Making it Grow is brought to you in part by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture Certified South Carolina Grown helps consumers identify, find, and buy South Carolina products Mcleod Farms in Mcbee, South Carolina.

This family farm offers seasonal produce including over 22 varieties of peaches, additional funding provided by International Paper and the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance.

♪ Good evening and welcome to Making It Grow.

We're so glad that you can join us this evening.

I know sometimes it's hard to come in at an early hour because it finally starts to cool off a tiny bit but we hope we'll make it worth your while and we certainly have a great show lined up for you tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty and I'm a Clemson Extension agent and our program is a joint operation between Clemson University and SCETV.

We're pretty much a all Clemson group tonight with the people who are here answering questions with us.

I'm so happy that Vicky Bertagnolli whom I haven't seen in a while because she's been so busy doing all these things online but she's at in her kitchen in Aiken.

Vicky, I know you've always got a lot of wildlife out in the yard.

Any nesting or anything exciting going on?

>> Well, the bluebirds are back and the house sparrows are here.

We've got great crusted fly catchers.

All of the birds are here.

I hear the squirrels outside barking at me whenever I go out to the vehicle.

So everybody's where they should be.

Well, and then I think you have some four legged creatures that are allowed in the house too.

So, we have two cats and we rescued a dog named Higgins from the Sumter Animal Shelter and this past week, I got a new friend.

I got a crested gecko.

Her name is Honeydew.

<Amanda> Wow, great.

That's so much fun.

You'll have to send us a picture of her so Teresa can put it on our Facebook - Well, you put up things on Facebook all the time.

We look forward to seeing her.

Okay, Drew Jeffers has become the online person for Clemson.

Drew, every time I turn around and I think you and Vicky have been doing some things together.

I don't know that if you were - how tech you were before but you are certainly techy now.

Every time you've got, you've always doing things, I think you people should.

Where's the best place to find out what you're offering and are some of them archived?

Give me an idea of how people can share some of the expertise that you've done through some of these online programs.

>> Sure.

Well, Amanda, thank you for having me here tonight.

And yes, we've been doing a lot of online programming.

The horticulture team has been really, they've really responded to this pandemic.

And it's not just me, it's all the hort agents.

We've actually begun these new collaborative programs and yes, a lot of those are being recorded to Facebook.

So, you can go back and watch them on Facebook live.

And also, we do send those recordings out to folks.

And we - you can follow us on Facebook.

In fact, before each presentation, even on our Facebook pages, there's a QR code, and a link to sign up for program alerts, so you can be alerted to when those programs are coming up.

>> So, this is the Facebook page that the Hort Team has?

Explain to people how they would get that information please, Drew.

>> So, what they would do is they would go on Facebook and search Clemson Horticulture.

And they would then be able to navigate to that page and they could then I think it says, Sign, Click here to sign up I think.

And that way they can click that.

It takes them to a registration form.

You can actually choose which, which programming you want, you want to hear from if you want to hear about vegetable garden, if you want to hear about annuals, perennials, weed, landscape, plants, soil conditioning, stuff like that.

<Amanda> Okay.

>> So it's really cool.

Really cool.

I did not set that up.

A lot more smart people, lot smarter people set that up.

>> Well, I think everybody's been trying to pull together.

And it's funny, I think we've become closer even though we've been distanced in some way.

Thank you for being with us today.

Terasa Lott, of course, is in charge of the Master Gardener program statewide and that is just a wonderful, wonderful program and so many people who come to South Carolina, Terasa, enjoy taking that program because things are real different down here, aren't they?

>> Yes, as a transplant from Upstate New York, I can vouch for things being much different here.

You get a longer growing season but with that comes a few extra challenges >> I'll say but anyway, Terasa, you are so good about checking our Facebook page and coming up with questions that people are asking and then we - and so when we're answering questions tonight, a lot of the ones are ones that have actually come in.

So, if you and the viewing audience have a question, you can put it on our Facebook page or send it directly to Terasa and we'll try to - that's how we're getting questions that we're answering.

We are still trying to respond to the questions that y'all have.

But Terasa, one of the fun things is that you have gardens of the week and I think we're even if I'm not mistaken going to have some people start maybe sending several photographs of their garden and we might have a garden of the week and maybe a montage where instead of just a single picture, we might even show several pictures from one garden.

<Terasa> That is right.

Such exciting things.

Gardens of the Week has become so much fun where I get to see all the hard work and creativity going into the yards and gardens across the state and reaching out of the state to others that either watch us through Facebook or maybe our viewing area extends a little bit into North Carolina and Georgia.

So, let's take a look at a random sampling of photos that were submitted for gardens of the week.

First up, if you look very closely, you'll see a canine in the flowers.

Russ Taylor was weeding his flowerbed and reports that Charlie, his dog jumped in to supervise.

Novie Green shared a photo of her climbing rose called Peggy Martin.

Now, this Rose has a really interesting history.

It was one of two plants surviving in the garden of a lady by the name of Peggy Martin after 20 feet of salt water inundated the yard from Hurricane Katrina.

Since then, the rose has been introduced into the trade and is now recognized as a symbol of tenacity, renewal and growth.

Alex Ivanick - hopefully, I didn't brutal that name too much.

A Clemson grad living in the Charlotte area captured a bluebird family among the roses.

It looks like some of the young are still hoping for a handout.

Kyle White also a Clemson grad living in the Anderson area shared a photo of his raised beds with some containers in between.

Children working to prepare their raised beds is the subject of our next photo submitted by Greenville County 4-H. Clemson Extension School Gardening for South Carolina Educators helps schools start and sustain successful school gardens.

And our last photo of the day from Nancy Smith shows dill planted in front of fig captured at the Folly Beach Community Garden.

Thanks to everyone who shared more than 50 photos for this particular episode of Gardens of the Week.

Feel free to visit our Facebook page to see all of the other submissions.

We have a little special treat this week, Amanda from some pictures and a friend of yours.

<Amanda> You know, Hank Stallworth and Anne Nolte who are wonderful friends of ours right down the road, just live for birds, it seems to me and are always trying to make me stand on a stool and look through a scope but they are so friendly to so many bird people and I think you're going to tell us about these pictures that are really pretty cool.

>> Yes.

well, Joanne and Don Wuori had impeccable timing to capture this battle between some barn swallows and house finches.

The barn swallows had used the nest previously but it seems that perhaps they don't like the house finches being there now and have decided to place an eviction notice.

So, take a look as we watch a barn swallow arriving at the nest and as we move through, you'll see the egg begin to perch on top of the nest slowly move just outside the nest and finally cascading away from the nest.

Sure enough, the barn swallow has removed that house finch egg and is taking the nest back over.

[Amanda laughs] Well, that's what you get for trespassing.

Don't you think so, Terasa?

[Terasa giggles] I guess maybe payback, huh?

>> Oh, well, Terasa of the questions that you've gotten from people, let's hear one of them that maybe Vicky could help us with, please.

<Terasa> The questions are always rolling in.

Andrea from Aiken asked, "I was driving between Aiken "and Barnwell and saw clumps of little plants with blue "flowers.

What are they?"

<Amanda> Okay, Well down there in Aiken, I guess you probably know what this one is, Vicky.

So clue us in.

<Vicky> Yeah, this is one of the fun native plants that you'll see.

It's not going to be everywhere.

Most of the time we're going to see it like in really sandy areas and this is one of the wild lupines.

Sometimes it's called Sky Blue Lupine or Sand Lupine but it's Lupinus diffusus.

And it's a very recognizable plant.

Even if you don't see those blue flowers, which botanically blue is a rare color.

So, even if you're not seeing those blue flowers, they have this basil rosette at the bottom and they - their leaves are like a silver and a soft green color.

They're really attractive.

It's a biennial.

The first year, it's going to have just the leaves and then the second year, you're going to have a flower stalk on them and like I said, they grow in little clumps and patches and you're going to see them, like on the woods' edge and when you're driving down the road, they'll really catch your eye.

A lot of folks want to try to bring these home and we don't recommend that you go digging anything up out of the roadside and bringing it home because you don't want to disrupt natural ecosystems, but they do sell.

You can harvest seeds or they do sell seeds that or transplants that you can bring home and put in your own landscape for this fabulous little plant.

And it's really cool, too, because they - it's a host plant for different caterpillars and the bumblebees love it.

And I was driving on the same road and I just happen to stop and I was going to take pictures of this lupine.

Well, guess what was on one of the leaves.

It was a Genista Broom Moth caterpillar.

A caterpillar was waiting for me.

And I got some, I got some great pictures of that caterpillar.

It was an extra treat to seeing that native wildflower on the side of the road.

<Amanda> That is so much fun.

In my part of the world, if I'm coming from, going back and forth towards Columbia when I get to the part of Calhoun County called Sandy Run.

that's where I sit it because it seems to where you find it is generally, I've never seen it except in those sandy, sandy soils.

So it makes sense that you're seeing it naked because y'all I think you got your share of sand down there too, don't you?

<Vicky> I think it's almost all sand here.

[both laugh] <Amanda> Thank you, Vicky.

It's really fun to learn about those cool native plants and especially ones that say this is where I want to be.

Leave me alone.

Just look at me which is what we should do with all of them unless we're buying from a reputable nursery that does the does propagation.

You know, I just love to make flower arrangements and I did one a while back and I had some flowers left over so I did another one and you know, I hope that many of you like to plant flowers to bring in the house.

You don't have to do an arrangement.

You can just cut them and put them in a glass vase and have just as much fun with them.

This is certainly much more like what we would normally do at my house.

We - my husband's wonderful about running out in the garden and finding things.

And this is a beautiful bowl that his Aunt Mena who married a rich man from up north [laughs] which must have been fun sent to Edward's mother when she got married.

She was 35 years old.

She'd been waiting and for 15 years till they could save up enough money to get married and so this is really special to us.

It was Nonie's bowl from Aunt Mena who was a wonderful person.

So, I took some things out of an arrangement we made earlier, and I thought we just recycle them and this will be smaller because this is something that we'd have in our dining room.

So, I'm going to use these beautiful peonies.

Oh, when you have peonies, of course, you need to use them and then I'm going to go ahead and accent them with this beautiful purple Scilla there.

As I told you, I have a lot of it in the garden.

It's really multiplying beautifully.

I think I'm going to put even more of it out there.

So, I'm going to put that in pretty quickly.

You really get that wonderfully dramatic contrast in colors between the peony and the Scilla.

And then I found this going through a fence and it was so beautiful and I thought we might as well use some of it for a little drama a spirea.

So, we'll put some of that in and that can artfully drape over and then I've got these lovely less fancy Ranunculus.

and they just seem real spring like and fun.

So, let's plop some of them in, just a much more, just kind of casual.

And you can see this when you're not having to be quite so fancy, you can go a lot faster.

So, try to be a little bit quicker.

I just love the looseness of that.

Isn't that just delightful?

Oh!

Thank you.

Still got some of our nice native azalea.

I think we'll let that maybe kind of come over the edge a little bit.

I don't know if that's going to work.

We'll try.

Or maybe fill in a little bit down in there.

We do need to fill in a little bit.

So, let's see if we can fill in a little bit with this.

Yeah, that's going to work.

And boy does it smell like heaven.

I'm not fooling you And I tell you, it's just the most fragrant of flowers.

Oh!

Better than gardenias.

if you can believe that.

And then let's see what else we can - pop in here for fun.

We've got - a couple of white Anemones.

They'll be pretty.

Pop some of those in.

They have a wonderful dark center just gives them a lot of charm gracious goodness and if you're smart and think about things ahead of time, you can plant them in your yard, but I never do.

But fortunately, you can.

That's why the florist are our best friends, sometimes.

I think now we're fortunate.

We've got a little bit of honeysuckle left, so we can put a little bit of that in for that wonderful red color.

Our native honeysuckle called woodbine, which is such a beautiful thing.

Everyone should grow it in their yard.

You have to have something for it to climb on, like a trellis or piece of wire.

But I've got some hog wire, I've got three pieces planted and I've got a piece of hog wire I'm going to put behind them.

And before you know it, that hog wire will be beautiful and you'll never ever even think hog wire when you look at it.

How about that?

Okay.

♪ [calming music] ♪ Okay.

And I've even got one or two red Ranunculus.

I guess you might as well pop those fellows in, since they're sitting here saying, please let me be part of this.

I want to have fun too.

Oh and they pop, fun, fun, fun, like a wonderful, red lipstick.

So now, I'm going to use my wonderful reindeer moss because in this arrangement, I didn't want to cover up the edge.

This bowl has such a beautiful border.

I want you to be able to see it.

So, I didn't want to cover it up too much with a lot of greenery and this fellow looks like he needs to be standing up.

Come on.

There you go.

I got you now.

Okay, so I'm going to tuck that in there.

And if you want to see if people will be able to see over an arrangement at the dinner table, you put your arm like that and then you can say hello.

And there, have a lovely conversation with the person across from you.

I had a lot of other stuff, but you know, sometimes you just don't need everything that you think you might need.

So, I'm going to but you know, I have been - it is the year - sticks are so important to me, and red buds are just wonderful because every single node, they branch.

Look at this wonderfully crooked redbud.

And redbud is such a fabulous native plant to have, anyway.

Everybody should have redbud and this is, I think it's one of the newer cultivars that's even more compact and twisted than normal.

And so I'm going to find out where, what it is.

I got it.

I bought it from somebody.

I'm going to get them to find out the name and we are going to put that in there.

Just to have a little more interest.

So, give me just a minute and I will clean this up and we will see if you like it.

♪ [calming music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [calming music ends] ♪ Remember, if you do flower arrangements to check the water every morning, we don't have air conditioning and so things dry up pretty fast in our house.

So, Terasa again, I know you really do keep a running list of questions that people have.

Is there something that perhaps Drew could help us with?

<Terasa> I'm quite sure there is.

This next viewer question is from Desiree in Inman.

And Desiree asks, "I have weeds growing through some of my "shrubs.

How can I apply an herbicide to kill the weeds "without damaging my shrubs?"

>> Whoa!

Well, Drew, that sounds a little ticklish.

What do you think she should try to do?

>> Oh, yeah, that's so that's a very common problem.

So, usually in this kind of situation, we usually see things growing up through shrubs.

What I usually recommend to folks is using some type of herbicide and, but using a different technique and the technique is called basically just touching it.

You either, you can either buy a sponge wick applicator, which looks like they call it the weed wand or you can go to a hobby store like Michael's or Hobby Lobby and you can actually get one of those sponge brushes, not a regular paint brush but the sponge ones, and you mix the herbicide according to label directions and then you would literally dip it and then paint brush it and you don't even have to brush it hardly.

You just literally just dab it on the leaves and it's tedious but it's very effective, and it's a good way if you're very concerned about a herbicide escaping, you know, getting off target into a waterway or something like that.

This is a very good way to ensure that the herbicide is only getting on there on what it needs to be killing.

Once you get those weeds out, you might consider doing a pre-emergent herbicide or and/or using a combination with mulch as well and again, if you use mulch, be sure you just use at least three inches and no more than six inches.

>> Drew, Sean just brought this back.

This is the pitcher.

Yeah, that someone sent to us and so the top comes off and you just fill it with the appropriate herbicide mixture and one thing I do sometimes, Drew is if I feel like the plant leaves might touch the herbicide before it dries, sometimes I put like a bag over the plant, like a garbage bag and to kind of isolate it so that I can be sure the herbicide's dried, so that those like my boxwood leaves and all, but thank you.

That sounds like a really good strategy and then also to Drew if you use mulch, are you less likely to have that happen?

<Drew> Yes and no.

No matter what your mulch source is, you will still sometimes get weeds, but in general, mulching is a very good way to suppress weeds.

<Amanda> Okay.

>> And add organic matter back to your soil.

>> That was helpful.

Thanks a lot.

Okay, well, Terasa, you said the questions never stop coming in so I bet you got another one for us.

>> You would win that bet.

This question comes from Lee Harrison in Aiken who asked, My camellias are dropping the buds before they're blooming.

What is going on?

>> Aha!

Well, of course it's not the time of year for that, right now, but I bet he sat there and scratched his head and worried about it and said I'm going to find out.

So maybe next year, I'll have better luck.

Vicky, is there anything that might help him so that next year he might get some better blooms or what do you think can cause this?

Yeah, whenever I talk to Lee, one of the, I was asking you know, what was the temperature at your house?

And temperature fluctuations, moisture fluctuations, big swings in either of those, can make the plant, it stresses it out.

So it's going to abort the buds, because what it's trying to do is just stay alive.

So it's it's aborting.

It's going to abort the buds and you can have issues where freezing temperatures can kill the buds off.

There may be issues where maybe you're applying too much nitrogen and so the plants are too busy trying to put out new shoots, new growth and so it'll abort buds and then also there can be issues with where they're placed in the landscape.

Maybe they're in too much sun, maybe the shade is too deep, maybe the mulch is too deep, and there can also be a varietal issue, like that Camellia just is not appropriate for the area and it's just not going to keep the buds on.

It's spending all its energy trying to stay alive at the expense of the flowers.

>> Okay, so if you if you eliminate the first things, the fluctuations and the extremes and you've got lots of camellias that do bloom for you, fine, but one of them just says I'm not going to bloom for you.

That one might just be a case of one that's not going to work at all in your particular situation and you might want to remove it and bring in another one.

>> Exactly.

>> Okay.

Thanks so much.

Well, Terasa earlier we had talked that we might have so of Montage Gardens of the week and I think maybe we'll try that out this week.

>> That sounds fantastic.

So, a little different spin on gardens of the week where we get to focus in on one particular garden and see more of that and I know I'm looking forward to some inspiration.

So, let's take a look.

♪ [melodious music] ♪ That was the Garden of Justin Drafts and Graham Moore near Five Points in Columbia.

It was designed by my wonderful friend, Ruthie Lacey and we're going back later when other important features of the garden are in full bloom and we'll talk to Justin then and learn more about that beautiful garden.

Alright, well, Terasa, I just think everybody's gardening, gardening, gardening, and I hope they'll continue to do it even as life begins to return to normal.

So, what's another question that we think others besides the submitter might enjoy learning more about?

>> Well, we had a question from Max in Bluffton who writes, I know that ladybugs are good to have in the garden and I see that they're available for purchase.

I'm wondering if this is a good investment.

Won't they just fly away?

<Amanda> Goodness.

Well, Drew, I know you know a lot about integrated pest management that sometimes uses predatory insects in greenhouse situations.

How about just out in a regular garden?

What do you think?

<Drew> So, great question and the short answer is do not buy them.

And here's why.

Those insects when they are harvested are in their hibernation phase and what happens is they're harvested out west when they're on their hibernation phase.

They're stored in refrigeration to keep them kind of, you know, kind of semi dormant.

Then they ship them to you.

The ladybugs then are more appropriately ladybug beetles wake up and then you release them out in the yard.

They fly around.

It looks all cool and then they literally fly way and so it's really not a viable option.

So, what we encourage folks to do even if you're trying to attract ladybugs and that's what we try to tell people is attract them, try to reduce your broad spectrum insecticides.

So, things like Carbaryl, your traditional insecticides like liquid Sevin, Malathion, stuff like that and plant more native perennials, and lots of flowers that will attract those insects and it's not just ladybugs.

you can attract green lace wings.

You can attract lots of different little parasitic wasps that can attack your aphids and other little problems out in the garden and they can actually work for you when you're asleep.

So, that's that's what's nice about that, and the key to that is having biodiversity in your landscape.

Try not to plant all the same things.

In fact, my mom for 30 years in her garden rarely had I think I can tell you three occasions where we used an insecticide, because in 30 years because she had such biodiversity that she attracted a lot of those beneficial insects and they literally it just managed itself.

So, that's one good way.

It's a good, it's a good idea to look at ladybugs and look at biological controls.

Thank you a lot.

Thanks so much, but be sure you try to attract those.

Now, there are some biological controls that you can purchase one if you want to purchase them is predatory mites for spider mite control.

Those are a good one that you could purchase from, and there's lots of dealers online now.

It's becoming and more popular.

<Amanda> Well, Drew, that was really important to learn that it sounds like in some ways it harms the place where the where the ladybugs are trying to overwinter and it's not going to help us.

Thank you.

I think that's really important for us to pay attention to.

Well, you know, you always have to have a hat and so I wonder out and see what's in the garden and there were several things going on.

There wasn't a lot of anything but there was a little bit of everything.

So, this is just kind of a hodgepodge hat, but I thought that the blue, I don't know if this is a Siberian or Louisiana Iris, but anyway, I like that great strong purple color and it's always nice when you get a hydrangea blossom.

Alright, Terasa well, let's see.

Boy, we've asked, we've answered a lot of questions tonight.

You think we've got time for another one?

>> I hope so.

We'll try to squeeze it in.

Aiken resident, Carol Taylor says my 90 year old father has a critter digging holes in his yard.

There are about 50 to 60 holes all over each hole is two to three inches in diameter and about nine inches deep but there are no piles of dirt.

What could be making these holes?

>> Well, it sounds like a giant on a pogo stick to me but I guess that's not going to be the answer.

So, Vicky, what do you think?

Clemson's Home and Garden Information Center has a fact sheet on holes in the yard and there's all sorts of critters that are out there digging in the yard and when you're talking about something that's like two inches in diameter and nine inches deep, it makes me think it's something like a chipmunk, especially when there's no dirt there, because if it's something like a squirrel.

A squirrel digs a hole, maybe one inch in diameter, maybe a couple inches deep.

if it's something like an armadillo or a possum.

There's going to be a pretty big mess that they leave behind.

If it's something like a mole, there's there's usually going to be a mound and some tunneling damage that you're going to see, but since she's not seeing anything, it really sounds like a chipmunk, and the way that a kind of a clue for that, besides the fact the diameter is two to three inches, it's nine inches deep and then there's no dirt there.

So, chipmunks what they'll do is they'll pack their cheeks with the dirt and haul it off and they're very tidy whenever they're making their holes.

There's usually going to be anywhere from two to four that patrols a territory that's maybe about a half acre.

They don't typically stray far from their burrows.

There's going to be a main burrow there, but they'll stay maybe within 50 feet and they're eating all sorts of stuff out in the landscape.

They're eating seeds.

they're eating bulbs, they're eating nuts and they'll bring all of those down into the, they have a den down in that burrow.

But it sounds like classic what we would call classic chipmunk damage to me.

<Amanda> So, I guess the next thing is to go and try to find how to capture chipmunks and I don't know if we have anything about that at HGIC, but I'm sure that one of the extension websites would.

Alright, Terasa, you know, insects sure are a big problem in the garden.

I bet we've had some insect questions from people too.

>.

Indeed, we have and this one is accompanied by photos.

It's from Facebook and Kay Dalton said she was watering her plants and noticed these insects all over one particular tree.

She'd like to know if we can help her identify the insect and how to handle them.

<Amanda> Well, Vicky, you like looking at insects, I think, more than you like looking at almost anything.

So, I'm going to start this one off with you.

>> Well, it looks like that there are aphids on here and then we've also got a treat.

There is a lady, a Lady Beetle larvae on there.

And this is one of those things where a situation where you need to know the different life stages of insects.

They're not always going to be an adult.

You need to be able to recognize them so that you're not going out and using some kind of broad spectrum insecticide and perhaps getting rid of your biological control agents that are actually helping you.

And so in this situation, Lady Beetles, they have complete metamorphosis.

There's an egg, a larva, a pupa, and an adult and in this situation, the larva is going to be helping us prey on aphids and whenever it comes to control of aphids, you know, they're going to be helping us a lot but I think Drew's going to have, what do you think maybe that the homeowner can do to help manage those.

<Drew> So I agree with Vicky.

In this case, I would not choose an insecticide in this particular case because you have the ladybug larva that's already working for you.

So, one thing you could do is a mechanical control.

Literally take your garden hose and put your thumb over it like you were going to spray somebody.

You want just kind of a general jet, so to speak and what I like to do is as I spray the leaves, I kind of rub with my hand and that way you can kind of rub those aphids off because what happens is they fall, they literally cannot crawl back up that tree or shrub because they just don't have enough energy.

They're like little ticks.

they like to hang on.

So, that's and then the ladybugs can actually clamp the rest of it.

>> So aphids for people who aren't aware of it, are very soft bodied, and easily damaged or killed unlike a stink, unlike a stink bug or something like that.

So, just the water?

Okay, well, this that's terrific that we can just use some water and help a problem and the water won't hurt the ladybug larvae.

She can still be, he or she can still be there to do the job on other aphids.

Thanks a lot.

We have two extension services in the United States.

Not everyone's aware of that and that is a remnant of the days of segregation.

The 1890 extensions were at historically Black university and colleges.

So, of course at South Carolina State University where I was fortunate enough to go to get my master's degree.

They have the 1890 Extension Program there and they had a wonderful day where they had a event unveiling and and celebrating their new research and demonstration farm.

♪ [music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ <speaker> I know that we are in Bamberg County but we often say in Orangeburg County, today is a great day.

It is a great day not only for South Carolina State University, but of course for Bamberg County and the state's thriving agricultural community.

<James Clark> Today, we welcome you to the site of a new research and demonstration farm here in the great town, the great metropolis of Olar, South Carolina.

We also welcome you to the history in the making, because it's been some 50 years since SC State has owned a farm for the purpose of research and advancing its offerings as a land grant institution.

This farm will be a test site for the latest in farming technologies and equipment and here we will train our students to do the very important work that will help preserve our environment.

It's a great day for South Carolina State University, of course, but it's also a great day for the state and its inhabitants and those in the farming communities that puts food on our tables each and every day.

<Dr.

Louis Whitesides> Farming is changing as we know it and we have to make sure and stay on the cutting edge to make sure our smaller minority farmers don't get passed by.

So, we have a lot of work that we have to do as far as educating our farmers and keeping our farmers on the cutting edge of technology, techniques and how to thrive in this business.

And Clemson, our partners and I want to make this a point out here, also.

Clemson and South Carolina State do not duplicate programs.

We do something called the joint plan of work and what that is our folks from Clemson and our folks from South Carolina State get together every year and we plan our year out.

We talk about where we're going to be, what we're going to do, what areas we're going to work in, and all those kind of things.

We submit that joint plan to USDA, but one thing you do not know before it was mandatory, Clemson and South Carolina State did this 15 years ago and became a model for the nation.

So, what actually happened was it became a requirement for every other state that had two land grants to do based on what we did together.

So, we've had a long standing relationship with Clemson and USDA.

<Rodney Jenkins> Farming is the largest industry in South Carolina and as South Carolina State expands 1890 research extension throughout the state.

We believe lives will be changed, which can impact local communities, such as Bamberg County.

The research done here have a global impact.

Thanks to the leaders of Bamberg County for welcoming us into the community and for their sacrifices.

<Joey Preston> In addition to serving as an on-site, ongoing education area and development for those attending the farm will also create support of over 60 jobs and listen to this, have an economic impact on the local region, an estimated $34.9 million doallars.

<Hugh Weathers> The job of leadership of South Carolina agriculture is to find the doors of opportunity and hold them open.

Now, any of you who are farmers know farmers, know that you're not going to push that farmer through the door of opportunity, you're not going to pull them.

You're just going to open the door and say, here's what's on the other side and it's up to them to walk through it.

When you're asking to walk through these doors, these future, you're asking them to do several things.

take a risk, take a risk with your future.

Take a risk with what you have earned over the last whatever number of years, maybe generations of your farm's success.

You may ask them to put it at risk to do something different.

Well, why and how would they do that is because of things like that will go on this farm, because it's been shown to them that the risks can be managed.

They can come out and kick the tires if you will and see what it's like to add a particular crop to their mix and what are the benefits, what are the costs?

So, everything that we enjoy today because of the efficiencies of agriculture, everything we will enjoy over the next decade is because somebody collaborated.

Somebody took the initiative.

Somebody, probably like Whiteside, didn't take no for an answer and kept pushing and kept persevering.

So, we're here today because of a lot of efforts that have gone on.

And in the years to come, we'll look back on it and say that was a good day because it, a phrase I like to use, it changed the trajectory.

Agriculture.

It's on a trajectory of efficiencies that one farmer feeding 150 people, 30 years ago, he probably fed 50 or 75 so that trajectory, but all along something has come along to give that trajectory a little bump.

Move it up.

Move it up to the next level.

Today is one of those days ♪ <Amanda> We are in Olar, South Carolina and I'm speaking with Dr. Louis Whitesides.

Dr. Whitesides is the Executive Director and Vice President for the Extension Land Grant programs at South Carolina State University and this was a very special day for Extension at South Carolina State University.

>> Yes, ma'am.

It was it was a very special day.

What we just did here today is we had a ribbon cutting and a groundbreaking on our new farm in Olar, South Carolina.

And in order to have your researchers effectively apply their skills and transfer that knowledge, y'all haven't had a farm in 50 years.

This is going to give them a place for demonstration and hands-on work with their students and with other people in the community?

<Dr.

Whitesides> Correct.

You're spot on.

That's exactly what's going to happen here.

Being an extension service, a lot of things that we do is training and so what better way to train a farmer on our farm.

So, if we set up demonstrations exactly how to be on their farm, they would absorb the knowledge a whole lot better than us going to the farm saying, hey, do this, do this.

But they come here and see how we grew it and we can demonstrate detail, document and show how we grew it and the particular practices that we are trying to transfer to them and it came out successful, and they go back, "Oh, my farm looks like that.

I use these "techniques, so I'm going to be successful, also.

<Amanda> Dr. Whitesides, we know that there's a crisis in attracting young people to come to agriculture and part of that is because it's perceived as just being hard, slog work, but actually isn't it more instrument and data-driven than it's ever been before and going to be in the future?

<Dr.

Whitesides> Yes, ma'am.

Correct.

It's really data-driven now.

You have data science.

You have artificial intelligence.

You know, a lot of our young folks really - you're right.

Think about getting up at 4 o'clock in the morning and they out working hard all day.

Farming is becoming so automated and technology driven where farmers now use drones.

They use sensors.

A lot of it is actually like playing video games when you think about the pivots, you turn them on from a computer in your house so you don't have to go out in water anymore.

You go to your computer and hit the buttons and turn them on.

You can put them to the right to the left, how much water?

So a lot of it is so mechanized right now.

That is not as hard as it used to be and it's a whole lot more efficient.

So we have to educate our young folks on the new techniques of farming and it becomes fun to them as opposed to the real hard work that they used to see in farms on TV.

<Amanda> And some of the things although you have this marvelous acreage here.

You have funds in hand to put some things in place that do represent the future, I believe.

That would be like greenhouses and processing and such things.

>> Yes, exactly.

So, we will build 235 hundred square feet greenhouses here on site and what's unique about these greenhouses, they are state-of-the-art.

If you think about going into a greenhouse, you see one row of food going all the way down, our greenhouses will be zoned.

So we have three different groves going on at one time.

Three different temperatures, watering, hydroponics, that sort of thing so we can segment our greenhouses into different areas.

Now, the next part of that is a processing facility.

So, we'll be able to do value added.

So, after we produce something, we can transform it into something else, you know, to add to the actual product to make it more marketable, get it to the public, you know, all those kind of things.

So, that's a big deal with our greenhouse facility that we're going to have here.

<Amanda> In addition, you'll have laboratories and that will really allow your researchers to do the work that has be done in a scientific way to document and back up what they do in the fields, is that correct?

<Dr.

Whitesides> That's correct.

We will have a research facility here, not only a research facility, a research and training facility.

So, we will have four independent laboratories.

We'll have one multi purpose laboratory,, but multiple researchers can collaborate together, as well as a training room.

In that training room, we'll have the virtual capabilities.

So, when we have on-site training with farmers, the farmers that cannot make it will be able to dial in virtually and still follow us.

We'll have a multi purpose room and we'll have four offices, but the research labs will allow our researchers to be on site and not have to take samples somewhere else to analyze them.

The analysis will happen right here on the farm.

<Amanda> And I think that you are going to target smaller farmers and minority farmers who perhaps have not been able to take advantage of some of the research programs before.

Exactly right.

Our target audience is the smaller minority farmer and so we will emphasize them and emphasize better techniques.

You know, using less resources and more profitability.

So, our programs will be targeted toward them to ensure that their farms stay profitable.

Alright, they have less inputs and more outputs, more full cash.

<Amanda> And we are in a part of the state that has beautiful farming land and this is an opportunity for people to develop it in more profitable ways and I think that Bamberg County has been very supportive.

And you may even allow some of the people in the community to come in and have community gardens.

<Dr.

Whitesides> Absolutely correct.

Bamberg County has been very very supportive.

When we approached them about this farm, they were immediately say, hey, what do we need to do to help?

They lined up all the folks for us, helped us put everything together and here we are today in Bamberg County.

So, they've been very, very supportive, really appreciative of Mr. Preston, the administrator and Thomas Thomas, the assistant administrator, as well as Dr. Sojourner, the local school district here.

So, everyone has been very supportive, but all of them said exactly what you said, Hey, we want to make sure our local folks get the benefit and participate.

We agreed to make sure that they will be able to do local farm plots here and do things like that and do community farms.

<Amanda> And you'll be able to start with high school students and even younger explaining the joys and the rewards of agriculture.

>> Exactly.

Now, one of the things we have to do is we have to get more agricultural workers.

You know, we talked about the average age of the farmer is a little more than 60.

So, we about 10 years before we reached critical be in a critical situation, but outside of that, even the support areas in like USDA and all the agricultural support organizations are going through the same thing.

So, everybody's looking for people to feel the voids of our older generation that are retiring out of these jobs and that sort of thing.

So, not only the farmers, but the support jobs also for all the things that support agriculture all need younger, more workers to fill these openings.

<Amanda> Well, Dr. Whitesides with your enthusiasm and the wonderful funding and plans for the future of this, I think you're going to be successful and I hope you'll let us come back and tell more stories about what's happening here in Olar.

>> Anytime, anytime.

Our gate is always open to you.

♪ >> I want to thank Dr. Louis Whitesides and his staff for making it possible for us to come and learn and record and share with you all this information about their new farm.

Terasa.

I think we've got time for one more to slip in before we have to say good night.

What have you got in our in our bag of questions?

<Terasa> From our Facebook page, Louis from Kingstree writes, "Does it damage my mature Live Oak trees when I drive my tractor near the base to cut the undergrowth?

>> Ahuh?

Well, I know what I think about that but Drew, I'm going to ask you for your opinion and see if we agree.

<Drew> Yes, the answer is yes.

So, when you drive over with heavy equipment over root systems like that, you really are damaging doing some damage to the root systems, which you don't always see right away.

Usually, it shows up down the road.

A good way to kind of create a base around that to keep you from getting too close to it is to mulch all the way to the drip line.

You can use any kind of just you know, plain hardwood bark mulch or pine bark mulch, just something to kind of keep you keep it keep the weeds down but also keep you from getting too close because you can also hit the bark with the mower, with the mower deck and you can basically girdle that stem and cause damage to cambium tissue which causes, think of it like taking your wrist and cutting off the blood supply of your hand.

That's essential what you're doing.

>> And but so the weight of the machinery so even so besides John Deere tractors and things like that, I don't think it's a good idea to park your car or your boat or anything under trees because every time you run with a heavy piece of equipment over the soil, you're compacting that soil and that's just going to impede the movement of air and water, isn't it Drew?

>> Correct.

And actually, yes, that's, it's a it's a very big problem.

Any kind of - in fact, arborist when they go when they're on consulting for construction sites, they actually extend zones around the root system, so that none of those heavy equipment will come near it to compact that soil, because it can really cause some damage to the roots.

>> Well and you know, Drew a lot of times I'll see just in the city when I see crews out working, I'll see people using a weed eater around the tree and they say, "Oh it doesn't hurt it."

and I say, well, pull up your leg and let's weed eat at your leg, because I think a weed eater can damage the bark, can it?

<Drew> It most certainly can.

It can girdle the tissue.

>> So, I think we just need to realize that trees aren't as, they don't seem delicate because they look so big and strong but they do deserve care and when we think of the cooling aspects and the carbon sequestering, that we get for them, they really are important in the landscape and the environment.

Thank you Drew for answering that with us and I want to thank all of you for being with us tonight.

Please do send us your questions.

Terasa will be keeping a good list of them and every time that you join us on Tuesdays, we're going to try to share some information about how to successfully garden in the ups and downs of South Carolina.

So, until then, we'll say goodnight and we'll see you next time.

♪ ♪ Making it Grow is brought to you in part by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture Certified South Carolina Grown helps consumers identify, find, and buy South Carolina products, Mcleod Farms in Mcbee, South Carolina.

This family farm offers seasonal produce including over 22 varieties of peaches, additional funding provided by International Paper and the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance.