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.

Mcleod Farms in McBee, South Carolina, family owned and operated since 1916.

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

Wesley Commons, a full service continuing care retirement community located on more than 150 wooded acres in Greenwood, South Carolina.

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

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

We're glad that you can join us tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty.

I'm a Clemson horticulture agent here with my good friend and co-host Terasa Lott, who is a district director now.

Terasa> That's correct.

So overseeing the daily operations of nine counties in what we consider the Midlands, although those are just lines drawn by humans.

So it can vary a little bit.

But you know, we're most known, I think, for our work in agriculture or horticulture, but we have a variety of program teams, including rural health and nutrition.

So folks that are helping to connect people to nutritious food and work on chronic disease prevention.

Amanda> And do you know Edward once told me that has grandmother would come to the cannery, which was a place that was established because the early Clemson Extension agents, the females were trying to teach people, how to safely preserve food because people were sometimes canning them improperly and getting botulism.

Terasa> Yeah, and that's... that's still a topic that our Extension educators teach classes on today is how about how to safely preserve your food.

Amanda> And...there's been a real resurgence of interest in canning which I think is just delightful.

Don't you?

Yeah.

Do you do any canning?

Terasa> I do a little bit.

I'd like to increase it, but right now I don't have the time, but I do a little bit dilly beans, so like dill peppers, but with green and yellow beans from my garden.

Amanda> Oh wonderful.

That's just so exciting.

Great.

Well, you'll have to bring some for us to try some.

Terasa> I'll do that.

>> We'll each have two or three, maybe.

We won't ask you to bring too many jars.

Terasa> Well, my garden is small, so.

Okay.

Okay.

Amanda> Christopher Burtt you're the extension agent down there around Charleston and Berkeley.

Christopher> And Dorchester County Amanda> Yeah, which is a big area for one person to service.

>> It is.

And it's a fast growing, too.

But I will say it provides a lot of excitement and always something new to...to take on.

Amanda> And I think you have a good cohort of master gardeners who really try to help you out, don't they?

Christopher> I do.

I have an excellent group of volunteers that are extremely active, I would say, in all three counties.

Amanda> Whew, good for you.

Yeah, and teach... How many people do you try to instruct?

How many people do you try to... You have to come up with a good number.

I mean, you can have too many, but not too little.

Christopher> So I have found kind of 30 is a good cap.

So if anything more than that, it's just too many new volunteers and anything less.

than that's really not filling our needs.

And so about 30.

Amanda> Yeah.

And also I think if it's not a huge class and they get to be friends, they're more likely to volunteer and stay together.

Christopher> Oh yeah.

Absolutely.

Amanda> Yeah.

I'm so glad you've got that going.

And Carmen Ketron over there in Darlington in Florence.

I guess you've got the same thing going.

Are you teaching Master Gardeners?

>> Yes, we've got Master Gardeners coming in every year.

They're very excited and like you say, they get together, they form these bonds and then they become a a little volunteer gang and support each other.

Amanda> And so many people are coming to our state now and have been.

And it's very different.

I mean, in South Carolina, it's different because we have so many different regions and we've got the Midlands, you know, and the coast and then the Midlands and the uplands with wildly diverse plants and so on.

So that's you've got to grow things differently there, but if you come down here from...Timbuktu, I mean it's really going to be different.

Isn't it?

Carmen> Oh yes...

I was hearing, 90,000 people a year coming into South Carolina, a lot from the Northeast and the West Coast.

And it's...it's a whole new world down here for horticultural enthusiasts.

Amanda> Yep.

>> So...they get to relearn everything.

(Amanda laughs) Amanda> Yeah.

And that you can garden 12 months a year.

Carmen> Yes.

Amanda> That's pretty exciting.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, Herrick Brown, the curator of the A.C. Herbarium at the University of South Carolina, and you all have some fascinating things, most everything's on a flat piece of paper, but then you've got pinecones and things.

What do you do with all those weird things you've got?

>> Good question.

Yeah.

So most... most of our stuff is squished flat and glued to a piece of paper.

But yeah, as you said, pine cones are kind of bulky.

We tried one time- Amanda> -Kind of bulky, Dr. Herrick> Yeah.

Yeah.

By comparison, we tried one time to squish one down using a hydraulic press and it was slowly expanded again.

So, it doesn't really work like that.

So what we'll do is put a toe tag on that essentially that matches it up with the specimen sheet.

Amanda> Okay.

>> And we just store it separately in like a box kind of.

Yeah.

Amanda> And it used to be that people and you may still be a little bit crazy if you're working in a herbarium, but it used to be they would use mothballs, I think.

>> Yeah.

We didn't.

Amanda> That wasn't very good for your... cognitive neurological state.

Dr. Herrick> Yeah.

Long term exposure probably not a good thing.

Every now and then you'll kind of catch a little whiff and sort of residual Amanda> From the old days?

Dr. Herrick> Yeah.

But yeah.

So it's definitely uh... bugs are not our friends, really.

We try to keep some of the things that would be pests that would want to eat the specimens at bay.

So we keep the temperatures low and we use things like no pest strips that are less harmful for humans.

Amanda> Oh do you?

Really?

So that's something that y'all really address on an ongoing basis?

Dr. Herrick> Yeah.

Amanda> Well, anyway, thanks for coming down and being with us today.

We really appreciate it.

Dr. Herrick> Thanks for having me.

Amanda> Okay.

And we're going to have some segments that'll be a lot of fun for you to hear about.

We're going to have Crooked Cedar Farm.

That's a cool name.

Isn't it?

And then grow your garden with Sal.

So two things that I think you really enjoy seeing when we visited those spots.

Well, Terasa, do we have gardens of the week?

Terasa> We sure do.

This has become such an integral part of the show.

It's when you get to show off your yard, your garden, your landscape may be a beautiful place and we have so many of them across the great state of South Carolina.

So today we are beginning with... let's just make sure I'm looking at the right ones.

We've got Rebecca Milford who brought the outdoors in with an arrangement of calla lilies and iris from her yard.

Rosalyn Walker sent us a striking Kniphofia, also known as Red Hot Poker, that she photographed at Moore Farms Botanical Garden.

From Cindy Bell, we have a peek at her yard with many different flowers, including pretty pink roses and a pot of petunias.

From Mike Ely, it's not a garden, but wildlife in his yard in Columbia, the first brood of baby blue birds.

And Mike, I share your enthusiasm.

We have our first brood as well, and it's so fun to watch mom and Dad working hard to feed those babies.

And last but not least, from Bubba and Mary Granade, a patch of lupines growing in Aiken County, and that was pretty timely.

just a few shows ago, Amanda, you brought in some lupines that I found growing along the side of the road.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

That was fun.

Those were some perennial ones and I... stopped and went up and knocked on the door of... because there's one place where there's a three acre patch of them.

And I went up to tell the people that every year I just, you know, I think I'm going to get to see that wonderful, great big, huge patch up them again and how much it meant to me to see, you know, the cycles of plants I think is something we all appreciate so much.

Terasa> For sure.

Amanda> Yeah.

Yeah.

All righty.

Well, thank you.

Well, I bet there's some people with some questions or some problems.

Terasa, can we try to help someone?

Terasa> There always are questions and sometimes problems, and we do our best to address all of them.

Well, this one is a mystery plant, so to speak and identification.

Jillian in Hanahan said, "Can you identify this gorgeous white "and red flower?"

And of course, sent a picture along to go with that.

Amanda> Okay.

Anybody have any ideas?

Carmen> So this is actually Pineapple guava, which is a very interesting evergreen shrub that is edible.

Oh yeah.

Edible.

In fact, that flower tastes quite good.

Tastes a little bit like marshmallows, but the...it's a beautiful evergreen shrub.

Amanda> I've never eaten a flower?

No fruit, really.

Christopher> The flowers are edible as well.

But it's a very interesting one.

It's utilized a lot in ornamental growing.

So you'll see it used kind of as foundation shrubs, as kind of screening shrubs.

Amanda> It gets large doesn't it?

Christopher> It does.

But it's definitely a very fascinating one and I'm seeing it a lot more.

So I think it's blooming really well this year.

So I think people are starting to notice it.

Amanda> Cool, Cool.

What does it like?

Christopher> Generally, it likes, I mean, like most of our shrubs, likes fairly well-drained soil, but I've seen it do quite well in some shade though it needs more sun to flower.

Amanda> Okay.

Christopher> Produce the fruits.

Obviously the more flowers, more fruits, but it does fairly well.

I've, I've, I've actually seen it thrive in kind of that part shade underneath from some trees.

Amanda> So, it's very adaptable >> It really is.

And from what I understand, it's one of the few edible plants that is actually approved by a lot of HOAs.

So if you want to grow some fruits.

This is a great one to include.

Amanda> Well, Terasa.

Terasa> Our next question came in from Peggy in Blenheim who said, I just moved here and "there is a raspberry "type vine taking over my garden beds.

"I've tried to suffocate it with cardboard and mulch, "but it just keeps popping up.

"What do I do?"

Well, Peggy, I can at least empathize with you and tell you that I think I may have the same problem in an asparagus bed.

Amanda> Oh no.

Oh goodness.

Carmen, help us out.

Carmen> This one was pretty common as the dewberry.

Any of those.

Amanda> It's like a sticker, or a blackberry vine or something.

Carmen> Like a Rubus bramble, like those brambles.

They're...they're hard.

And a lot of the times they are very relentless.

So it can be really difficult.

One of the options that you can do, you can just keep cutting them back.

But they do have those stickers, especially if they're in a lot of vegetable patches or near really sensitive plants.

That's kind of the best option is just keep hacking at them and suffocating them.

But if they get out of hand, you can always use like a Triclopyr.

That's going to be the best option.

you can use as a foliar application if nothing's around, but a lot of people will do a cut stump.

Amanda> That's what I do with it.

Carmen> Snip it and then just paint it right on- Amanda> - I get those little throwaway paint brushes.

Carmen> Exactly.

And make sure it's a fresh cut.

You don't want to cut it and come back later because it might have been scabbed over, but you just want to keep at it that way.

That's the best option, especially if they're around, because I always see them around trees and they always end up in our favorite flower bushes.

Amanda> It's a real nuisance.

And then the stickers get in you and they hurt.

Carmen> They're terrible.

Amanda> They really are.

They're hard to get.

Well, thanks for giving us some advice.

I appreciate it.

All right.

Well, Terasa.

Terasa> You know, they're probably not as tasty as cultivated blackberries, but I guess if all else fails, you could ...you could just eat them.

(laughing) Amanda> I've never seen them fruit.

Do they?

They do.

I mean, of course everything fruits.

But I just in my yard I guess.

Well they're an area where they get mowed occasionally.

Terasa> Yeah I bet.

when Herrick's been out botanizing he might have tasted a dewberry.

Dr. Herrick> Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Plenty of them run amuck in my yard too, and they'll ripen just like regular blackberries.

Start out green, red and then black.

But I've never tasted one that was like, very sweet.

Like, Yeah, Amanda> not something that you would want to cultivate I don't think.

So now what, Terasa?

Terasa> Well, this one, you know, when we start the topic, you might think we're talking about vampires, but this actually has something to do with growing plants.

It's called live staking.

So it sounds scary, but it's not.

And I think Herrick can tell us more about that.

Dr. Herrick> Yeah.

Amanda> Live staking.

Dr. Herrick> So I you know, it's sort of a new concept to me myself.

But I tried it out.

I had a elderberry growing in the yard and my son had a lot of raw energy.

So I said, Go ahead, knock that thing back.

And so I went around and picked up the splinters.

Amanda> A wonderful native plant.

Dr. Herrick> Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

And it has an interesting pith as well.

But I just took these like, foot long sections.

I have two nodes per each one and just jammed them in an old pot that I had some soil in.

And sure enough, you can see they're start... they've struck roots and they're starting to put out leaves from the base here.

Amanda> And elderberries, I think are quite fascinating.

Can we show them the pith?

Dr. Herrick> Let's see.

It's real spongy.

It's a solid pith and reminds you a little bit of, like, styrofoam.

Amanda> Yeah.

And so you can just take your finger and pick something.

It used to be used all the time.

It was collected and used to pack scientific instruments when they were shipping them.

And watchmakers still use it, I believe, when they're when... when people have an old fashioned watch, not these new watches that everybody has with batteries, you know, watches have like 100 parts or 200 parts.

And they would take that and they still use it to put the little parts as they're taken apart.

Elderberry pith, isn't that just the most fascinating thing in the world?

I just love that.

Dr. Herrick> Very cool.

Amanda> I don't want to start a digress, but I think it's just so wonderful that you know that plants are not just for building your house or for eating or things like that, but we look at them so intricately and find uses for them in all their... all their fascinating aspects, including pith.

Terasa> You know, I know some of our water resources agents like Katie Collins are using live staking and stream restoration projects, and there are certain species that are particularly well-suited to that method of propagation.

Amanda> What are some of the ones that they're using, Terasa, do you remember.

Terasa> Goodness, I would have to have to look, but it could be a elderberry.

I think black willow is one.

Amanda> Yes, of course because areas on the side of a stream that might occasionally have water on them, and black willow certainly does root very easily.

I didn't mean.

So what else have we got in here?

Dr. Herrick> Yeah...there's actually some black willow.

So it's a good thing that you brought that up.

Amanda> How about that?

Dr. Herrick> Some of these, I use this in my my spring flora class.

We were doing twig identification Amanda> How about that!

Dr. Herrick> And so they look like this, right.

And they're just bare twigs, their leaves.

And so after I use them in the class, I figured, well, we'll try live staking them.

And sure enough, some of them have now started to grow leaves and struck root.

Amanda> Well, that's really fun.

Who's this big fella?

Dr. Herrick> But this was sort of an accidental Pawpaw branch that snapped off and it started to grow.

There's a few leaves that started to emerge, but I'm still kind of holding out, fingers crossed that it might actually... Amanda> It hadn't quite made up it's mind.

Dr. Herrick> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Amanda> So, you know, and so that twig identification is important and it seems to me that what's the...is it what's the one that gets sunburn on the top?

Dr. Herrick> There's a variety of them that do this.

I'm not sure.

I've seen Elderberry do it actually, I've seen it a lot of like Japanese honeysuckle, and that kind of thing.

But probably what you're referring to is it's like...a it's actually a pigment molecule that is called an anthocyanins.

that gives you that reddish color.

And sometimes you'll look at a stem and the upper surface is reddish, the other side is green, and it looks just.

Like it sounds like, well... Amanda> I mean, as somebody had a lot of experience with sun burn.

Dr. Herrick> Right.

It really is.

Apparently those anthocyanins, those compounds actually help protect the plants against damage from ultraviolet radiation.

So.

Amanda> Isn't that fascinating?

Dr. Herrick> Really cool stuff.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, we're going to now go to Crooked Cedar Farm, a wonderful story behind the name and a wonderful place to visit.

♪ gentle music ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda> I'm near Blythewood, South Carolina at Crooked Cedar Farm and speaking with Edwina Harrell, Edwina, how did you get the name Crooked Cedar?

Edwina> Well, when we've cleared our land that we're growing our present garden on.

It was during the wintertime and we were trying to think of a name catchy name for our farm.

So we were just sitting out near the field, and we looked up and there was a cedar tree that had a crooked top.

So we said, How about "Crooked Cedar Farm"?

Amanda> Well that's fun, and it does... Edwina> It was our conversation.

Amanda> Yeah, but um, you and your husband moved here relatively young in your marriage.

And tell me how y'all started?

Edwina> Okay, we moved here in 1972.

We built our house in January of 1972. and we moved here on April 5 on my husband's birthday.

So the first couple of years I mostly stayed in the house with the with the children but he was out working in the yard and we would clear parts of the yard as...as we go along.

and then one day, he said you need to come out in the yard with me and so I did and I never went back inside.

Amanda> Dirty hands suited you.

Dirty hands were fine with me.

Amanda> So I guess first you landscaped and your...your yard itself is beautiful.

Edwina> Thank you.

Amanda> And I think you have a great love of pollinators.

Edwina> We do we love the birds.

We love the butterflies.

We love the bees, the honeybees and bumblebees, everything that flies and just goes from plant to plant.

We love them.

Amanda> And and so that gives you this lovely flower garden near the house and you rather than have to go and buy new plants every year the annuals.

I think you try to overwinter them?

Edwina> I do I... about half of the things in the flower beds are annuals, some will overwinter pretty good.

But the ones that will not overwinter I dig in the fall, pot them up and put them in the greenhouse.

Amanda> And what are some of those so that we can show them?

Edwina> Well, I do the blew my mind.

Some of the euphorbias like the diamond mountain, diamond snow.

They don't overwinter like some of the grasses like then these pots, the purple fountain grasses, all of that goes in the greenhouse coleus lots of things go in the greenhouse.

Amanda> I was interested when we were looking at the flowers that you grow dahlias are is from seed I did not even know that was an option.

Edwina> Oh yeah, they're very easy to grow from seed.

Amanda> And bloomed the first year.

Bloom the first year and they come back every year and I love them because they're they're more compact plant the plants are the flowers are small, or they make very good cut flowers versus the dinner plates which are kind of heavy.

But yeah, they all have the most of our dahlias are from seed.

Amanda> And um...sunflowers, sunflowers, sunflowers.

I think y'all let them kind of scatter in the fields but Selvin told me that he plants them in rotation.

So there's always something there for the pollinators, I believe.

Edwina> That's right, Yeah.

and they're beautiful.

and the pollinators love them.

and when you growing vegetables, you need pollinators to help you know, get the plants going.

Amanda> And then I think you were kind of surprised at one of the sunflowers that came back this year.

That was gigantic.

Edwina> That was a surprise.

I think one of the birds.

We feed the birds.

So I think one of the birds planted that sunflower for us it's a giant sunflower that came up by itself in the field.

and It's been great.

It's been beautiful.

Amanda> But then y'all have also been very interested in growing vegetables.

Edwina> Yes, we have always grown vegetables just For the first parts of our marriage, we always had a garden.

We grew up with gardening, our grandparents, our parents, all had gardens.

And a lot of our great grandparents had big feed... big farms.

but we always had a vegetable garden for our needs.

but when we retired, way back when, for 20 years ago, we said we were young, we need to have something to do.

So we decided we would start a farm and grow on a big scale.

Amanda> And you are particularly interested in things that taste good.

So are so are you trying new things sometimes?

And what are some of your favorite things to grow?

Edwina> Well, we grow a lot of new things.

But now we've kind of settled into what everybody likes.

But our main crop they grow in the summer, is this Cherokee Purple tomato (laughter) and that's our signature tomato that we grow here on our farm.

Amanda> And in the summer, you can get things started early, you have a greenhouse.

Edwina> I do, yeah.

Amanda> So you'd like to start things early, because you've got a clay soil.

Edwina> We do.

I like to start my own seed.

I found that with starting my own seed and growing out my own plants, they just seem to do better.

They are more acclimated, I think to the surroundings and environment, plus a baby much all of my seedlings when I'm growing them in the greenhouse, I'm touching them.

I'm talking to them all day long.

and I think they respond to that, you know, and they do.

Amanda> I mean, I think plants do respond.

Yeah, they have feelings, too.

Amanda> Yeah.

and then y'all are very conscious about things like water use, I believe Edwina> We are we... we have a well and sometimes it rains really good and then sometimes some years It's no rain, our water source is our home.

Well, we have drip irrigation that we do in the field.

and in the raised beds, we're putting in drip irrigation now the flower beds and borders in the yard.

No drip irrigation yet.

Amanda> You have a garden shed and it has air conditioning, which I'm sure is wonderful.

and he because you tell me how you like to do your...your cold crops how you like to start them.

Edwina> Brassicas like the collards and the cabbage and the brussel sprouts and the broccoli, which we grow.

They like to have a cool germination temperature.

So in the summer when you start them, Ju... July is not cool here.

So we built this garden shed or garden, we call it the garden cottage and we put air conditioning in there so that I can start my seed inside under lights in the air condition.

and that helps them not to stretch and get Leggy.

Amanda> So that when you put them out, they're less likely to lodge or fall over it.

Edwina> they're just so nice, compact little plant, and you can just do better.

Amanda> and then I think in there too, also, with all of these wonderful flowers that I see.

Some people like to come to you and get bouquets.

Edwina> Yes, we are.

We started the cut flower part of the farm about two years ago.

And so we just make flower jars, which are just small, like jelly jars or whatever kind of jar I can find, and then I'll also do the wrap bouquets.

I do buckets of flowers.

So we people come and we have those available.

Amanda> And as we were out there in the back part where y'all actually have the little farm.

It was (mimics chicken) ba ba ba ba ba because as if you didn't have enough, you've got chickens.

Edwina> Oh, yeah, we have about 50 laying hens.

Amanda> Uh huh.

Edwina> They're...they're fun.

They're special.

and we... we sometimes have pet ones, but right now we don't have a special pet one.

but I imagine we will.

Amanda> I bet you will, too.

So um, so you're collecting eggs every, every day, and we offer those to the public also.

Amanda> Okay.

and so people like to come out here and take advantage of the things that you have.

Tell me how people find out about what's available.

Edwina> Okay, we send out an email each week or sometimes twice a week.

and also I posted it on Facebook and Instagram.

Amanda> Well, I think that I went around this morning, I didn't have breakfast.

and I pinched and grazed as I was here and had a wonderful time doing that.

And It's just been a glorious experience coming and seeing- Edwina> -Thank you.

We appreciate it.

Amanda> what y'all have managed to do.

Thank you so much... Edwina> Thank you for coming.

♪ gentle music ♪ ♪ Amanda> Flowers, vegetables and a galore of chickens.

It was just chicken city, which I just loved and their on the Ag and Art tour, I really encourage you to find out what's happening near you and make some plans to visit some other parts of the state.

Don't you think, Terasa?

Terasa> Yes.

Amanda> Yep Yep.

So hats, hats, hats.

So this one, I have poppy seed pods and everyone goes out and collects them and then they're all over.

Anyway, blah, blah.

He collects a lot of stuff and then I have some bloodroot and some dwarf Solomon's Seal.

And also something that your momma sent me, I think.

Carmen> Yeah, she sent you an American pitcher plant flower.

Amanda> That was mighty sweet of her.

Carmen> When she saw it, she thought of you.

Amanda> Yeah.

Anyway, bloodroot is one of my favorites.

And this is this is, this is the front of it, which is a real dark green.

And then if you turn it over, it's got this wonderful, what you call that color, when you're talking about botany?

Dr. Herrick> We like to call these a term called glaucus, Sort of a chalky, whitish, bluish sort of color... Amanda> but it's beautiful.

And then if you dig it up this, what is that reproductive structure?

that's at the base of it that you can break and draw... Dr. Herrick> Rhizomes.

Amanda> Yes.

It's got a real dark, ocher kind of red pigment.

Amanda> Yeah, and so... Dr. Herrick> It uses it's name Amanda> I had a cousin who lived on some property where there was lots and lots of it.

And so occasionally we'd let the children pull some up and draw all over themselves.

It's just I mean, nature is so fascinating.

And then this one I found very easy to propagate.

Terasa, when the seed parts are getting ready to open after I pull back the mulch, I've just increased it dramatically in my yard.

And I just think it's a wonderful thing to have.

And then...whoops, okay, Well, we'll put that back in a minute and then just the Solomon seal, the new dwarf Solomon seals.

There's so many of them.

So this one is a variegated one, which I think is just lovely.

And I'm, they're about, Yeah.

And then this one has this great red stem so and these are, Terasa, for people like me who used to like to do flower arrangements because I used to entertain and now I'm too tired to cook.

But anyway, these are just wonderful things to use in flower arrangements.

It's Carmen, of course, who does these beautiful flower arrangements I have ever seen in my life.

And to this day, what you did for Tony was so beautiful.

But I bet you enjoy using this as well.

> Yes, that's a wonderful one and it's really nice to be able to just like walk out the front door, snap whatever you need off.

And it's fresh.

It's fresh.

Amanda> Easy, easy, easy peasy.

Yep, yep, yep.

Anyway, so hats off.

Hats can be fun, can't they?

So let's see if I can make this tell you, Mama.

Thank you so much.

I really do appreciate it.

So, Terasa, what's next?

Terasa> I have no idea what's next.

We have to look and see what's at my fingertips.

Amanda> Look at your magic computer and tell us.

Terasa> Well, let's see if we can help Linda in Spartanburg, who said, "My local nursery "has all different types of milkweeds available "and I don't know which types I should be planting.

"How do I find the best ones?"

Well, that is a great question.

And even though Linda is in Spartanburg, I think we could probably give advice for essentially the whole state about milkweed species.

Amanda> Okay, Christopher, you've talked some about that.

Can you help us with this question?

Christopher> Yes.

So, I recently went out to one of our local nurseries.

Amanda> Yes.

Christopher> I've actually seen this pretty much in several different nurseries.

And so what you see here is very robust, vigorous, and of course, blooming, which is milkweeds.

Yes, it's very attractive milkweeds.

And both of these are the non-native tropical milkweeds.

Amanda> No.

Christopher> And the bad thing about it is, is most of the nurseries don't know that.

Amanda> So they're not trying to do something wrong.

Christopher> No, they're really not.

What I've noticed is a lot of the non-native milkweeds are utilized because they're very vigorous.

They tend to be easy to cultivate and unfortunately, they're very easy to propagate.

And so what I oftentimes see is they're selling that.

The easy way to identify it.

First off, if it's in flower, the flower is going to be the key indicator.

So the non-native is going to have what looks to be orange from far away.

But as you get closer to it, you can see a lot of the red colorations in the flowers.

That red is going to be very indicative that it is the non-native.

Amanda> Okay.

>> Or there is a yellow.

This one, of course, is a cultivar of it that is yellow.

So that one can be a little bit tricky.

It's not as common, but keep an eye out for it and you will notice these are... so that is incarnata which is our swamp milkweed.

I also have perennis, which is the aquatic milkweed, and then Tuberose, which is the orange one that is our butterfly weed.

These are our natives.

Oftentimes the natives aren't going to be in flower nearly as much.

And a lot of times they will be much smaller.

No, nowhere near as vigorous, though.

Occasionally I'll see nurseries again.

This...

This one is quite vigorous considering the time of year.

But again, it's one of those things that it's very difficult to tell just from kind of that cursory view.

So what I really encourage doing, ask the nursery if they don't know, it's better to just avoid planting it.

So the big issue with non-native milkweeds is not only do they not they overwinter and they are still blooming and of course attracting monarchs.

So they're of course - Amanda> -instead of saying, go on, shoo, shoo, shoo.

Christopher> Exactly The other issue is, is they tend to have a lot of visitors that are not butterflies, but are spreading the OE parasite that is causing the problems with the monarchs.

The native ones tend to have a lot fewer issues.

And so that's why native is going to be the best.

If you can't find a native, you can always purchase the seeds from a certified grower.

The seeds are a little bit difficult to germinate right off the bat.

You probably have to do some processing first, but I would encourage doing from seed if you can't find the native species.

But if the way you'll tell oftentimes is the way I do it is I rub the leaves.

Amanda> Yes.

Christopher> And I smell... so milkweed generally has kind of a peppery type smell.

The non-natives... it's very strong.

I mean, it's almost... Amanda> -Really?

>> It's yeah, it's a I think it sounds quite nice, but unfortunately can be a little bit much.

You run- Amanda> What a great diagnostic test though Christopher> But the natives... that smells much less.

And so oftentimes you'll take the smell from the natives.

You'll say, I can't really tell.

It's probably a good indicator.

It's not necessarily the non-natives.

Amanda> Okay, what a wonderful trick.

Thank you so much for telling us that.

That's just wonderful.

Terasa> Yeah.

Monarch...

Monarchs have been in the news and people love them.

They're so pretty.

And unfortunately, some of our actions that have probably been good with good intentions may have not been the best.

It may have kind of created some problems like Christopher referred to the OE parasite and so on and so forth.

And so all in all, there is some good news about monarch populations.

And so I encourage folks who are really interested.

Dr. Andy Davis from UGA, he was our keynote speaker for the Master Gardner Conference Amanda> I was going to say, I think you brought him in... and people were fascinated Terasa> And he's got some great information.

So just make people aware that everything you see is not always completely factual.

Sadly.

Amanda> Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And and sadly, you know, I know that when I look at something up, as I've often said, the most wonderful thing I ever learned was that one of the librarians at Clemson spoke to us and she said, "When you look something up, put..." whatever the question is monarchs to plant and then put site colon edu and you get educational websites and you can put site colon gov s-i-t-e colon gov and that way you just don't get every Tom, Dick and Harry who's got an opinion that may not be factual at all.

Terasa> That's right and although we do... Clemson...Clemson Extension has a Facebook page.

Making It Grow has a Facebook page.

Lots of people look to social media for crowdsourcing to ask people for information, but just be wary about the information you're getting.

Amanda> Good, good advice.

Well, Herrick, it looks like you dug into some of those cabinets at the herbarium.

Dr. Herrick> I did, indeed.

And this was actually in prep for... we had a visiting scientist give a talk the other day and it was a really interesting subject revolving around fruit color.

And in fact, what the talk focused on was the this genus here Viburnam, which produces these sort of droops, which is like Amanda> and we have some native Viburnams, don't we?

Dr. Herrick> Yeah.

And these two are native species.

Viburnam prunifolium and rufidulum.

I'm sorry, I'm terrible with common names, but these umbels of infructescence would be the technical term here.

It's a...it's a cluster of fruits and as it was explained to us the other day, that these fruits actually produce a structural color.

So it's not actually a pigment that gives it this color, but that there's some micro architecture within the cell wall that's made up of lipids or fats, and it gives it sort of this iridescent sheen when it's... when it's fully ripened.

And the cool thing about it is that this is great for like native birds that would feed on this because it's an honest signal... Amanda> Fats help you get fat.

Dr. Herrick> Honest signal to the birds that if you want to get, you know, plumped up before you go and migrate south, feed on this stuff.

Yeah.

Amanda> Gosh, just another reason for planting these wonderful natives.

That's fascinating.

That was a pretty cool talk you all had.

Dr. Herrick> It was.

It was really exciting.

Amanda> Where did she come from?

Dr. Herrick> She actually was at Duke University.

Amanda> Wow, okay.

Well, that was fascinating.

Thanks for going in the cabinets that aren't filled with mothballs (laughing) Dr. Herrick> Anytime.

Amanda> Okay.

Okay, Terasa.

Terasa> It's time for another question?

Amanda> Please.

Terasa> Let's see who we can help now.

Let's see.

Nate in Kingstree said "This tree has been "growing for five years, but now it seems unhappy.

"Can you tell me what the issue might be?"

And luckily, we have a picture from Nate, and I think it speaks volumes about what the issue might be.

Amanda> Gosh, you know, trees are so wonderful and people just mess them up.

Don't they, Carmen?

Carmen> It really is.

People, they're doing too much sometimes.

Amanda> Yeah, they think they're doing the right thing.

Carmen> Yeah.

And like you were saying earlier, a lot of stuff on the Internet, things that are advertised towards people, it can be problematic.

And in this case, they have a vulcanized rubber mat that they've used as a weed barrier around the tree.

Amanda> What's wrong with pine straw?

(laughing) Carmen> Because you have to put it out every year.

We want a one and done.

But what ends up happening is lazy gardening kind of leads to problems where you set it and forget it.

And what happens is... Amanda> So this is something that's permanent...?

I mean... Carmen> Yeah.

Amanda> It's a volcanized mat of some kind.

Carmen> It is a matted rubber usually recycled tires things like that.

And then they have a, a really nice glue that glues it together.

So it is a little bit pervious, but mostly the water just washes off.

Amanda> Another bad point.

Carmen> Yeah.

And a lot of the times you can't get good airflow around the root.

And as the tree grows, that mat doesn't change.

And what is happening tree has grown into that mat.

Amanda> No.

So it's girdling the tree.

Carmen> Yes.

And that is what's leading to a lot of the tree problems.

So... all he... while we did was we went and looked down at the bottom and there it was.

You can kind of see in the picture how it's actually just cut into that trunk.

So a lot of times, like you say, just go with a natural, a natural mulch and every year just kind of move it ..., move it away and reapply because the mulch is important and that is like most gardeners think that's the key thing is you want to be able to mulch around your trees.

Amanda> Tell talk about this volcano mulching, and you know, poor old trees, just, you know, give us a little bit of that one.

Carmen> Yes.

That's when those are you know, in terms of pest management, you want to suffocate or remove the weeds because you definitely don't want to be mowing around it.

And hit any of those roots.

Amanda> Yeah.

Yeah.

>> And so one of the big things is people just doing too much and a lot of the times they'll take that mulching, they'll mulch it right up the trunk, so it almost looks like a volcano.

And that's problematic too, because if you put it right up against the trunk, you've got a beautiful place that actually encourages moisture and fungal growth and sometimes Amanda> And voles I think go in too, don't they?

And gnaw on it.

Carmen> Yes And so it's just... it's just a disaster.

You want to push that away.

You want to keep it about three inches deep.

Amanda> Thank you.

Terasa> More like a donut.

Carmen> Yes.

Exactly.

Like a donut.

Amanda> Donut.

Yeah.

We all love donuts.

Well, trees like donuts too.

Why don't we...?

So we need to come up with donut mulching (clapping and laughing) Terasa> It might catch on.

If volcano mulching did, I think donut mulching can.

(laughing) Amanda> Well, again, as we said, it's a wonderful time for Ag and Art and we are now going to go to Grow.

your Garden with Sal.

And it'll tempt you, I think, to make a visit.

♪ guitar music ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (tractor engine) Amanda> I'm in Columbia talking to Sally Sharp at Sal's Old Timey Feed and Seed.

Sallie> Yes.

Hi.

How you doing?

Amanda> I'm good.

but they're really isn't anything old timey about what goes on out here.

There's a lot of people learning stuff.

Interestingly, I think this is family property.

>> Yes, we're the eighth generation, my niece and nephews going to be the ninth generation on the property.

Amanda> Isn't that fun?

and one thing is you said, when y'all were growing up, y'all grew a lot of your own food, and so you kind of want people to know that that's something they can do.

Sallie> Yes.

and you don't have to have a large acreage to do it.

We grow a lot of stuff in pots and containers.

Yes, raised beds.

Amanda> and this potato tower is the craziest thing.

I mean, you've got...you seem to love potatoes, and you got them growing everywhere.

but you improvise with anything you come across.

Sallie> We do.

Nothing is trash around here.

If we can plant something in it, It stays around.

(laughing) Amanda> And when the Irish potatoes finish, then you go in and plant sweet potatoes, I think, don't you?

Sallie> Um, yeah, so Irish potatoes are cool weather crops where sweet potatoes are hot, hot, hot.

Amanda> Yeah, they're not.

Sallie> No, it loves July, August, when we're dying of heatstroke.

They're growing big time.

Amanda> And everybody loves to grow tomatoes, and you said you've done well, with containers in there.

You've got some tips for people.

Sallie> Yes, the main thing is to feed it, feed it feed it.

A lot of people plant and then don't ever come back and fertilize with anything.

We use organic fertilizers, and then we also have a way that we make our own fertilizer.

Amanda> and then you said a lot of people say oh, I want heirlooms, but it's not good to only plant an heirloom because they're a little picky.

Sallie> Yes, heirlooms have I tell people a plus...plus taste but you don't get as much off of them.

The hybrids are very prolific, and we've got some that I would give an A to as far as taste wise.

Amanda> You like which one?

I think... Sallie> The Amelia.

It does really good around here.

It's very, very prolific, and I think everybody knows around July, August, your tomatoes are going to start kind of peering out.

It's a good time to replant at that point, but your Amelia tomato is going to have about 55 to 60 tomatoes on one bush, and then it's gone peter out then, but then it's time to replant.

Amanda> There you go, and then you do have high tunnels and explain to people what a high tunnel is.

Sallie> So a high tunnel is for extending the season.

So it's for being able to start early, and then have your crops go in later.

So we had peppers, tomatoes, moringa trees, all growing in there until that real deep freeze that we had in December, which is not very usual here.

Amanda> And...because you don't provide any supplemental heat, it just stays warmer because it's covered?

Sallie> It - well, during the night time it's going to be the exact same temperature as outside, but the ground temperature stays warm, and that's important.

Now we did put some propane heaters in there last year, when it got really cold for a few hours, and we had to time it because you know propane is expensive.

So I would be up like at 12 in the morning when the temperature started going down and set it and then come back down about you know, three or four hours later and cut it back off, Amanda> You'd think a farmer could sleep at night.

Sallie> No, not at all.

It's a 24/7 Amanda> And you've got it on a slope, I think for a purpose.

Sallie> Yes.

Two things, that way we can collect the rainwater off of it.

The rainwater is a pure water so it doesn't put any heavy metals into when you grow your crops, and also that way we're...letting the land do what it wants to do and the water still runs off exactly the same and we're not having to just go in and tear up the property.

Amanda> And you have the funniest thing, these bottles and bottles sitting up there full of weeds.

What the heck is going on?

Sallie> Yes, so that's how we make our own fertilizer.

So if you think about it, a plant is a chemical reaction.

It's bringing all the calcium now nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy minerals, all the minerals back out of the ground.

So if you're pulling up your weeds, you're pulling all that stuff up.

So instead of throwing it away, we put it in some water and add a little yeast to it, and let it sit for three days and just feed it back to the plants.

And it works amazing.

You ought to see what we can grow.

You've seen it.

Amanda> Yeah, it was really fun, but that was just crazy.

Sallie> It was a little stinky, but it works.

(laughs) Amanda> It was a little smelly.

And down in that area, you have some perennial crops, I think.

Sallie> Yes, we do.

So we have sunchokes Sunchokes.

Not too many people know about it, but it's a native plant.

It's a type of sunflower, but they're good for the roots, and as you can see, they're really starting to bloom right now when the bees need that extra nectar where everything else is kind of stopping due to the weather change.

Amanda> And I call them artichokes, because we make artichoke pickle.

Sallie> You do.

Yes.

It's really good.

Now it's super important to harvest them at the right time.

So you want the tops to completely die.

Normally, that's the end of December.

You need to have a heavy frost.

If it gets - if they die back and then it gets hot again.

You don't want to eat them, because they will.

Amanda> They'll give you gas.

Sallie> Yes.

They'll give you gas.

(laughs) Amanda> Weeds grow fast, but I think you've got a tree that maybe grows faster than the weeds.

Sallie> Yeah.

So we had the moringa tree around here It's a real neat tropical tree and it has everything on it necessary...for life.

And when once it gets really hot, it can potentially grow six inches in 24 hours.

Amanda> What do you mean it has everything on it?

Sallie> So it's got calcium, It's got a complete all the amino acids.

It's got vitamin A, vitamin D, It's got everything in it.

Amanda> So how do people prepare it or use it?

Sallie> You can eat it raw?

You can dry it, you can make a tea out of it.

It's a really cool plant.

Amanda> Gosh, more things to learn at Sal's Sallie> Yes, exactly.

always learning.

Amanda> You've got a compost pile, and I think that your nephew is in charge of kind of keeping that going.

Sallie> He is.

He's chief in charge of manure.

Yes.

So he goes into the pasture with the tractor.

Cleans it up, brings it down here, and then Colton turns it as needed.

He's a big help around here.

Amanda>And a little kid driving that tractor so expertly.

Sallie> Yes, he's been doing it for a long time.

Amanda> And then you, he turns to compost and it ends up just being a wonderful addition that you can use to top grass and all kinds of things.

Sallie> Yeah.

So I tell people when your compost starts turning nice and black, that is fantastic.

That's a perfect home for your plants.

Amanda> And then you've got animals here because education, you want people to see that there are animals and so what have you got that produces compost?

Sallie> So we've got mules, and we've got donkeys and we also have a really old horse.

(laughs) Amanda> And um, you said some people think that donkeys are just can take care of themselves, but I think they need some special care sometimes Sallie> They do.

A lot of people think they can just get a donkey and put out in the pasture but they need their hooves cleaned.

They need proper grooming.

They got to stay at a good weight.

It's real easy to get them too fat, and that causes a lot of problem.

Okay.

Amanda> And then mules...are just, are they stubborn?

Sallie> Well, they aren't stubborn, but they're very, very smart.

So people tell.

There's a phrase that says you've got to treat a mule the way you're supposed to treat a horse.

So they will not let you be lazy on training.

(laughing) Amanda> And then also, we've got these incredible birds.

Sallie> Yes.

So one of the biggest things we do on the farm are white dove releases, and the white doves are actually homing pigeons.

There's some people that think when you let the doves go, they just die, and that's it.

These birds are trained to come home upon release.

Amanda> and...so you put different colored bands on them, according to how many times they've come back.

You've got some that are wearing the band, because they come back 50 times Sallie> I do.

So once they come back about 50 times, from 10 to 15 miles or more, they'd get a white band.

That's pretty cool.

Sallie> Yes.

Amanda> And so a lot of people like to come and take advantage of that opportunity, because funerals or weddings and things like that they weren't happy to happen.

Sallie> Exactly.

Amanda> Lift your spirits Sallie> Yes, and they're an ancient animal.

From the dawn of time, just about people been letting them go as messenger pigeons.

So yes, they're very amazing.

Amanda> Then we have fresh eggs available here, and I think you've got a bunch of chickens.

Sallie> We've got a lot of chickens and one of the most interesting chickens we have are the Indian jungle fowl It's pretty much a wild chicken, just about the first chicken that was ever around.

Amanda> And inside the store, you offer a lot of seeds, heirloom seeds and things like that.

Sallie> We do.

So, we have a lot of different seeds, we have a cold room where we keep them down at 40 degrees.

So you can always know your seeds are nice and fresh and you can produce some great crops with them.

Amanda> And people, since you're involved in education, sometimes you have classes out here, and then also you if people want to do this, you make a box that people can subscribe to, and they get it every month or two with things they can plant.

Sallie> Yeah, so a lot of people don't know in South Carolina, is you can grow year round.

So there's something all the time to grow in South Carolina.

So that box has got the directions, online helps, and the seeds, bulbs and different things that you can plant within that month.

Amanda> That's so much fun, because then a family and since you've told us, we can do so many things in containers, a family has a way to start getting their children excited about the land and understanding everything.

Sallie> Exactly, because children will eat what they grow, and what you grow is so much more tasty than what you get in the store, because it's...you're planting it within the season without a lot of heavy chemicals on it.

Yeah, so yes, Amanda> And you have school groups come sometime, and we got to see a darling little batch of them, and you give them little things because you want them to learn that there's a place for everything in nature.

So these children, that some of the things you'd like for them to protect, and not be scared of.

Sallie> So on the farm, you're liable to see bats if you're here at night.

You might come across a snake, frogs and all these animals are beneficial.

A lot of people try to kill them, but we need to live in harmony with them and learn about them and we stress the importance of the kids not touching the animals.

Don't touch wild animals, but respect them and don't kill them.

So I'm hoping that they're going to spread the word and more people will start protecting the environment.

Amanda> Well Sal, I think you're one person who's trying to make the world a better place.

Sallie> Awwe!

Well, thank you.

Amanda> I really do.

And if people want to find out more about you.

Do you have a website or what's the best way to find out?

Sallie> Yeah, so Sal's local seed.com.

You can sign up for our newsletter and find out when to grow and different classes we have.

We have homesteading classes, all kinds of different things.

Amanda> Well, I want to thank you for letting us come today.

Sallie> Oh, thank you so much.

It's been a delight.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ What a grand time we had.

And...a fun person to meet.

Before the show, we were talking about something that was kind of frightening and very upsetting.

Let's share that with people.

Dr. Herrick> Yeah.

So,... you may have seen it in some of the newspaper headlines.

I think it made newspapers like New York Times and, but the Duke University is looking to divest itself of its herbarium collections, which number about 850,000 specimen sheets.

Amanda> And you all have how many?

Dr. Herrick> USC only has about 130,000.

Amanda> Wow.

Dr. Herrick> Much smaller by comparison.

Amanda> Well, and we just see how important this is for us to be able to talk about things and share- Dr. Herrick> Exactly!

Amanda> what's prompting this and what are some of the worries?

Dr. Herrick> There is some costs associated with their upkeep and folks have to kind of like see the true value in these things and what sorts of research they can support.

And I know we've been involved in sort of biogeographic studies, taxonomic studies and also these sort of humanities type things.

So some of the historical aspects of it, we've looked into the biographies of some of the botanists that have made some of these collections, Amanda> And y'all are kind of disturbed too, I think.

What were you all's feelings about it?

Christopher> Yeah, I, I think unfortunately what you... what you have is a lot of species that may disappear.

I mean, we're seeing species disappear all the time.

Amanda> Yeah, we're certainly... >> And a lot of them are preserved by these Herbaria And when you see that happen, then you know, and then of course, these disappear, what are we going to have?

We just have a whole species, you know, just completely wiped off the face of the earth.

So it's very disappointing to see.

It really is.

Amanda> Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, thank you for what you're doing at USC.

And we hope that something can happen to resolve this crisis that they're facing.

But any rate, we will come back next Tuesday and be with you and we'll try to have some cheerful news and also bring you world from the news that you just need to know about.

So, 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.

Mcleod Farms in McBee, South Carolina, family owned and operated since 1916.

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

Wesley Commons, a full service continuing care retirement community located on more than 150 wooded acres in Greenwood, South Carolina.

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