>>My daddy used to eat sweet potatoes as a snack.

You know, when he left out of the house in the morning he would take a couple of sweet potatoes And he had a sayin'.

Take a cold tater and wait.

So if you said you were hungry, you got a baked sweet potato.

And so it's fun doing it.

And it's a lot, a lot more fun when you can make a living doing it.

>>There's also a lot of skills that I feel that, you know, we got at different times in the army.

I mean, pounding those tee posts into the ground.

Well, I've been using a picket pounder since I was an enlisted soldier, and then as a Lieutenant for pounding those in the ground.

So I had that skill.

I brought that skill to this.

>>Production funding for Virginia Homegrown is made possible by.

(birds chirping) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (music fades out) >>Welcome to Virginia Home Grown.

Let's celebrate July because our gardens are growing and blooming and producing.

Despite this lush season, in August we will need to be start planting the fall garden.

Today, we're learning about programs supporting farmers in our region, from training for military veterans to adaptive tools and equipment for people with disabilities.

We will explore how new growers are entering the agriculture industry.

But before we get started, I wanna remind you to send in your questions on our website at vpm.org/vhg.

A little later, we'll visit Hidden Springs Family Farm in Palmyra to see how her retired military couple worked together to launch a new farming initiative.

But first we will visit a veteran farmer in Sussex who succeeds due to his amazing can-do spirit.

Let's get going.

>>Cliff, I'm looking at some colorful sweet potatoes, so tell me about what's on the table here.

>>Well what we have is three different varieties.

This one I'm gonna turn it around so you can see the roots.

It's called Becca purple.

>>That's beautiful.

>>And it's purple skin, purple flesh with a mottling of white in there.

Very, very sweet, very nutritious.

It's loaded with antioxidants, and that's what a lot of people like because of its dark color.

This next one, I'm gonna turn this around so you can see the little potatoes on it.

This one is called Carolina Ruby.

Now this is purple skin, orange flesh.

And if you don't watch these, my good friend up in Warrenton, Virginia, planted some two years ago, and he topped out with one potato at 17 pounds.

The biggest I've ever seen.

and you can see the small potatoes beginning to make on it right now.

>>But over here, we don't.

>>But this is purple skin, orange flesh.

People probably wouldn't even buy it from the grocery store.

The grocery store is used to what, orange skin, orange flesh for the most part.

And this one is O'Henry.

This is a white flesh and white skin or between white and yellow skin sweet potato.

It'll mature in about 90 days.

This one is 95 and this one is 95.

So even now with our frost being around the middle of October, we're close to maybe not being able to make a good crop, but because we raise plants, we still have time to make a crop good enough to bed to make sweet potato plants.

>>Correct, and Slade Farms is all about, I'll say reproducing the plants to sell.

It's not about growing the sweet potatoes and harvesting the potatoes and selling them.

>>That's correct.

We harvest these.

And for two weeks they have to be at 85 degrees and 85% relative humidity.

And then after that we lower everything down to 55 degrees.

And at 55 degrees, a sweet potato plant will neither live nor deteriorate.

So it'll stay for two years.

But the following March we're bedding sweet potato plants in these greenhouses, and starting about the 10th of May, we are shipping, these same plants here, we're shipping all over the continental United States.

The reason we got into all of that was because of miss Ira Wallace.

I call her mama Ira because I met her years ago when I was doing my talks for Virginia Tech and Virginia State.

And she was always a vendor and she would say, Cliff, I could make you a lot of money, but you just need to go certified organic.

I said, I'm not thinking about that stuff.

So the next year we would be Groundhog Day all over again.

And then finally I took the plunge and we do the same thing with the elephant garlic as well as the sweet potatoes.

But Ira is the one that helped propel me to this level of success and to make 43560 a reality.

>>What a great mentor.

>>She is, yes.

>>You've mentioned 43560.

Explain your concept please.

>>That's nothing but the number of square feet that there are in an acre.

On my way up to Virginia State University one day and I thought about it.

I'm like, why come we can't do this?

I'm going to strive to make a dollar per square foot on an acre of land.

And we did it right out there, right there.

That same field.

We did it there with cabbage, lettuce, bok choy, and some greens.

And every time I punched a hole, the plant had to give me a dollar back.

If it did not give me the potential for that, I didn't use it.

Well, the cost of production on that was $10,000.

So a lot of people didn't want to get into it.

As I gave my presentations, I would say, just do a quarter of an acre, then it will only cost you $2,500.

So that's what we did.

And we moved from there to the sweet potatoes and the elephant garlic that actually grosses me like two, three, $4 a square foot.

So an acre of sweet potato plants at 43560, an acre of elephant garlic at the 43560, which we gross more than that.

And you subtract the $10,000 per acre cost of production.

And we're still looking at about a $60,000 farm and profit on two acres of land.

>>That's amazing.

And then how did you get into farming?

>>This is all I know.

I've been living on this farm all of my life, except for when I went to Virginia State to go to college and major in agriculture.

And that's a story in itself.

When I went to Virginia State, I majored in agriculture out of laziness.

I thought that all I had to do, my dad had already taught me how to farm.

But he had a seventh grade education.

So I said, well, he doesn't know all the fancy words.

So I'm gonna go to Virginia State and learn the fancy words to agriculture.

Boy was I mistaken with all the chemistry and the biology and all the other things that you had to take.

>>Soil science and everything else.

>>Soil science.

But I made it through.

But at the time that I went to Virginia State was 1971, Vietnam was hot.

And I had a choice, go into the military or finish my college education.

So I chose to finish.

And the only way I could do that is through ROTC.

>>It's a great program.

>>So in 1975, I graduated from ROTC with a degree in agriculture education and I commissioned into the United States army.

>>And how did that experience in the military help with your farming?

>>It was immense, I didn't know how much it was gonna help me but I didn't know at the time that I enjoyed serving in the military, serving my country, and enjoyed the leadership roles that I had being a commission officer.

Those things gave me the confidence that I needed to live the rest of my life.

I tell people all the time, I'm successful at what I do.

My success rate is not good at all.

I'll try 10 things.

And of the 10, only these two so far, I've tried rice, I've tried goats, hogs, some of everything, but these are the two things that I'm working with right now.

And the next crop that we will try or two will be cut flowers and also collard greens.

>>That's fantastic.

>>So we're gonna try those this fall under woven fabric.

And the reason we're going with the woven fabric is because of the two ailments that I am blessed with, let me put it that way, blessed with, yes.

My low vision, which is not where I want it to be, but because of the division of the blind and visually impaired, they're helping me with a whole lot of new tools that will help me see better.

And then AgrAbility, they've helped me so much with my mobility, getting on and off tractors, plastic mats and the concrete and all those types of things.

So as a community, we come together, it's helping me still practice my passion.

>>What is that modification for the tractors that you can keep moving?

>>Towards the step down about another seven to eight inches.

So now with the purpose of the grip handles and the lower step, I can get on and off the tractors here that I have on the farm a whole lot easier.

But AgrAbility has always been great with meeting not only my needs, but as far as I know, the needs of most farmers because I always refer people to them all the time.

And the other thing is that we are talking about my vision situation.

If we have woven fabric that we roll out into the field, the color contrast helps me see better the growth stage of the plants that I'm trying to grow, whether it's the sweet potatoes or the elephant garlic.

>>You got a direct contrast.

>>It's black plastic or white plastic.

AgrAbility is also working with me on a, I call it a scooter seat, a seat that I can sit on and be able to plant and do all of this work.

And sometimes all it is, I need something that pulls me up because when I roll this plastic out and because I'm a hands-on type of guy, I want to take my bud planter and plant my own garlic.

So I'll get right down on the ground.

Just roll around and plant my garlic or plant my sweet potatoes or whatever.

And at the end of a 300 foot row, I've accomplished something.

>>This is great.

And I really, I'm just so pleased knowing that through AgrAbility, you're able to continue with your dream.

And I wanna thank you for having us.

>>Oh, you are welcome.

Yes, indeed.

My father always used to tell folks this when I was growing up, "come back to see me, the farm gate hangs on welcome hinges".

>>What a great day I had visiting Cliff and learning how he adapts to ever-changing situations.

And now Tony Edwards of the Virginia State University's Small Farmer Outreach Program is here with me to share more about AgrAbility.

But before we get started, remember to send in your gardening questions on our website at vpm.org/vhg.

Tony, we've got some interesting tools here on this table.

>>Yeah.

Yes, we do.

>>And what are they all associated with?

>>These are without disabilities.

Folks that love to farm, still wants to farm.

And by the way, the AgrAbility program itself is a program with 20 groups in it.

>>Oh wow.

>>20 states so far, probably it's 21 plus now.

But Maine's in it, Virginia's in it.

We have our great things.

But these tools shows you here, this tool here, this hoe, is a normal size.

This is about four feet.

>>Yeah.

Average of a- >>And so, and it keeps me from bending.

My back would be in bad shape.

So, we like to be safe.

>>So, here's what a normal tool is.

>>Yes, Ma'am.

>>So there are folks who need some adaptive tools and adaptive ways to do things and AgrAbility helps with that.

>>Yes, Ma'am, we have the tools.

Yes, Ma'am, we make 'em longer.

>>Uh huh.

>>The poles are longer.

This one here, we have before us, and we can put this one down, >>Mm hm.

>>is a diamond hoe.

and we have, the pole is about six feet long.

A guy like me, I can stand straight up and do my thing with this hoe.

>>So if you have a back problem or- >>Yes, Ma'am.

>>Or ability or inability to just even bend well, this tool here would help accommodate that.

>>Yes, Ma'am, even with the grip.

>>Yeah.

>>And it's a great tool, so.

>>It is one of my favorite types of hoe.

>>Oh, you know.

Okay, you love that diamond.

>>I love this diamond hoe.

>>Okay, that's great.

>>I'm a diamond hoe girl, yes.

>>So here we have folks that have grip problems.

>>Oh.

>>So we can use this trowel to help 'em with the problems.

>>The ability to hold onto it.

>>Yeah, yeah.

It's just different.

>>Mm hm.

>>The regular way of going in, we scoop.

>>Mm hm.

>>They can't do it cause of arthritis or various things.

>>Right.

>>So it keeps the farmers farming, you know?

Farmers who right now we have the average age is about 60 years old.

>>Oh my.

>>And we have some farmers that a lot of farmers that come in and are veterans, they're using farming to take care of their PTSD.

>>Right.

>>And it helps them too.

They may have arthritis or disabilities in their hand.

>>Right.

>>And other parts of their body.

So.

>>And so AgrAbility is a, one of the programs they can reach out to and be able to, you know, learn how to make adaptive changes to their tools.

>>Yes, Ma'am and keep doing what they love.

>>Mm hm.

>>If it's farming.

>>Yes.

>>And we only take care of the farmers.

And this here again.

>>This one.

>>We have this one here.

This is a regular hoe >>Right.

>>with the grip.

So the grip itself is there so we can- >>It's very comfortable.

>>Yes, it is.

>>I gave it a try.

>>You can give it a tight.

They're really good.

These are things that you can order, folks can order 'em through various channels.

>>Yes.

>>And so we'll talk about this and you, this is one you like.

>>I do, I love playing with that.

(Tony and Peggy laugh) >>It's an extended piece of hoe.

(Peggy chuckles) So it goes out.

>>I love this.

>>Peggy likes it.

(Peggy chuckles) >>I think it's cool.

(Peggy chuckles) >>We'll keep it going.

So these things you can buy over the counter in various hardware stores and farmers markets or farmer stores, seat stores.

>>But, what happens if you can't find them or if you've got tools like I do, I love my tools but how can we make modifications to them?

>>Well, this one here is a handle.

If you've got a problem with grip, >>Uh uh.

>>you can use this to put it on the side as we have.

>>Oh, so it fits on.

>>It fits on the hoe and you can pull, push, pull, do what you got to with it.

It helps and it soothes, and so this is here is available.

A lot of this stuff like I say is available if you order it.

And also if you check with AgrAbility, folks, we have a partnership with Easterseals.

>>Oh, okay.

>>And there's some ways you can go through those various places to get what you can.

>>Oh, that's wonderful.

>>The need is out there.

A lot of folks are doing it, adding on steps to their tractors, >>Mm hm.

>>lifts for some folks.

But a lot of it's not funded.

>>Yes.

>>So.

>>Well, a lot of times people get creative.

Like I see over there, the garden stool over there, which is something that I've used in the past.

>>Yes, this garden stool, it's got a brace to pick your hands up when you can get in it on your knees >>Hm hm.

>>and get closer to whatever you're gonna deal with.

You wanna turn it over, it's a bench to sit on.

So you got that, you don't have to bend over always.

You can sit there in a chair and use the back.

So it's something available for 'em.

>>Yeah.

>>And this is over the counter also.

>>A friend of mine took that and made it into a scooter, so she could scoot up and down her garden walls.

>>There you can.

That's right.

>>You know, I really was, I was amazed.

>>Some of the farmers say the same thing.

They say, "I use it to grab and go."

>>Uh huh.

>>And then we have a pad.

This pad is used for the floor.

If folks are canning, you know, that's farming too.

>>Yes.

>>If folks are canning, they can use this to help the knees and everything else.

And also you can move this along within your garden or in your high tunnel or wherever you want.

>>Exactly, so that you're not standing on that hard ground.

>>Yes.

Ma'am, yes Ma'am.

>>That you've got a buffer there.

>>It's these little things.

>>Such little things.

>>These little things.

>>Yes.

>>And folks can do what they have to.

>>How do people learn about the AgrAbility program?

>>Well AgrAbility program, we have the AgrAbility program, the flyer, it's a flyer out.

>>Uh huh.

>>And say we have various means you can go through.

The VEC, Virginia extension centers and check also.

We're online.

>>Mm hm.

>>And so I just wanna talk about that.

You can go out and figure out what you want to do.

>>That's great.

>>We're here for you, just call, go out and just say "AgrAbility Virginia."

>>Uh huh, >>Google it.

>>Yeah.

>>And it'll come up.

>>It'll come up.

>>It's a farmer's dream.

>>Yes.

Are there other programs and things available?

So if I'm interested in becoming a farmer and I really don't even know where to begin, are there programs associated that AgrAbility could maybe help connect me through or?

>>Yes, we have the small farm outreach program at Virginia State University.

We have orientations for new and beginning farmers and ranchers.

We also have classes that we can present various things as far as engineering lawnmowers and- >>Small things.

>>Small farms, small engines, we work with that.

And also how to do a crop.

>>That's fantastic.

>>Lot of folks call in and get guidance.

And we have also we have various classes that you can join free.

>>Uh huh.

>>Lot of 'em are free.

If it's $5, that's not bad.

>>No.

>>But you know, sometimes you gotta give 'em $5 so you can lose something, and have some something to gain.

>>Yeah.

>>To show up.

>>Yes.

>>Well, I had a thing on the 24th of May said, "Rain or shine, you veterans better be here."

>>Yes.

>>And we had 91 folks show up.

>>That's amazing.

>>And so it's good.

It's a great class.

>>Lots of people.

That's great, Tony.

Tony, this is fantastic information cuz I know some people are very interested in joining and becoming a farmer, but they don't know where to begin.

But also, I know there are people out there who are in the agriculture industry that do have challenges and they wanna continue with their passion and they now know that AgrAbility- >>AgrAbility.

>>Can help 'em do so.

So.

>>Yes, Ma'am.

>>Thank you.

>>Glad to be here.

>>And now we're going to get ready to answer your questions.

But first we have a tip from Amyrose Foll on ways to keep your vegetable garden productive through the summer season.

(upbeat music) >>So we are midway through the summer, it's after the solstice, so there's a few things that you can do to encourage your plants to grow more and put out more flowers and therefore more fruit for the rest of the year.

The first thing that you can do is make sure that you are keeping your plants aggressively picked.

So this will encourage flowering and they want to reproduce, that's what they're made to do.

The more flowers, obviously, the more fruit like these beautiful peppers.

So we are gonna make sure that we keep this plant aggressively picked, because we have all these other little guys going and we want to encourage this plant to start putting out more flowers all the way up until the last frost.

Also, be vigilant for animal damage.

You can see here that the deer like these beans quite a bit.

So I didn't put a fence around this garden.

It's my fault, that's fine, but we also do have bug and disease damage here.

What we're going to do is make sure that every day when we're out, we're inspecting our plants but also remove any damaged leaves like these to promote new growth, like these beautiful little guys.

And so whether you have disease damage or insect damage on your plants, we don't wanna compost these.

If we compost them, you could just reintroduce that to your garden all over again, or in subsequent seasons and we don't want that.

So if you're able to burn, burn these.

If not, make sure you tie them up in a garbage bag and get them off of the property as soon as possible we also have some squash plants here and the bugs have been after my squash plants.

One of the things we wanna be vigilant for and look out for are what's going on in our plants?

Oh, this guy is a little bit wilted.

I'm gonna pull this open.

This is a male flower, so I'm not gonna hurt any squash.

And you can see that we have some beetle damage, they're in there taking up residence and this is something that we don't want.

So what we're gonna do to treat this later on in the evening, I'm gonna use diatomaceous earth and dust them.

It will actually kill the beetles by dehydrating them.

We wanna do it in the evening because we don't wanna hurt our bees.

After the bees have gone to sleep, we'll be doing that.

So in the heat of the summer, your tasks to keep in mind are making sure you're looking out for your bugs.

You wanna keep everything picked so that you have really great robust flowers and get a great harvest at the end of the season, and making sure that you're paying attention to any damage or disease on your plants.

It's easy, you can do it, and if you keep those things in mind, you'll have a really robust healthy garden throughout the year.

>>On Facebook right now, Amy Rose and other members of our team are answering your questions.

So please, send them in via Facebook or through our website.

We always enjoy hearing from you.

And here in the studio, we are joined by Serome Hamlin to help answer questions.

Welcome, Serome.

>>Hello, how are you doing?

>>Fine, fine.

And we've got some questions.

>>We've got some questions starting to roll in.

So first of all, I'm gonna pass this on to you, but any exercises or stretches that you can recommend?

>>Well, I'm not into that, but there's some wellness groups within the program that we can turn people onto.

But right now, I don't know, I haven't anybody asked me any exercises.

But there's probably an avenue to deal with that.

>>That's contacting a wellness group.

>>Yes, a wellness group.

>>Do you have any resources through the Virginia small farmers operative?

>>The Small Farmer Outreach Program?

>>Yeah.

>>Well, there's a lot of information online through Zoom and the various classes.

So there's a lot of that, that we could probably push someone toward if they need that.

But yes, we do have ways to answer some of those questions within our program.

We have several organizations, like I said before.

We got the Easterseals, we have a nurse on our board with us also so we can do that.

Just contact us, and we'll work with whoever.

Again, I can't give you exactly who right now.

>>But the resources are there.

>>The resources are there, resources are there.

>>Yes.

>>Awesome 'cause there's a lot of people out there that could use that knowledge.

>>We're willing to pass it on.

(all laughing) >>All right, here's one Catherine has asked.

What are some water wise vegetable plant choices for the home gardener?

>>Water wise.

>>Water wise, vegetables that can be grown in very dry air conditions.

Really don't require a lot of water.

(Tony laughs) >>So for me, I wouldn't say water wise, but I think the gardener could do something to conserve the water.

So keeping the ground mulched, always water at the roots at the right time and actually making sure that the plant itself need the water and conserve that way.

>>Exactly, plus water in the morning when needed only and even getting a moisture meter that you can put in a probe to put into the soil, so you are only watering when it's necessary to do so.

>>Exactly.

>>Is another option to consider.

And I think also there are some choices out there, some cultivars that are more drought, I don't wanna say tolerant, but mendable and be able to endure it better than some of the other new cultivars that are coming on.

The industry is listening to the changes in our climate and hybridizing plants to be able to handle the dryness.

>>Yeah, but it's always up to the gardener just to make sure that it needs water and do what you can to conserve the water.

>>Absolutely.

>>They can also try drip irrigation.

>>Yes.

>>For those plants- >>That's very important to right down to the roots.

>>That's right on the roots, and so also we talk about that, also AgrAbility, small farm outreach program, we work together as a team and Dr. Kimberly Niewolny, she is our chief in AgrAbility and she works close with us and our team travels throughout the state and we only got five people.

So, you call wheel hall and we'll do an evaluation of everything.

And for the soil, we got teams to do that.

We got folks in extension.

That can work with those questions.

So give Virginia state a call.

>>Very, very good resource that we need to promote more.

>>Oh, yes.

>>Here's a kind of a challenging one.

David from Verona has asked, "my cucumber plant started off well, "good flowers, fruit, but soon turned brown.

"Crusty leaves no matter how well I water.

"could this be a fungus or a bacterial welt?

"I sprayed with copper fungicide "and even planted a mildew resistant variety."

>>Well, he's got mildew.

(all laughing) >>That's what it sounds like.

(Peggy laughing) >>Good humor in Virginia.

>>Good humor in Virginia.

>>You can take a picture of that and send it to the pest control folks there at Virginia state and through the BCE.

>>The other thing is though, if he has started applying a fungicide, it's not a one-off 'cause you know, funguses and mildews and everything, you don't kill them as you would managing an insect.

But you have to continually suppress them.

So the application needs to start early in the season and continue throughout the life of that crop at this succession cycle stated on the label.

And so it's not a one-off it's- >>Oh yeah.

You always gotta stay on top of it.

>>Yes.

>>I didn't get any cucumbers this year.

Something got mine too.

>>Oh, sorry about that.

(Serome laughing) >>Hey, I was looking forward to 'em.

>>I'll be happy to share.

(All laughing) >>Danny from Hanover has asked, "can this program and extension service help gardeners as they age but want to stay in the garden, or is this just for farmers and people with disabilities?"

>>People with disabilities and farming, if I got a garden and it's a half acre or quarter acre, I'm still a farmer.

Whether I do flowers or whatever.

Just give us a call and we'll work with you on decision of whether you are available or not.

We'll work with you.

We have some farmers within Richmond.

They are veterans and some are not but they have little gardens in the backyard.

And those folks are 60s, 70s, they're young guys, I'm old.

So, 70 year old guy like me, I should have given it up a long time, but it's good.

No, we'll work with you.

And then if we can't do anything for you, we'll let you know and we'll try to pass you on to somebody who can help you.

>>Well, that's wonderful.

So it's not an exclusive program.

This is a program available to just about everybody.

>>Yes.

Ma'am we wanna keep farmers farming.

Those are heavy duty guys.

And also the folks use those tools, we showed in the backyards.

>>Yes.

>>So just give us a buzz.

>>That's great.

That is great.

>>Here's another one that, what is the best soil to grow elephant garlic?

(Peggy laughs) (indistinct) >>Well, this has to take well drained soil.

and a real quick answer is that our heavy clay needs to be amended.

There's a farm down in Suffolk that grows elephant garlic and that soil is very sandy.

It's very porous.

And I grew elephant garlic in my raised bed.

And in a very well drained soil.

It's not the soil.

That's gonna be holding water.

That's going to be super high in organic matter.

Unless organic matter is needed to break up the clay to get the good drainage.

But you need that good drainage as you do with any onion or garlic.

Because elephant garlic is actually a leek, it's not a garlic, so.

>>Same thing.

>>Look at that.

>>If you need that.

>>So, well that's all the time we have right now but we look forward to answering more questions later in the show.

Thanks for being with us tonight Tony, we appreciate you taking the time.

>>We enjoyed this.

This has been to the light.

>>Appreciate it.

Next up, Dr. Robin Puffenberger, visited Hidden Springs Family farm in Palmyra to meet Barbara and Dewey Haynes, two military veterans who have started a second career as farmers.

Let's get going.

>>Most production gardens, you'll see all of one variety planted together, and that's for ease of picking.

We have to go to visit multiple parts of the garden to pick during the day, but the idea behind it is, say I have zucchini planted here, I don't have to worry about squash bugs on three rows of zucchini.

They stay kind of right here, so I can manage that.

And it tries to keep the disease pressure down a little bit as well.

Like with the tomatoes, I don't have to worry about blight jumping as quickly.

>>So tell me a little bit more about your horticulture philosophy here at the farm.

>>So we are 100% percent herbicide and pesticide free and then we try to mitigate the pests by inter-cropping and doing companion plants.

So we have nasturtiums planted on the end of the rows with the tomatoes.

And then also I'm trying to inter-crop them with the zucchini this year, because they help to mask the scent of the plant for the pests that may come.

>>And then out beyond the gardens, you have a number of animals on the farm, so what are you doing with that?

>>So we have laying hens, those rotate.

We're using those to rehabilitate the pastures, and they feed the pasture with the nitrogen from their manure and they scratch around and also eat the insects which reduces a lot of the insect pressure out there.

>>We try when we can to build sustainability into stuff, so when you look at the chicken wagon it's got gutters on both sides that feed 30 gallon barrels that are inside, so that as long as we get rain, the barrels stay full and that's where they can get water from during the day.

There's water inside and water outside, and then it's actually got onboard feeders, 'cause much as I would like them to be able to get everything from Mother Nature, the grass and the bugs, they still need a little bit of supplement.

>>And then we also have broilers out on pasture and pretty much the same, we rotate them every day.

So every day they move on to fresh grass.

And so they are helping us reduce the weed pressure out there and rehabilitate the pasture again.

'Cause this used to be a horse farm and they did hay here, and then since then, a gentleman has been grazing cattle here.

>>If you went out to some of the pastures that have only been where the cattle have been and stuff, you can just tell the difference, when you go from there over to the ones where the chickens have been, they're much greener, they're lusher, there's not all the bare spots.

So we are seeing, already in a year, we are seeing some improvement.

>>I don't think, originally, your background is farming, so tell me more about the career path that brought you to this place.

>>So I'm an air force brat and I would classify myself probably as a suburbanite, and Dewey grew up, one set of grandparents had an apple farm, but he lived in the suburbs also and we both met in the army.

We'll have been married about 15 years.

We met on a deployment to Kuwait.

He was the force protection officer and I was the logistics officer.

>>There's only one or two arguments so it was okay.

(all chuckle) >>But we figured if we could work together for a year, and still think we were in love, it must be true love.

So, so we got married and our careers brought us to Virginia and we just love the state, it's beautiful, the people are awesome, so it's been a good career.

I always tell people, if I knew then what I know now I would've signed up sooner.

>>So it sounds like you've been a few places that actually might be hotter and more humid than where you live now in Virginia >>And colder, 'cause she tells people, while in Kuwait she'd have to borrow my jacket on a regular basis 'cause... >>It gets cold in Kuwait.

>>It gets cold in Kuwait, so but yes, they're much hotter at times times there.

>>And you're wearing shirts that say Veteran Farmer Program.

>>Yes.

>>What is that all about?

>>So in 2018, we decided to become farmers.

We were really enjoying our garden, and so, we tease Dewey and tell him he's "Just Google It".

So he started researching what it would take for us to be farmers.

And we stumbled across a program that's run by Arcadia called the Veteran Farmer Reserve, where they bring veterans and family members in from across the country to Woodlawn Plantation once a month and teach them the basics of farming.

Seed starting, how to do succession crops.

>>While they do focus on produce, they do take you out and they introduce you to cattle, sheep, goats.

When she saw the goat milking, I knew I was in trouble, So I'm still waiting for that to come into the future.

>>And the beds we are standing in, how old are these?

>>We finished them all this spring.

So the ones over here we did last summer, and then everything else was built this spring.

And when we talk about a family affair, it was our two girls, our two sons, our two son-in-laws and our granddaughters.

Plus the two of us with wheel barrows, hauling compost and wood chips with wheel barrows.

>>Attempting to do no-till as much as possible, and to grow the soil here.

So I think like I told you before, we tilled everything one time.

In some spots, we did a really good job of (indistinct) to kill off some of the... >>Wire grass.

>>The wire grass and other stuff, and then me and the youngest son built 1x6 frames that were 30 inches wide and 30 feet long, put the wood chips around one side, compost, put the next frame down, and just continued to build and leapfrog.

And like she said, 70 of the 72 beds were all with wheel barrows.

The thing that slowed us down mostly was getting the wood chips, and fortunately we met some great tree services and arborists in the area, and I now have a pile of wood chips.

>>Yay!

>>So what did the army do to prepare you for this second career in farming?

>>We were joking the other day when we were out here, that the army prepares you for fire missions.

You start out with a plan in the morning of what you're gonna get done, and as soon as you start working on that plan, something else comes up that's critical and has to be addressed, like, right at that moment.

Like, one time we were out here watering and a pipe busted, so everything else has to stop and the pipe has to be fixed, and I think that the adaptability and the flexibility that comes from having been in the military, people have this mentality that people in the military are very rigid and that there are rules and everything has to be lock-step.

But the truth is that the military environment is very fluid and you have to be adaptable and you have to be open to accepting that change and changing course.

>>And it sounds like you have a lot of plans moving forward.

So how are things gonna go in the future for y'all?

>>Well, we are really hoping to expand our customer base.

This year is kind of feeling out what will grow here, getting our timing down.

The bees, we have five hives right now, and so next year we're hoping to be able to offer honey.

And possibly next year, once we see the timing, we might be able to do a small CSA.

>>Well, thank you again for having us out to this beautiful site in Palmyra, Virginia.

It's absolutely inspirational to see what you've done in such a short amount of time.

Thank you again.

>>Thanks Robyn.

>>Thank you, guys.

>>It's great to learn about organizations supporting Virginia farmers, and also supporting our veterans, who are keen on starting a career in agriculture.

Now, Barbara is here with me to share how to preserve the crop, both in the garden and after the harvest.

Before we begin, I wanna remind you to send in your gardening questions through our website, www.vpm.org/vhg, or through Facebook.

Well, Barbara, we've got quite a unique situation 'cause we have our tomato plant, which is our garden.

>>Right.

>>But we also have our harvest from our garlic.

And air circulation is just so important for both.

Explain to me how you feel we can help in our gardens, increase air circulation with our tomato plants.

>>Okay, well, specifically with the tomato plant, we wanna make sure that we open the plant up as much as possible.

Before I would even plant this one...

This one, after the show, we'll take it home and plant it in the garden.

>>Uh-huh.

>>The first thing I would do is I would remove all of the little runners and branches that we don't need.

(shears clicking) >>And our sprouts here are water sprouts, huh?

>>Right, our water sprouts down here.

Anything that the plant doesn't need.

>>Uh-huh.

>>It doesn't need a lot of leaves to be successful.

And the more leaves that I can remove from around the stem, and allow air to move through, the healthier the plant's going to stay.

Reduce some of that powdery mildew.

>>Yes.

>>And removing some of the diseased leaves.

You can see these ones have a little bit of yellow.

>>Yes.

>>And I'm gonna plant this one really deep because tomatoes are an opportunistic rooter.

>>Uh-huh.

>>If I plant it deeper, this stem is gonna grow roots out and it's gonna make for a stronger plant.

And then as it grows, I'm just gonna visit it, (shears clicking) and I'm gonna remove any of these suckers.

>>Uh-huh.

>>Just try to focus on our main stem.

>>Mm-hmm.

>>And I'm gonna watch for my flowers.

(shears clicking) >>Yes.

>>But I wanna make sure that it's open around the flowers so the bees can get in there and pollinate it, and the sun gets in there to ripen it.

>>And also to dry the leaves, you know?

>>Mm-hmm.

>>So many of us are starting to experience late blight and some of the other summer diseases for our tomato plants.

And so taking the time to open up the plant, which is a vine.

>>Yes.

>>People forget tomatoes are vines.

>>They are.

>>We'll be able to do so.

And are you concerned about how much you remove from the plant?

>>I'm really not.

I mean, if it starts to angle down, and it looks like it's covering the stem, I cut it off.

>>Okay.

>>Because it's gonna grow up here and it's got that really healthy root system.

>>Yes.

>>It's gonna feed the plant.

>>And help conserve water.

>>Exactly.

>>Yes.

Be able to use more water 'cause there'll be more roots.

>>Yep.

>>Well that, although it's gonna take time, is a pretty easy way to be able to increase your airflow around your plant and to reduce diseases.

>>Yep.

>>But for our harvest here, we have a tremendous amount of garlic.

>>Right.

There's ways to properly store garlic, and unfortunately, I've also learned there's ways, the hard way, to improperly store garlic.

>>Right.

>>Let's first start with garlic that just came outta the garden.

>>Right.

When we pick it, it doesn't always come out clean and you wanna cure it, so we're going to let it rest 85 degrees for two or three weeks till it's nice and dry.

You want it to be a nice paper on the bulb.

Then when I get ready to harvest it, (garlic rustling) I just strip the stem off.

Then I'll cut the roots back.

We just use scissors for that.

You can use a vegetable brush or we have a nail brush.

>>Uh-huh.

>>This is our favorite tool.

We just brush the dirt off.

Then you get to something that looks like this.

>>Beautiful white, clean, lovely garlic.

>>All right.

>>That's just after washing, and brushing, and scrubbing?

>>Right.

>>Okay.

>>But you don't wanna get them wet.

>>Okay.

It's a dry process?

>>A dry process.

>>Yes.

>>That goes back to the airflow.

Garlic does not like humidity.

If it gets humid, then it's going to mold and you're gonna lose your harvest.

>>Oh, and you don't wanna do that after all that work.

>>Right.

>>But look what we found here.

You found an anomaly here.

>>Right.

This one, the stem got bent out in the garden and the garlic, in an effort to reproduce itself, grew a corm.

I wanted to show people this one 'cause if you plant this, this is actually the garlic's seed.

>>Mm-hmm.

>>In two years, you would get a bulb.

But you can't braid this because the corm gets in the way.

>>Yes.

You can carefully remove that.

>>Yep, carefully remove this.

You can actually eat them, but if you plant it, then two years down the road you'll get a bulb.

So it's much easier to plant cloves.

>>I would too.

(Barbara laughing) Yes, (laughs) it's much faster.

>>Yep.

>>But speaking of braiding, this is a braided garlic bunch.

To me, it's a work of art.

(laughs) >>Yeah, this is how we store our garlic in the pantry.

It doesn't like light.

You want it to be a little cooler.

I braid them and then we just hang them.

>>Uh-huh.

>>Like this.

It'll last a good year.

This is Inchelium Red.

Some varieties do last longer.

>>Mm-hmm.

That's important to know.

>>Yes.

Is this a hardneck or a softneck?

>>This is a softneck garlic.

You can only braid softnecks.

The hardneck garlic though is wonderful for the scape.

>>Yeah, it is.

It is.

Let's demonstrate had to braid one 'cause we've only got a few minutes.

>>Okay.

(garlic rustling) >>I'm gonna start you off.

You said you could start with three.

>>Yep.

I cheat.

I saw this lady on YouTube.

YouTube's a wonderful resource.

She started off by using the twine, which is great 'cause I know some of the old time braiders, the really talented people, can do it by wrapping the stem around.

But I love this technique because it really helps you get going faster.

>>You've basically just- >>Made a loop.

>>Folded this line in half and loop through it.

>>Yep.

Just loop through it.

Then I'm going to flip it over and tie it on.

Then I can go back after I'm done braiding and clean it up.

>>Okay.

(garlic rustling) >>Then I'm going to just take one bulb at a time and it's just like braiding hair.

If you've ever braided hair, you push it in right here on the side.

Then I'm gonna come from the right and twist it over.

>>Uh-huh.

Then I'll take one bulb and I'll put it on the other side, line it up in the center, and then twist over from the other side.

(garlic rustling) >>Your step adding, kind of.

>>Yep.

Then I'm gonna go in the middle again.

>>Uh-huh.

>>Start it in the center.

>>They are making a 90 degree.

>>Yeah.

>>I know people can't see very clearly, but it's a 90 degree.

>>It's a 90 degree.

>>Okay.

There's a center and then you- >>Yeah.

>>Cross it over again.

How many do you usually put in a braid?

>>You wanna go in multiples of three.

>>Mm-hmm.

>>That way you always end with that center one.

We can stop here.

>>Mm-hmm.

>>Then we're just gonna braid it up.

>>You've been basically crossing over and crossing over.

>>Crossing over.

We're gonna just braid the bunch together.

>>And then we're just braiding the stems.

>>Yeah.

>>Just like we do hair.

>>Yep, just like if you're plaiting a girl's hair.

>>Uh-huh.

>>Then I bend it down.

>>Uh-huh.

>>I'm gonna take another piece of that string that we've looped.

>>Yep.

>>I just use that to slipknot it.

(garlic rustling) >>And wrap it around.

>>Mm-hmm.

>>That's so easy.

>>It is.

>>I think that string method is nice and easy.

>>There we go.

You can go back and doctor it up, put herbs in it if you want to make it prettier.

>>Uh-huh.

What great Christmas gifts.

(laughs) >>I know, right?

And fresh outta your garden.

>>It is July.

We can think that.

(both laughing) >>Then you can hang it up.

>>And look at that.

That's beautiful.

Thank you.

>>Not a problem.

>>Yes.

This is just amazing, and it's so quick and easy to do.

>>It is and it makes it... We're still using garlic from last year's harvest.

>>Yeah, and it keeps the air circulating.

I wanna thank you so much.

I wanna thank you for sharing tips about how to improve air circulation both in the garden and with our harvest.

Yeah.

Now we're gonna get ready to answer more of your questions.

But first, Randy Battle has a tip to share on when to harvest vegetables.

(catchy music) >>It's the heart of summer.

And things are growing all over the garden.

(birds twittering distantly) Harvesting your vegetables can be tricky.

So, I recommend checking your garden daily.

First thing in the morning, and late in the afternoon, as things can change very quickly.

Let's talk about tomatoes.

As you can see here, I have some Roma tomatoes.

One is totally ready to be picked.

The other is at the halfway mark.

Now, if you suffer from issues with deer or other critters, you might wanna go ahead and remove your tomatoes when they're at the 50-50 mark.

This way, you can save your fruit, and you won't waste a lot of time growing vegetables for the other animals to eat.

So, what I'm going to do today is harvest this one that's already ready.

And I just simply take my finger, (birds twittering distantly) and I pluck it off, just like that.

I don't have deer issues as my yard is fenced in.

So, I'm gonna leave the sister tomato right there.

Or, you could pull it off the vine, put it in a window seal, and it'll ripen just fine.

And we'll take this one in the house for eating.

Now, cucumbers.

You wanna pick your cucumbers when they're nice, (birds twittering distantly) deep, and green.

You don't wanna let them get too big or too yellow, or they'll be bitter, and the seeds will begin to form.

You don't want seeds in your salad.

You want nice, fresh, crisp cucumbers.

(shears click) So, when they're nice and deep green like this, it's the perfect time to pick 'em.

Once you remove them from the vine, they will stop growing.

So, get 'em early, try not to wait too late.

Now, one of my favorite things to grow in the summer are watermelons and cantaloupes.

This is a cantaloupe, not quite ready yet.

What you wanna look for are the tendrils.

The closest tendril to the cantaloupe, once that turns brown and dies back, you'll know that cantaloupe is ready.

So remember, check your garden every day in the morning and in the evening.

Remember, live, love, laugh, grow stuff, and eat it!

>>Knowing when to harvest different melons can be challenging and waiting for full slip on a cantaloupe will ensure sweet, ripe fruit.

It's common misconception with many gardeners that the segment that attaches the cantaloupe is a tendril when actually, it's just part of the stem or the vine.

And now we have more questions to answer and we're so excited that you're here, Barbara.

And so I think our first question is, is it too late to plant cucumbers or squash or even beans?

>>Absolutely not.

We're actually putting in another succession of beans tomorrow and we just planted this succession of zucchini and yellow squash.

So go out and plant some more.

We're blessed with a very long growing season in Virginia.

>>Absolutely.

And the positive about planting squash and zucchini right now is we're past the squash borer life cycle.

You know, we're getting there at least.

So it's a minimum chance of them being bothered by that insect, pesky pest, anyway.

Another question from Mary was asked is, her zucchini is blossoming, but not setting fruit, what to do?

>>Without knowing more to it, I would encourage her to prune it a little bit, make sure that the fruit's opened up so that the pollinators can find it.

>>Yeah.

So the other thing though is with high temperatures, believe it or not, the female flowers don't open, only the male flowers.

So I'm gonna also encourage her to just be patient and wait for the air temperature to cool.

And those female flowers will start to open.

I don't know why they do that, but they do.

So there's another point to consider as well.

So, and then we have a question, just wondering, is there any advantages to heirloom seeds, to planting heirloom seeds?

>>I would say the flavor, you just can't match the flavor of heirloom vegetables.

>>I know, they're just such a whole different world and experience.

>>Yeah.

You do have more problems.

You know, things been hybridized to battle different diseases and everything, but you still don't get the flavor that you will with heirloom.

>>Yeah.

Barbara, do you plant heirlooms?

>>We do.

We plant several varieties of heirlooms which is one of the reasons that we prune so heavily.

>>To keep that air circulation.

I think too, the disadvantages though is our modern hybrids are resistant to so many diseases, particularly tomatoes that we have to take extra steps such as increasing air circulation to get them to succeed.

>>And I think people like heirlooms 'cause it reminds them of their childhood.

>>Yeah.

>>It's nostalgic.

>>Plus they're a lot more pretty.

>>They are very pretty.

>>All right.

We have a question here about outdoor miniature gardens and do they stay outside year round and what's the best soil for them?

>>I use a medium price potting mix.

You want to have good drainage but you don't have to use something that's gonna be so full of fertilizer that all the plants are going to just take off and take over.

And yes, they do stay out all year round.

If there's a really cold spell, you can always move it closer to your house or put it in a unheated space just for that cold snap.

But they stay out.

You don't wanna bring 'em in 'cause it'll put the plants into shock, especially if you got miniature trees.

>>Yeah, particularly, your house is so dry and people don't realize that.

>>Yep, exactly.

>>But during the growing season, what type of fertilizer do you use on those?

>>I fertilize 'em once with just an organic slow release fertilizer in the spring and that's it.

>>That's interesting.

So just very minimal fertilizer.

>>Yes.

>>You wanna keep them slow.

>>Keep everything slow.

So you don't have to go out every week and have to do pruning and clipping.

So try to save some steps and some stress.

>>Yes.

Thank you.

We have another question about using black plastic.

Do either of you use black plastic, does it help with disease control?

Is there a mulch underneath it to help build the soil?

>>So I know some farmers use black plastic and then plant their crops through it.

We use black plastic as a silage tarp, to basically kill the weeds or especially we struggle with wire grass or crab grass, whatever you wanna call it in our beds that we're not planting in.

But the dilemma with it is it encourages voles to take up residence in your garden.

When we move our tarps, we have a tendency to find the little pests and they could be very damaging to your plants.

>>Yeah.

Very, very damaging.

There's nothing worse than voles to knock out a whole crop in just minutes.

But there are some other alternatives to black plastic and then an organic mulch would be very helpful instead.

I think mulching is the important part.

>>Yeah, we mulch with compost and we also use a biodegradable brown paper to cover our beds.

>>Yeah.

I use that too.

I'll be honest with you.

We also have another question from Jen and the fan about tomato plants and she's asking, should she take off all disease and insect eaten leaves when she does her pruning on her tomato plant?

She worries about plants not having enough leaves for photosynthesis.

>>If it's dead or diseased, yes, remove it.

>>Barbara?

>>Especially if it's an indeterminate variety they will just push out more leaves at the top and keep going.

>>'cause they are very, they're vines, they're very quick growers.

I wouldn't strip the whole plant.

>>Right.

>>Yeah.

>>I wouldn't strip the whole plant but you'd be surprised.

I mean a good rule of thumb is, we use trellises to grow our tomatoes on, we use cattle panels.

Anything below the cattle panel comes off and I cut away all of the leaves around the fruit and I try to make sure I try to look at the plant from the bee's perspective.

And if I can't see the flower, I figure the bee's gonna struggle to get in there too.

>>Yeah, it's very important to make sure the pollinators get into whatever so we can get our fruit.

Well, Barbara, I wanna say that we're out of time but I thank you so much for being here and sharing your expertise and we actually wish you and Dewy all the best in your new endeavor and to be able to have a successful season next year as your second big season.

So I wanna remind everybody to visit the Virginia Home Grown Facebook page.

We always enjoy hearing from you there.

And if you're not watching on Facebook already then go ahead and switch over there after the show to catch "Eating Fresh" with Jen Naylor.

And you're not going to believe her cucumber harvest this year.

It's amazing.

And I wanna thank again to Tony and to Barbara for being with us, but also to Serome and to Amy Rose and Randy and Robin for all your contributions.

And thank you for watching.

On August 16th, I'll be speaking on native plants at Chesterfield's Cloverdale Library.

And I hope to see some of you there.

Next month, we'll be talking about rare crops and specialty seeds and it'll probably give you some ideas for new things to try to grow in your garden.

I look forward to being with you then.

Remember, gardening is for everyone.

We are all growing and learning together.

Happy gardening.