me today is Lex Glover, a wildlife technician for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

And y'all are doing bird banding.

And what's the purpose of this?

Well, what we're doing here with the bird banding is helping the McCrady Training Center National Resources Program to know what types of birds they have here on their facility, what types of birds are migrating through here, and what types of habitats they use during migration.

<Amanda> So how do you go about capturing these birds and getting this information?

<Lex> We have nets that are scattered around an old food plot field and this is some scrub shrub habitat and we've tucked the nets away in the vegetation with hopes of catching the birds as they move through, searching for food, water and cover.

<Amanda> Now, you put the nets up early in the morning and then you patrol them every 30 minutes to be sure that the birds don't spend too much time on them?

<Lex> Correct.

We open the nets about 30 minutes before sunrise and then we'll run the nets for about 4 hours through the morning.

And every 30 minutes we're checking the nets to retrieve the birds.

We bring them back to our set up and process and band them, weigh 'em, take our measurements, and that kind of thing.

<Amanda> Um, walk me through the little techniques you're using.

Once you take the bird out of the bag, what are the things that you're doing to the bird, and what's the purpose of that?

<Lex> Well, the first thing we do is we put a band on the bird.

This is a US Fish and Wildlife Service band.

It's a 9 to 10 digit number that's unique to that bird.

No other bird will have that number.

So basically we're giving it a Social Security number and that identification, that band will be with that bird throughout its life.

So a bird that we band here this morning, if it's recaptured or found dead somewhere, it can be traced right back to this day, this hour, that it was banded.

<Amanda> And then you do other little things with the birds.

It looks like you measure their wings and stick them upside down in the coffee cup or something.

I'm not sure what all that's about.

<Lex> Right, we do wing measurements as standard procedure when you're banding birds, we look at the feather wear to see how the birds are doing during migration.

We're also looking at, for fat.

Birds store fat at the base of their throat, and during migration they put on a lot of fat.

So as they fly across the Gulf of Mexico, they have energy to do that.

<Amanda> You're blowing through a straw on the bird.

Is that how you're looking for that fat deposit?

<Lex> That's right, because it's underneath the feathers.

So I need to get the feathers to move so I can see the the buildup of fat that's at the base of the throat.

<Amanda> And you have different size little plastic containers that you're putting the bird in and that you said that keeps the bird from being able to hurt himself.

It keeps them quiet?

<Lex> Right, it just keeps the wings up against their body so they don't flutter around and gets an accurate weight.

<Amanda> Everything that y'all do seems to be designed to bring the bird in safely and to get your measurements and data as quickly as possible before you release 'em.

<Lex> Correct.

Everything about what we do is for the safety of the birds.

Every 30 minutes we're checking nets because we want to get them out as quickly as we can.

Yet we don't want to disturb the birds that are around the net, that are about to get caught.

And then we bring them back and within minutes we can get all of our information and get the bird back into the wild.

<Amanda> Lex, where do you send all the information that you've gathered?

<Lex> The information is sent to the Bird Banding Lab, a federal agency that oversees bird banding in the country and also issues permits to bird banders in order for them to band birds because our birds are federally and state protected.

So you have to be permitted in order to handle birds.

<Amanda> What management decisions can they put into place based on the information that you send?

<Lex> The McCrady Training Center Resources Department will use this information to learn more about the habitats that these birds need for migration.

The habitats they need during nesting season so that they can protect these areas as well as use this site for the National Guard training.

<Amanda> I want to thank you so much.

This has been a fascinating experience and I know people are going to have questions.

If they'd like to know more about this process, where would you direct them?

<Lex> Well they can, to learn more about bird banding, you can go to the Bird Banding Lab website.

There's also a program that's called MAPS: Monitoring Avian Production and Survivorship, and that'll give some information as well about bird banding.

<Amanda> Thank you for your time today.

And I want to give a special thanks to the McCrady facility here for all the work that they're doing for natural resources, and, of course, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

<Lex> Thank you, as it was a pleasure to have you out today as well.

♪ It is amazing the records that they're keeping with bird banding, and my friend, Ann Nulty, who often gives me material for my hats, they've banded painted burnings at her house and they have the oldest recorded painted bunting on record that's been coming there.

It's 14 years old.

How about that?

<Panelists> How exciting.

Wow!

Oh!

<Amanda> Pretty fun, isn't it?

And she's got a license to go with it.

You know how those bird people are anyway.

(laughter) But it is kind of cool.

And it's fun, too fun to watch.

Let's do that for y'all one day.

<Amanda> All righty.

Terasa?

<Terasa> We've been talking about how areas are growing so much.

That means lots of new construction.

And Weatherly in Columbia wanted to know, "When should I plant tea olives, azaleas and camellias around my newly constructed house?

<Amanda> Okay, well, I'd say that fall is the time for planting, but I don't know when fall is.

(laughter) What would you recommend?

<Jackie> I'll have to say October, November is a great time because we typically get a lot more rain in the fall.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Jackie> And so that's, that's a great time.

So October, November, December, even up through really late February, is still a good time to plant.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Jackie> You still have time to allow roots to get established.

<Amanda> I got some, not tree bags, but shrub bags.

You know, the tree bags go up, you know, kind of high, but the shrub bags would fit around the bottom of things you'd put out, because, you know, new plants need more than just the irrigation or things like that.

<Jackie> Oh, they do.

<Amanda> So, that can be a good thing to help you get through that first couple of years, don't you think?

<Jackie> Oh, definitely!

I always tell people, you look at the little one gallon plant, and a one gallon plant is going to take anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks to become established.

So when you're looking at three gallon with most shrubs, you're looking at anywhere from 18 to 24 weeks before that plant is fully established.

So you have to water it and keep that soil moist.

And then another thing to keep in mind, and we talked about before, washing away the roots for weed control.

<Amanda> Yeah.

<Jackie> But really, you want to remove that soil from around that root ball because if you're planting into a heavier soil, the surrounding soil can actually pull moisture from that root ball and it looks like the soil around is moist, but the root ball can be completely dry.

<Amanda> Oh, okay.

And then also - <Hannah> Especially with clay soil, I think.

Clay, the clay, like, absorbs it.

And we've seen that a lot of times.

Especially in our housing.

<Amanda> Oh yeah.

<Amanda> And then you can see if there are any roots that need to be cut too, because the feeder roots are little, but if there's a big root that's circling around it, you just need to take it apart or sometimes take your hands and pull up apart.

<Terasa> And how important it is to look for the root flare.

So a lot of times if you get a tree in a container, it may be too deep in that container so it's really - <Amanda> That's how you find out.

Okay.

Well, that triggered of the clubs is a fascinating fruit specialist and let's go up there and learn about pawpaws.

♪ ♪ Where, oh where ♪ ♪ is pretty little Susie?

♪ ♪ Where, oh where ♪ ♪ is pretty little Susie?

♪ ♪ Where, oh where ♪ ♪ is pretty little Susie?

♪ ♪ Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch ♪ ♪ Picking up Paw Paws ♪ ♪ Puttin' 'em in her pockets ♪ ♪ Picking up Paw Paws ♪ ♪ Puttin' 'em in her pockets ♪ ♪ Picking up Paw Paws ♪ ♪ Puttin' 'em in her pockets ♪ ♪ Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch ♪ ♪ Come on, boys ♪ ♪ Let's go find her ♪ ♪ Come on, boys ♪ ♪ Let's go find her ♪ ♪ Come on, boys ♪ ♪ Let's go find her ♪ ♪ Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch ♪ ♪ Picking up Paw Paws ♪ ♪ Puttin' 'em in her pockets ♪ ♪ Picking up Paw Paws ♪ ♪ Puttin' 'em in her pockets ♪ ♪ Picking up Paw Paws ♪ ♪ Puttin' 'em in her pockets ♪ ♪ Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch ♪ ♪ Where, oh where ♪ ♪ is pretty little Susie?

♪ ♪ Where, oh where ♪ ♪ is pretty little Susie?

♪ ♪ Where, oh where ♪ ♪ is pretty little Susie?

♪ ♪ Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch ♪ <Amanda> We're in Clemson, South Carolina, at the Musser Fruit farm, which is one of the experimental properties of Clemson extension.

And I'm speaking with Dr. Greg Reighard who's a professor in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences.

Greg, I am so excited because this is a plant I really wanted to learn about, and for several reasons.

I want to taste one.

But also this is a native plant and we're talking about the pawpaw.

Tell me a little bit about the history of it.

<Greg> Oh yes, pawpaw is one of our few native fruits.

You know, we're used to eating apples, peaches, but they're from other continents.

The pawpaw has been around a long time.

The original settlers used it as one of their a source of fruit that gave them a very high, very high in carbohydrates, vitamins vitamin C, I believe, and it was actually a special fruit that you've probably heard the pawpaw patch and what have you.

And before we had refrigeration and shipping fruits from other parts of the country, it was a very valuable fruit for the settlers.

In fact, at the turn of the century, the previous century, 1900s, there was contests who could find the largest pawpaw and also the best tasting pawpaw.

And they were exhibited at county fairs because it had that high esteem, versus apples and peaches, which today are important.

<Amanda> But why did it fall out of favor?

<Greg> A number of reasons.

One, it was a very difficult to ship anywhere.

You have to eat it within a day or two.

There was no refrigeration back in the 1800s that was effective, so it didn't last long.

So that was the primary reason.

And then once we get refrigeration and better transportation.

People could get oranges, bananas, tropical fruits from elsewhere.

And and they were easier to handle because as you'll see later, pawpaw bruises very easily and it's more, and once again post-harvest and other fruits took the place of it.

<Amanda> Most fruit trees require a full sun, but I believe the pawpaw is actually kind of an edge of the forest.

Is that kind of the best location for it?

<Greg> Yes, or it could be edge of the forest or edge of a river, but also grows in the understory and it can tolerate shade, but it doesn't flower very well where you have shade.

<Amanda> Well, it has a peculiar flower, I must say, the color's peculiar.

And I think the insects it attracts are peculiar.

Can you describe the flower and tell us how it operates?

<Greg> Yes.

Well, the flower is a maroon color.

It's a fairly large flower, and it's a very primitive type flower.

And it uses insects, or uses, excuse me, beetles, night beetles that will do the pollination.

Now, bottle flies are also thought to pollinate it during the daytime and but for many years people didn't know that.

So.

<Amanda> There's a funny story about people who used to put roadkill on 'em.

What was the basis of that?

<Greg> Well, Corwin Davis was the first one to try to commercialize this in modern times in the sixties and seventies.

And I happened to be at Michigan when he did that.

And you would go to his little orchard and he would get road kill animals and hang in the trees and it would attract these green butterflies.

And he felt that's what gave him good pollination.

So so he always recommended roadkill as your attractor for the pollinators.

<Amanda> Getting them pollinated is a little bit different, though, because the flower is perfect as I understand, but the male and female parts are not compatible or ripe at the same time.

<Greg> The stigmas are not receptive at the same time that the pollen is released on the same tree.

So commercially pawpaws aren't really grown, but a related species, The Terra Moya and the Atemoya, especially the Atemoya, are hand pollinated.

<Amanda> Now, another interesting aspect is you have the same kind of situation.

I think it's described as like hands, where you just get this massive amount of fruit coming from one flower.

How do you handle that?

<Greg> Well, because it's not commercially grown per se, most people don't thin them.

You could thin those clusters, and we'll show you some clusters where - I think I have one.

There's 12.

But normally you get two or three, and two or three will give you up to half pound or even a pound fruit.

We've had as many as a fruit that was 2 pounds where it was just a single one.

It depends partly on genetics and partly on how many fruit clusters are on the tree.

And then if you do thin them, which I don't know of anyone that does do thinning, because pollination is still a little bit of an iffy thing.

<Amanda> If people to plant pawpaws, sometimes they try to go out and dig them up.

That, you said, is not a good idea.

You need to try to order them from a place and get ones that are specific for your part of the country.

Because it has such a big range it grows in.

<Greg> It has a huge range.

It's from the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario and in southern Michigan, all the way down to northern Florida.

It's all the way west to eastern Oklahoma and Kansas and all the way in the northeast into parts of New York.

And yes, they have different showing requirements.

<Amanda> What sort of soil does it take?

If I got to containers, you know, because I want two different cultivars so I can get the cross-pollination, how would I go about installing them in my garden?

<Greg> Well, first of all, some nurseries sell seedlings, bare root seedlings.

I don't recommend that, they're hard to establish.

It's root system is very primitive.

It needs mycorrhiza.

So if you have a potted or a containerized one, hopefully the root system has somehow got some of that particular mycorrhiza.

If not, when you plant, you want a rich soil that has a lot of organic matter where you could add leaf litter from a forest and that will hopefully incorporate the fungi for the mycorrhizal association, but never go out and dig one out in the forest because you're digging, usually, these root suckers and they will never, they don't transplant well at all.

<Amanda> How many years before they come into production?

<Greg> Well, once again I say don't pick them in the wild or don't dig them in the wild, because those are they will take seven, eight years.

If you have a grafted one, they produce flowers within a year or two.

<Amanda> My goodness, I don't have to wait long, do I?

Well, you need to wait until they're about six feet tall, because they won't hold fruit until they look that tall.

<Amanda> There are a lot of things that I'm not going to try to grow because I can't be up there spraying every whipstitch.

Am I going to have a lot of insect pests that I have to deal with?

<Greg> With pawpaw, you don't have many insect pests and one of them you really like is, would like to have, it doesn't do much damage to the whole tree, and that's the zebra swallowtail.

Its only host is the pawpaw.

As far as fungi, there is a thing called Phyllosticta, and it does damage the leaves and it does damage the fruit.

<Amanda> So, in addition to having a pretty pest and disease free tree, relatively, once I get it started, this is going give me a wonderful, unusual fruit that I can do lots of stuff with.

I think I even get a little bit of benefit in the fall.

<Greg> Yes, it has a beautiful fall coloration.

It's a deep yellow.

It's quite, and even in the summer, the leaves are very obovate, but they're dark green.

They have more of a tropical sheen or look to them.

So they're very nice ornamental other than the suckers.

They do sucker.

That would have to be taken care of by mowing.

And the fruit is many different flavors.

<Amanda> If people want to know more about pawpaws, is there a good place to go to look for information?

<Greg> Oh, yes.

Clemson has a fact sheet, and then there's a website.

If you go to Kentucky State, not University of Kentucky, but Kentucky State University, that is where all the pawpaw research is going on.

They have a great website.

They have pamphlets, bulletins on cooking, how to grow them, all the new cultivars, an excellent site for the most recent information.

<Amanda> But one thing they don't have in Kentucky that we've got right here today is some that are already picked ready for us to enjoy.

Let's go over and taste some of them.

<Greg> I think that's a great idea, Amanda, let's go.

♪ <Amanda> We've got this basket here and you wanted ones that gave a little bit and then you just kind of twisted them off, Is that correct?

<Greg> Yeah.

I'll give an example.

First, you want to put an imprint.

If it'll give you an imprint, it's ready to go.

And because it has a wet scar, you don't want to yank because that'll rip the skin.

You just give it a twist, and it'll come off.

And minimize what we call the wet scars, and then you're ready to go with it.

<Amanda> Well, how do you cut it?

Lengthwise?

Crosswise?

<Greg> Well, the best way to do it is you want to eat it like a pudding custard.

So you want to eat it like a cup of pudding.

And so the skin is risen enough that you can use it as the container.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Greg> So I have one here, and I normally cut it right in the middle.

And what we end up with, you'll see some dark here.

There's a row of seeds that are lined this way and they're very smooth.

They're easy to spit out if no one's around.

If you're with somebody, you just have to gently take them out, or you can dig around them.

You have a spoon there.

<Amanda> I do.

Thank you.

<Greg> And it's sort of a custard.

<Amanda> And I don't want to eat the skin because it has a - <Greg> It has emetic in it.

It was the original ipecac.

<Amanda> I don't want any of that.

<Greg> Okay.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Amanda> Well, it comes out very easily.

Mmm!

Mmm, mm, mm, mm, mm.

What a complex, fun flavor.

<Greg> This is a PA Golden.

It was selected more than 100 years ago from a wild tree.

And it's more of a dark, it's more of a dark yellow.

There are some that are much, I don't know if I have one here.

I do.

This is a little bit harder to tell, but some are more of a whitish.

Usually the yellows taste much better.

<Amanda> This one tastes delicious.

<Greg> It's a very, it's a favorite, and it has reasonably good size.

We actually have varieties that are bigger than that.

But that's a good size there.

<Amanda> You know, they say a cross, but to me it has its own flavor.

I feel like it's distinct.

<Greg> It's very distinct.

Some are called mango, some are called pineapple.

They have hints of those types of things.

<Amanda> More of a mango if I had to call it something.

<Greg> This one here is 1032.

It's not been released.

I'd cut it previously.

This one's more milder than that one.

In fact, most people, not most, but if you're afraid of the pawpaw, try the milder one.

And then maybe you'll go to the one that has much more rich taste.

<Amanda> If you live in South Carolina and eat shrimp and oysters, I don't see how you can be worried about this.

Do you?

<Greg> I don't see either.

<Amanda> Well, let me have that one, taste another flavor.

<Greg> Okay.

Yes.

<Amanda> Thank you.

<Greg> It's a different flavor than the one you had.

There's probably at least five distinct flavors that I can tell.

<Amanda> This is very different.

<Greg> It's very different.

<Amanda> Yeah.

<Greg> And so what we've tried to do is select four ones that are fat and plump versus ones that are more like a kidney bean.

The kidney bean ones are usually the wild types, and they're very, they don't get big as this one has gotten big because this is a collection of some of the varieties behind us.

But we want the plumpness.

So we have a lot more flesh, obviously.

So.

So that's what they've done over the years.

I think I mentioned 100 years ago they had at county fairs which had the biggest fruit and the plumpest.

<Amanda> That'd be fun, yeah.

<Greg> There's a lot of potential with this particular crop.

You said nowadays people are making ice cream <Amanda> And I can see that this would just be the bomb with ice cream.

<Greg> Since it doesn't keep well, that was one of the foods what they used it for.

They have found it makes tremendously good custard desserts and ice cream.

Ice cream.

They've developed methods.

Kentucky State has ways to you could process, get the seeds out, and not to get the skin and freeze it and use it for ice cream.

<Amanda> So you can stabilize it.

<Greg> Exactly.

If you go to any pawpaw festival, they have one in Ohio, they have one in Kentucky, they have one in Illinois and they have one in Indiana.

And they always have ice cream.

<Amanda> Well, let's try to have one here one day.

How 'bout it?

<Greg> That would be a great idea.

<Amanda> Okay.

Thanks, Greg.

♪ ♪ Where oh where ♪ ♪ Is pretty little Susie?

♪ ♪ Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.

♪ Pawpaws are fascinating fruit and there's some interest in them for backyard growers.

And we, of course have fact sheets on them.

Sometimes you have to pollinate them yourself though, and that's kind of cool.

Anyway.

And the Musser Farm up at Clemson is always doing research on fruit crops, and, of course, peaches and strawberries and just all kinds of things.

A wonderful thing for the farmers of South Carolina and for us who get to eat those wonderful things that they grow.

Well, Hannah, this looks like a crop that when I was little we didn't grow peanuts here, but I think we're growing them all over the place now.

<Hannah> Yeah, you know, they're really not as hard as what you'd assumed them to be.

They are a very interesting crop.

You plant one just like a regular peanut in the ground, about an inch and a half to two inches deep.

And then as that thing starts to germinate, you'll see the blades come up on top.

And about several days into it, I mean, it's almost half the season.

They'll start to send out these runners that are these long looking arms.

And then on these arms they'll start to set a peg.

And so as this blooms, they'll set a little, like a little stem almost.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Hannah> And then a little tiny peanut will start to form on there.

I don't know if you can see them.

But peanuts are a unique plant because - <Amanda> So that peg goes down to the ground, then?

<Hannah> Yes, it's right on top of the soil surface.

These are clean because I washed them.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Hannah> For the show, of course, we wanted them to look nice, but they do grow just right underneath the soil surface.

It helps to keep them cooler than the regular air temperatures.

And it kind of protects them from anything feeding on them.

<Amanda> Okay.

Is it a pretty good crop now for farmers?

Does it fit into a rotation well?

<Hannah> It does.

It's generally more on our sandy soils, and so we see a lot of rotation with corn and, I mean, cotton and peanuts.

It really likes that every three year rotation, two year, but it is definitely a great crop.

We go a lot for candies, for oil, for general green peanut consumption in South Carolina.

It's a good, it's a fun crop.

You kind of have to watch it towards the end because we can have some pests that come in and some leaf spot, leaf diseases.

But in general, our farmers in South Carolina are doing an excellent job growing them.

<Amanda> And then it improves the soil.

<Hannah> That's correct, yes.

<Amanda> What a great crop.

And everybody loves peanuts, don't they?

I know I do.

Yeah.

And so is the one that you grow for boiled peanuts different from this or do you just harvest it sooner?

<Hannah> You do.

You harvest them green.

So, like, in this case, these would be a little bit too soon for green peanuts.

But we do, I typically like the long skinny-like ones with multiple seeds.

Those are Valencias.

<Amanda> You know, we don't have air conditioning and Edward's always boiling peanuts, and honest to Pete, I just, you know, I wish, I'm going to have to get some kind of outdoor thing, because by the time - <Hannah> You need a burner.

<Amanda> Because after 5 hours of boiling peanuts, the house is so - Anyway, I want to thank you all for coming.

I had a good time tonight.

This was fun.

I hope you'll come back.

And I want to thank you all for being with us.

I hope you enjoyed it.

And I will see you next time.

Night.

Night.

♪ ♪ ♪ Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina is a cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to help consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

The Boyd Foundation, supporting outdoor recreational opportunities, the appreciation of wildlife, educational programs, and enhancing the quality of life in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Midlands at large.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina.

Family owned and operated since 1916.

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

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