- Hi, thanks for joining us for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Frost is coming soon, but there's a way to extend the growing season.

Today we're going to show you how to build a small hoop house.

Also, using straw bales, a few pumpkins, and some corn stalks, you can make a festive fall decoration for your yard.

That's just ahead on The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

- (female narrator) Production funding for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South is provided by The WKNO Production Fund, The WKNO Endowment Fund and by viewers like you, thank you.

[upbeat country music] - Welcome to The Family Plot, I'm Chris Cooper.

Joining me today is Jason Reeves.

Jason is a horticulturalist at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center.

And Stephan Leonard will be joining us later, he's a Master Gardener right here in Shelby County, and he'll be showing us how to build a hoop house.

Alright, Jason.

Fall is here, I know you're real good about putting up these fall displays.

So can you show us how to get started?

- Absolutely.

You know, fall is one of my favorite times of year.

- Yes.

- I love pumpkins, gourds, and squash.

So first we're a little bit just about how to pick them out.

- (Chris) Okay.

- So when you go to the farmer's market, or box store, or the farm stand, or nursery, you want to look for pumpkins that are not blemished.

Now, a little bit of things on here is okay.

But, bring that home, and I like to wash it in like a 5% bleach solution.

So just a little bit of bleach and some water gets rid of any bacteria or spores that are on it that may cause it to rot.

- Okay.

- Now, if you end up with some maybe that look like this.

- [laughing] Like this!

- This is actually a sweet potato pumpkin they call it, goes by a lot of different names, cushaw, actually this is healed over pretty well.

And you can use this in a display anyway, you just turn it around back.

Now you may want to look at it every week or so, make sure it's not rotting and take it out.

But you can make use of these, and we're gonna use this in the display today.

- Alright, okay.

- So just a little bit of prep ahead of time with cleaning.

Also, some people like to spray a clear shellac on there.

And sometimes you'll purchase them already that way.

I don't like it because it looks fake, it gives it a shiny look.

- Okay.

- But if you like that there's nothing wrong with that, and that helps protect them as well.

- Now, do you like the long stems?

- I love the long stems on them.

And you know really, kids love those stems, but you really shouldn't pick it up by the stem because if the stem falls off it's more likely to rot.

But you know, you can't resist the little child picking up the stem, and even myself.

So you'll probably see me do that today.

But I prefer not [laughs].

- [laughs] Okay!

- Prefer not to.

- (Chris) Prefer not to, okay.

- So we're gonna get started.

First you want to start with straw bales.

And, you know, depending on your budget how many.

But we're using three today.

And you know, just stack them where they're secure in the landscape.

And I like, lot of times, start with two on the bottom and then capping it with the top.

- Pretty secure.

- I'll get it pretty secure on there.

And then we're also gonna add some cornstalks.

Today we have the convenience of a lamppost here we're gonna use, but if you don't, you can always use a wooden tomato stake to tie them onto.

Of course, drive it in the ground with the hammer.

But again, we're very convenient today with the lamppost.

We got a big bundle of cornstalks.

- Yeah, that's a lot of 'em!

- We're just gonna wedge it in here.

- Okay.

- Behind the straw bales.

- It's a good fit.

- Oh yeah, it works great.

And you really should secure it with some twine, but we'll skip that step for right now.

But that kinda gives you a backdrop behind the straw bales.

First you want to pick out the larger pumpkins and get those placed.

So we'll start with this cushaw, or sweet potato, that's a little on the sad side.

[Chris laughs] I'm just going to use it on the ground here.

- Now is that going to be okay on the ground?

- It'll be okay.

- On this concrete?

- If your soil is really wet, if this is in a mulch bed or in a lawn, you might want to put a little straw down below it to kind of wick the water away.

And yeah, here on the concrete this is a little rough, so it could damage it.

And you'll see where I've got the pumpkins piled that I've laid down some cardboard.

Just, the less scratchin' the better.

- Okay.

- So if you want to hand me that big jack-o'-lantern there, we'll add it to the display.

- This big jack-o'-lantern, okay.

- I think I'll put it right here.

Little bit of height.

And then I'm gonna build some height right here by stacking some pumpkins together.

So we're gonna start with one called Cinderella.

- I like that.

- Cinderella's a really nice deep orange.

- Cinderella, huh?

- Cinderella, isn't that fun?

So I've cut the stem off Cinderella.

- Okay.

- Then we're gonna add a Flat White Boer, is the name of this one, it's actually a winter squash.

Again, I've cut the stem off.

- Now why did you cut the stem off?

- So I can stack these two together.

Once you cut the stem off, sometimes if it's kind of moist you might want to let it dry in the sun, it'll seal over like you see here.

- (Chris) Okay.

- It's actually sealed over.

- I see that, okay.

- And will not decay.

So we're putting that on top.

And you kinda just have to work it around and around 'til it fits properly.

And then we're gonna add one called Rumba.

- (Chris) Rumba!

- And Rumba's got a beautiful stem.

Now, you could stop right there.

Again, working it around til it's in place.

But I'm gonna cut that stem off with my pruners, and add another on top.

- (Chris) Okay.

- All different colors, shapes, sizes, but I like on top usually a round one, kinda fun.

Shorten that stem just a little bit more.

- You got it?

Okay.

- And then crown it with that guy there.

- It's crowned!

[laughs] - That gives you a little height in the display, and it's fun.

So when you're picking out your pumpkins, if you want flat ones to stack like this, you really gotta kinda sort through the piles and make sure they're as flat as they can be so they can stack together.

And then, obviously, you want to start with large on the bottom and end up with small on the top.

- Sure.

- So they'll stack properly.

But that gives you some extra height in the display.

- Okay.

- And we'll continue adding some bigger size.

- (Chris) It's a good size.

Wow.

- Okay.

I also like to mix, - Wow.

- Obviously different colors, so this is a snake gourd, for that green color.

And if you want to hand me a couple big guys, there's a great big guy down there.

- Alright.

- Heavy?

- It's a pretty good size.

- It's actually a winter squash.

- It's a winter squash?

Okay.

- Yeah, a winter squash.

It's called Long of Naples.

And so, it could be laid down on the display, it could be propped up.

And you know, you don't expect to do this in a few minutes.

You might have to play around with it.

If you get tired of it, go in the house, go to the grocery store, come back and fiddle with it some more.

Once you set it down, that doesn't mean it has to stay there.

- (Chris) Okay.

- I'm really, I don't care for that.

- (Chris) I always move it around.

- I may move it around here again in a few minutes.

So, go and hand me some of the larger things.

- I'll get you one of these.

- 'Nother snake.

- Another snake.

- Lay him right there.

And so this is a Jack-O-Lantern that just hasn't turned orange yet.

But I really like it because, again, it's a different variety of color so it adds a lot of dimension onto the display.

- I like that color.

- So we'll pop him right down in front of the orange.

- (Chris) You want another one?

- And how 'bout Red Warty Thing in the basket?

Yep, I'll take that.

- Let's take that one.

- It's Turk's Turban.

And let me just plop it here for right now.

- How 'bout that?

- So this is Red Warty Thing, isn't that a fun name?

It's not exactly red.

That's pretty cool, so it adds a lot of texture to the display as well.

- And once you grow it it looks like that?

This is how it grows?

- Yep, yep.

Okay, we'll add some more green, this is a swan gourd that really didn't end up with a head.

If you'll hand me, there's another swan behind you.

- Okay.

- And we'll just tuck it in here.

And then here we have a swan gourd that actually has a head.

- Yeah, it looks good.

- So you can see where it looks like a swan.

So, gourds dry out to where you could actually carve them.

So if you're going to carve a gourd for a birdhouse or a dipper, you actually wait 'til it totally turns brown and dries out.

It usually takes six to nine months.

- (Chris) Wow!

- If you carve it while it's green, as it dries it will actually crack and break.

So you need to wait 'til it's totally dry.

- Six to nine months?

- It's a slow process.

- I didn't realize that.

- If you're drying you need to put them in a place there's good air circulation and not pile them all up in a pile 'cause they'll tend to mold and mildew if you do that.

- You still clean those up too with the bleach solution?

- Yes, yes, absolutely.

And as they're drying they're gonna mold somewhat naturally.

But you can continually clean them every three or four weeks if you want to.

- (Chris) Okay.

- With the bleach water, it's not necessary, but if you want to keep it from molding.

- Okay.

- So, let's bring this Turk's Turban around.

And add him in front of the orange here.

- (Chris) Okay.

- And then we'll just start with some of the smaller things and kind of fill in.

And if you want to help you can grab some of 'em, and just kinda start tucking them in.

- Yeah, I will.

I kinda like these smaller ones.

- Yeah, the little guys.

That's Jack Be Little, isn't that fun?

- Jack Be Little, oh okay.

I like Jack Be Little.

- Here's a Red Warty Thing that missed its warts somehow or another, you know, we're not all perfect.

- What about this one, Jason?

Look at that.

- That is one called Autumn Wing.

- Yeah, it has the wings.

- It has flanges on it, or sometimes called swan gourd.

- Okay, it's pretty.

- 'Cause it looks a little bit like a swan as well.

- I'm gonna put that one up there.

- There's so many different cultivars and varieties of pumpkins, gourds, and winter squash.

A lot of them, if you're growing them yourselves, and you plant a pack of seed, you may not always get what was in that pack.

So for instance, this guy came up with a pack of seed of something that was totally different, but there was one plant in there that just happened to be different.

So we don't know what this is, but isn't that fun?

I love that height that the white gives.

- And look how small this one is!

- Oh yeah, that's Tennessee Dancing.

- (Chris) Tennessee Dancing!

- I will try to demonstrate, actually let me pull the cardboard around here, so we were using the cardboard to protect the pumpkins as we moved them around on this concrete.

But Tennessee Dancing gourd is a gourd that you can spin like a top.

- (Chris) Ohh!

Okay!

- So it's an heirloom variety, - That's pretty cool.

- It was rediscovered in Tennessee maybe 10 or 15 years ago, and is now made available through mail order companies or seed companies, but yeah, it spins like a top.

- I bet you the kids will love that.

- Oh, it's fun.

It also makes good, if you let it dry out, Christmas ornaments on a tree.

You can paint it different colors and such.

- Okay.

- So fun, fun gourds.

Tennessee Dancing.

- Okay Jason, we're running out of time.

We definitely appreciate you comin' by and showing us this fall display.

And I can't wait to get one in my yard.

- Alright, thank you.

- Thank you.

[gentle country music] - I get a lot of questions about lichen.

It is gonna kill the tree?

No, lichen will not kill the tree.

Lichen is a fungus actually, and it lives in a symbiotic relationship with algae or a cyanobacterium, and they kinda work together.

It grows on the tree, some people say it grows on the north side of the tree, but we got it growing on the north, south, east and west of this tree.

It's really spreading out on here.

It's not gonna kill the tree, however it's gonna usually grow on a tree that is in a weakened state.

And this tree has a little bit of, not very much soil space.

Note this water sprout that's coming up on the base down here.

That's an indicator that this tree is under stress.

When a tree puts out this secondary growth, it's telling itself I need some water, I need some sunshine, I need some growth, and it pushes out otherwise dormant growth in a fighting chance to gain more sunlight, produce more energy for itself.

But, lichen.

Symbiotic with the algae and the cyanobacterium.

[gentle country music] - Alright Stephan, so we're about to put together a hoop house.

Can you tell us a little bit about the advantages of using a hoop house?

- Okay, a hoop house is a structure that's used to actually extend your growing season.

So that way you can have more time growing, actually start earlier in the spring, and actually extend your growing season during the fall and winter months.

- It's gotta be popular 'cause I see it around town all of the time.

Are you putting in a lot of hoop houses in some of the areas around Shelby County?

- Absolutely, I typically install about six a year for Shelby County and some of the surrounding counties that touch Shelby County.

- While you mention that, I mentioned in the opening that you are a Master Gardener right here in Shelby County, but you also work for the Shelby County School System as a farm manager.

So you actually have experience in actually putting together hoop houses, right?

- Absolutely.

I've done this for the past three years, I'm Shelby County School's Farm Manager Educator.

And I operate the Farm to School Program that we have over about 60 school gardens in the Shelby County area.

- Sixty?

- Yes, over sixty.

- Ya'll doing some good work.

Alright, so you want to start?

You know, with the demonstration?

And how to put it together?

- Absolutely.

Let's grab our parts.

- Okay.

- First we're gonna start off with our PVC straps.

- (Chris) Okay.

- That's actually gonna hold the PVC into the raised bed.

Let's start down on this end.

You wanna actually install this on the inside of the raised bed.

It's gonna hold the PVC in place.

And it's gonna be temporary, so you can take it in and out.

- (Chris) There he goes.

See it under there, okay?

- Mmhm.

- How did you first learn to do this?

Did somebody have to demonstrate it for you as well?

Trial and error?

- It's one of those things, trial and error, and actually just trying to keep growing during your season.

Just seeing what actually works and doesn't work, - Okay.

- In the area.

You actually want to use your exterior screws so that way they won't rust if you actually want to take them back out of your raised bed.

We're going to put them on both sides.

And we're going to do six going all the way down for each of the hoops.

Which'll be three hoops.

- (Chris) So now that we have the pipe straps in what do we do next?

- Okay, next step we're actually gonna go get our PVC pipe.

You're gonna have three PVC pipes, it's gonna go one hoop here, one hoop here, and one hoop here connected.

And these are actually gonna be half the length of the hoop house, of the raised bed.

So you're gonna slide this in.

- There it goes.

- This end.

And then you're gonna bend it over.

- Aha.

- And slide the other end at this length.

- How 'bout that?

That works.

- And you're gonna do that for this one, as well as this one.

Alright, our next step is gonna actually install the purlin, it's gonna be a PVC pipe that's gonna go from this end to this end, but we're gonna overlap by an inch on each side.

- Do you need me to hold it up there?

- Yes sir.

- Okay.

- Alright, and what we're gonna use to attach this, we're gonna use U-bolts.

- (Chris) Okay.

- And we have three U-bolts that we're gonna slide in place to lock it in place.

- (Chris) Alright.

And you can find these supplies just about anywhere, right?

- Absolutely, any hardware store, automotive stores, will have these supplies that you actually need.

We're just gonna hand tighten these to secure this in place for all three of the joints.

- (Chris) Do you consider this to be pretty inexpensive?

- It's very inexpensive.

Most of the time it's cheaper than actually going out and buying a kit.

- Now is there a difference between saying high tunnel and hoop house?

- No, a lot of times they're interchangeable.

- I've heard both terms.

- Hoop house and high tunnel are basically exact same thing.

There are different types of hoop houses and high tunnels.

There are the temporary hoop houses and high tunnels that you can make out of PVC pipe like these, you can make 'em any size.

But most of the ones you see around the city are actually the permanent styles.

They're made out of metal, and they're actually the round style, or the Quonset style.

And they're made to last.

- (Chris) Okay.

I've seen the Quonset style a few times around Shelby County.

So our next step would be?

- Our next step will be PVC end caps.

So, that'll actually prevent the plastic from getting torn once it's placed over.

If you'll do the honors of sliding this on?

- Oh yeah, I think I can handle that.

- Alright.

And it doesn't have to be tight, it just has to be on there.

Alright, and then our next step will be to lay out the plastic that goes over, because this is actually one secure hoop house.

- Now, what type of plastic?

- What you want to use is a six mil polyethylene plastic that's gonna be clear, that'll actually go over top of the frame.

We'll just roll this out.

- You want me to roll it out?

- Mmhm.

And you want it to actually extend to the ground.

- Okay.

And then go to the end.

- Do I need to extend this down?

- Yep, extend it down to the ground.

And then we're actually gonna cut a little bit more than you need, so that way you don't have to actually have to go back and buy more plastic.

And if you'll do the honors, you will take your end.

And I will take my end.

And we'll just spread this open.

As you see, we have enough length to cover up the ends on both sides.

Our next step is to use a plastic tubing.

It's cut in a length of three inches, and it's slit down the middle, so that way it can actually go around the PVC pipe and clamp onto the plastic to actually hold that in place so nothing gets torn.

- Alright, our next step, we're gonna take our clamps and place them on our plastic to hold that in place.

So that way nothing'll blow out.

- Alright, I think I can handle that too.

Alright.

Think that works.

- And our last step is to take the piece of wood to set on the outside edge of the plastic to hold that down so wind does not go up underneath it or anything, insects or bugs.

That way high winds, anything, snow.

There are alternatives that we can use instead of wood, you can use some rocks or anything that's heavy to actually lay on the plastic, in order to secure it and make sure it doesn't blow away.

- Okay.

Let me ask you this, what do we do with the excess plastic that we have here?

- The excess plastic you can actually take and bunch up, and place something heavy down, another piece of wood or a rock to hold it down in place.

- Alright, Stephan, so interesting question.

How long will this extend the growing season?

- The growing season, you can start early in spring and you can extend your growing season until fall and into winter.

- (Chris) Okay.

- Most of the time you want to plant something cold variety, but I've been able to plant all the way to January.

- Okay.

You definitely need the sunlight though, that's critical.

- Absolutely.

This is warmed up by the sun.

If you have two weeks of no sun, then the temperature inside this is gonna be the same temperature as outside.

If the sun's out, it can go up to 15 to 40 degrees above the temperature outside, and extend your growing season.

- I appreciate that information.

[gentle country music] - It is that time of year, ya'll, to be thinking about bringing in your houseplants that have been outside all summer enjoying the nice warm weather.

Well, now it's getting colder, and tender plants like this Dieffenbachia, have to be carried indoors if we want 'em to live through the winter.

And what do yo do before you do that?

Well, you need to inspect them really well to get off any little trespassing insects or even frogs.

I've carried in tree frogs before, which are kinda nice.

But then again, they're kinda bizarro in the house.

And you also need to probably clean your pot.

Get all the algae off.

And you need to tip it over, and a lot of times you'll have slugs and pill bugs and other little undesirable critters that will be coming in with the pot.

So, I'd clean my pot up real good.

Inspect it to make sure there's no insects or anything like that.

And make sure you don't have fire ants, because I have actually brought in fire ants and just didn't know it.

So you need to make sure you inspect the pot for that and take measures to prevent bringing those in.

[gentle country music] - Alright, so here's our Q&A session.

Stephan, you jump in there with us and help us out, okay?

- Alright.

- Here's our first viewer email.

It says "Hi Family Plot gang, "I have a plant growing in my back yard.

"It grows in stalks or shoots, and it's very beautiful in the wind."

I like that description.

"It is dark green and almost looks like dill "with its feathery branches.

"I did not plant it, it just grew one spring.

Do you have any idea what it is?"

And this is Ms. Emma Jean in Knoxville Tennessee, so thank you Ms. Emma.

Jason, what do we think that is?

- After looking at the picture, it's dogfennel, which is a Eupatorium, closely related to Joe-Pye weed.

And it is native, and probably just blew in.

In late summer it's gonna have nice yellow small flowers that can be used for cut arrangements as well.

It's called dogfennel, I'm not sure where the "dog" comes in, but the fennel part is because it smells a little bit like fennel.

- I've smelled it too, and I've seen it out in pastures and things like that.

So again, it probably just blew in like you said, by seed and got spread.

- It is a perennial so it'll be back next year.

- So it is a perennial, okay.

- Yes, yup yup.

- How tall does it get?

I mean this is pretty tall.

- I've seen it get six, eight feet tall.

Depending on your soil.

- So Ms. Emma Jean, you have real good soil.

- (Jason) Yeah!

- Obviously, 'cause these things are pretty large.

And we thank you for the beautiful picture.

Well taken picture, good description.

So I hope that answers your question.

Here's our next question.

And Jason I'm glad we have you here today, because you're gonna love this next question.

"Is it really necessary to prune crape myrtles?"

- Absolutely not.

(everyone laughs) - And why not?

- Well, you should plant the right crape myrtle for the right spot.

So if you need a short one you should plant a cultivar that's gonna stay short, if you want one that's gonna get 25 feet tall, do your homework and choose that variety.

Now, if you're worried about not being able to see through it, if it's a tall crape myrtle you can limb it up by removing the bottom branches.

But there's no need to cut the top off, as we refer to as "crape murder".

- Yeah, we see that a lot around a lot of landscapes.

Stephan, I'm pretty sure you've seen that as well.

- Yeah, absolutely.

A lot of times crape myrtles are planted in wrong locations, they grow so fast, then they get in the way, so people sometimes have to alter or cut down to make sure it's feasible for their properties.

- Crape murder.

[Stephan laughs] - So very important to choose... - I know Jason's gonna like that!

So what is it, stop the chop, is that what you always say?

- Yup, yup, stop the chop.

- Stop the chop.

You know, we live in a copycat society, so if my neighbor, you know, is murdering his crape myrtles, then guess what I'm thinking?

Well that must be the right way to do it.

- (Jason) Absolutely.

- I just think that's the case that's going on now.

We just have to make sure we educate folks on pruning those correctly.

- That's right.

So, pruning them properly are by removing lower limbs or suckers.

Or chosing the right plant for the right place, so if you want a short crape myrtle you want to plant a cultivar that's gonna be short, or if you want a tall one, again, do your homeowrk, chose the right plant.

- Alright, do your homework he says.

There's something else, too.

Anything that's crossing, we can get rid of those?

- (Jason) Absolutely.

- Diseased limbs?

- Where they're rubbing, you might want to take those out.

And you know, the best time of year to prune is really late February, early March to take out those branches.

A few here and there is okay, but major pruning, late February, early March.

- But you don't have to prune.

- That's right.

- Otherwise.

So here's our next viewer email.

"I have a number of pumpkin plants.

"One plant has light color mottling "on the leaves near the veins.

What is causing this?"

And this is Ms. Adeline.

So, what do we think that was?

- Well after looking at those photographs, that's actually the cultivar or the variety of pumpkin she happened to have.

Some of them have silver in the leaf.

Now, if it's more irregular, or you can rub it off with your fingers, if you kinda rub on it and it rubs off, then it's probably powdery mildew.

And then you might want to ad dress that with some control.

- If it is powdery mildew, of course that means there's some crowding going on, there might be some shade conditions going on.

Maybe too much nitrogen fertilizer which can cause that as well.

But you can use fungicide, as a preventative!

But there's copper-based fungicide, there's chlorothalonil, which is Daconil that the homeowner could get.

Sulfur, but you have to be careful when you're using sulfur of course.

But those are some means to get rid of the powdery mildew.

We're not sayin' this is powdery mildew.

- No, the picture we saw it was just the variety that it was.

- And so that happens naturally?

- Yes, absolutely.

- Wow, I think that's real nice looking.

Okay Ms. Adeline, hope that answers your question.

The next question is about pumpkins as well, Jason.

"I have a high population of squash bugs, "and I'm wanting to harvest my pumpkins early.

Is this possible?"

And you've grown thousands of pumpkins, I'm sure.

What do you think?

- The pumpkin needs to be mature before you actually harvest it, if you want to keep it for a long time, if you want a long shelf life.

And one way to tell if the pumpkin, winter squash, is mature is by pressing with your finger.

Now, what they'll tell you is take your thumb nail and press on it, if your thumb nail goes in it's not ready.

Well if it does, you've messed it up.

- I've always wondered that!

- That's crazy, so I just do it by pressing really hard with my thumb, and if it is pretty firm, then I think it's ready.

If you're gonna cook with it, you can harvest it a little bit early, it doesn't matter.

- Okay.

But if you just want to use it for a display or something, you can harvest it at the mature green stage?

- Yes, yes yes.

- Would you still clean that up with the bleach solution - Oh I would, absolutely.

- We talked about earlier?

- Okay, alright.

What about the squash bugs?

I mean they're a huge problem.

I'm pretty sure you saw plenty squash bugs.

- If you're really growing for quantity, you need to spray for the squash bug, and the cucumber beetle as well.

And there's some safe insecticides out there, you do want to be concerned about the bees.

It's best to spray late in the afternoon, 'cause the flower on a cucurbit, or squash or gourd or pumpkin, is closed up in the afternoon.

So the insecticide won't get in the flower.

So late in the day, the bee pretty much goes right to the flower the next morning when it's open.

- Alright Jason, Stephan, that's all the time we have for today, thanks for being here.

- Alright, thanks for having me.

- Thank you.

- Remember, we love to here from you.

Send us an email or letter.

The email address is FamilyPlot@wkno.org and the mailing address is Family Plot 7151 Cherry Farms Road, Cordova, Tennessee 38016 or you can go online to familyplotgarden.com.

That's all the time we have for today.

Thanks for watching.

I'm Chris Cooper, be sure to join us next time for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

Be Safe.

[upbeat country music] [acoustic guitar chords]