Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

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

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

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

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

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda> Well, hello.

Good evening, and we're so glad you could join us for an hour of "Making It Grow."

I'm Amanda McNulty, and I'm a Clemson horticulture agent, and I get to come over here and be with my friend and co-host, Terasa Lott.

And tell me your new title.

>> I am the Midlands District Director, so I have the opportunity to kind of oversee the operation of nine county extension offices.

And, you know, I think when people think of Clemson Extension, they most traditionally think of large agriculture, and that is a portion of what we do.

But we also even have the agribusiness team, and they really help with not so much the growing, the plant selection, but the profitability side, the business aspect of farming.

Amanda> which is farming pretty freaking important these days.

Terasa> Very.

Amanda> And, you know, there's so many things that they have to figure out, you know, when do you... sell ahead of time?

Do you do this and that?

And and this year, I'm sure with all the, drought that we're having, they really are facing a lot of things.

I don't know how much crop insurance helps with it, but... anyway.

Nothing makes up for a good crop.

Terasa> That's true.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Amanda> Well Zack, you're down there, at the Coastal Research and where you're the, commercial hort team, Zack Snipes, the Commercial Hort-team Agent and y'all are doing a lot of stuff down there.

You all do a good bit of research, I think.

Zack> Yes, ma'am.

We do a lot of research at the Coastal Research and Education Center.

We, we try to listen to the growers, and that's kind of my job is to figure out what they're doing, and then work with the researchers to figure out what we can do to make things better, and really stay ahead of the curve on, as far as production, agriculture and how we're doing things.

Amanda> We went down one time, and talked with the USDA people about sweet potatoes.

I don't know quite what their responsibilities are down there.

Zack> Yeah, so the USDA warehouse with them, they're in Charleston.

It's a federal facility, obviously, and they do, they have less interaction with the growers, but they're more of the lab people, that's doing the behind the scenes stuff.

Then Clemson can work with and then Extension agents can work with.

So they're kind of doing higher level research.

Amanda> And then somebody translates to something that Extension agents can understand.

And then y'all translate it into something that just regular people can understand.

Zack> Correct, absolutely.

Amanda> You can speak to the people.

Well, thank you so much for speaking to the people.

Carmen Ketron, you are the Urban Hort agent, and the Master Gardener Coordinator in Darlington and Florence.

And I was going to ask you, do you do your Master Gardener program in one or the other places?

Do you switch it around or how does it go?

Carmen> Sometimes we switch it around, but a lot of the times we're actually at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center.

So another one of the fabulous research farms that we have, I believe there's five altogether.

Terasa> Everyone's looking at me.

(laughing) Amanda> And that's because, they just have a good space for you to do that in, and plenty of parking.

Carmen> It's a gorgeous facility, lots of parking, and you get to get with all of the great researchers, and see they do a lot of work on genetics, so you can't beat learning, the science right behind it, right in front of your face and have that experience.

Amanda> Well, fun.

I'm so glad.

And then, Brad Fowler, you're the Urban Hort Agent and the Master Gardener Coordinator down there in Georgetown.

in Horry.

And is Georgetown, it used to be kind of a sleepy little town, but I think it's changing.

Brad> It is definitely changing.

I moved there in 2010, and just in these, you know, what, 13, 14 years?

It's changed a lot.

The downtown's really a great place to come have lunch and stuff.

And so, yeah, it's...definitely growing for sure.

It's it's a cool town, Amanda> You know one time, you know, Terasa, my brother lived there for a long time.

He was the E.R.

Doc down there.

And we were sitting there eating lunch, and there was some man who would paddle across the inlet or something.

Is that, it was just.

It was kind of small and sleepy back then.

Brad> Sure.

Amanda> But, I think it's changed pretty dramatically.

And then Horry, let's not even, we won't even touch that with a ten foot pole.

Brad> A whole different animal.

Amanda> Well thank you so much.

Brad> Thank you.

Amanda> I really appreciate having you here.

Well Teresa, do we have some gardens of the week?

Terasa> We sure do.

So, gardens of the week.

It's your opportunity to shine, to show us what you're doing in your yard, your garden, it could even be an indoor plant.

Or perhaps a special place in our great state that you have visited and captured through photography.

Today, the Myrtle Beach Garden Club sent in a photo of a new daylily that they obtained from Brown's Ferry Gardens.

From Wanda Christmas, a Roma tomato plant in Florence, that she said she grew from seed.

Susan Bufano shared some ferns that she captured, at Paris Mountain State Park in Greenville.

So our state is fortunate to have many, state parks in the system.

From Scott Braveboy, the flower of a desert rose, and so that flower just has such striking color against the background.

From Kevin Overbeck, a Cavendish banana plant, after a late afternoon rain.

Something we are all dreaming of, those late afternoon rains.

And then, some pictures close to home.

Amanda from your son Conrad, three photos of his small garden space in Los Angeles.

I imagine that's quite different than gardening in South Carolina.

Amanda> Well, and Conrad is such a nutcase.

And, you know, he does Muay Thai boxing and, you know, all this kind of crazy stuff.

And he's got a tattoo of a tombstone that has mom written on it.

And I said, well, what's that about?

He said, well, I'm not a rose kind of guy, and I picked you instead of Papa.

so I guess it was a compliment.

But, all he does is talk about these darn tomato plants.

So he's got a teeny, teeny, teeny little space.

He's got a pomegranate tree and some other trees, citrus trees in the yard.

And, but he started planting these tomato plants, and all he does is call everyday about his tomato plants.

And so he now has, he has some heirloom tomatoes and they don't have any pest, any fungal problems out there.

You know, it's dry as a chip out there.

And he hasn't had any insect problems either.

But he does have, although he acts like he's so mean, he loves his kitty cats.

And so he has some catnip, and they got in there and ate all the catnip back.

So he's made this cage over the catnip, and he lets it have a little bit sometimes.

Isn't it funny how gardens can bring out different aspects of people?

Terasa> It really is.

Well it's funny that even in his small garden space with the catnip, it reminds me, about how, the folks that are advising our people producing forages for livestock about, like overgrazing and those issues.

So he's just dealing on it with a much smaller scale with his kitties.

Amanda> Anyway, we were talking about M and M sandwiches, mayonnaise and maters.

(laughing) Amanda> Because there's just nothing in the summer, better than a than a tomato sandwich in the summertime.

Everyone> Yeah, I agree.

Amanda> They really are great fun.

well, thanks for showing those, I appreciate it.

Now, he's he's a pretty nice kid.

All three of my children live in Los Angeles.

Isn't that crazy?

Yeah.

Anyway, but when we go out there to see them usually at Christmas, they have so many wonderful botanical gardens out there, and that's fun.

And some of them Terasa, have desert areas which we couldn't have here, because most years we get too much water.

But out there, and so that's a different aspect of life to see.

When you go to different places, always go to botanical gardens.

Yeah.

All right, and of course we'll have, Doctor John with, some more plants to talk about a little later in the show.

Well, Terasa, I bet we have some questions.

Terasa> We do, and it's funny that you were talking about a tomato sandwich, because this is a question about tomatoes.

Comes in from Justin, in Mount Pleasant.

He said, my tomato plants turn browned and died all of a sudden.

What happened?

Amanda> Whoa.

Well, that's disappointing.

Terasa> It is always sad when that happens Amanda> Because you want, you know, fresh tomatoes.

Well Zack, y'all do a lot of tomato research and grow a lot of tomatoes.

What do you think might explain that?

Zack> I brought in some of Justin's tomatoes.

What we have and what's going on, and we're seeing a lot of this, this time of year, is a disease called southern blight.

And what happens is you grow a plant all year, and it's very sad because the plant is green and luscious and looks good and has fruit.

And then all of a sudden it just kind of wilts and dies.

Amanda> Whoa.

Zack> So, one way to tell if you have southern blight versus some other diseases, you'll see this white fungal mat.

So these are the hyphae of the fungus itself, it kind of gets on the stem.

And then if you're lucky enough, you can find, some of these little, I call them beads or BBs, down in here.

And these are actually the sclerotia.

It looks like, millet, in like a bird mix bird feed mix.

But they get on the stem, and those are the survival structures of this fungus.

And so, what happens a lot of times is you get upset because the tomato dies, and then you leave it there.

And what happens is that fungus is reproducing, making all these sclerotia, then get in the soil and think of sclerotia is almost like a seed for the fungus.

So next year when you plant something, it's going to germinate when the conditions are right and then get on that, that next crop.

So it's very sad, but there are some ways you can manage the disease.

And it's going to get on tomatoes, it's going to get on peppers.

I brought in a pepper plant, with the same, kind of look to it.

And it's, you know, it kind of defoliates, you know, the peppers will be sunburned or the tomatoes will be sunburned, Amanda> They don't have any leaves, right, Zack> because they don't have any protection.

So, it is pretty sad but you can, bury the crop debris, is a good way to, to get rid of some of the sclerotia is to bury it deep, because the deeper you bury it, they need light and water to germinate.

So if we can bury it, you know, 8 to 10 inches deep, that will help removing the crop debris, will also help with the, with the disease.

So, there's some things you can do, but if you have it, the worst thing you can do is just ignore it, and then plant a solanaceous crop or tomato, or pepper, or something in there the next season.

Amanda> The next year Gracious goodness.

You were talking about what happens when they don't have the leaves, they get sunburned, and I think some people actually put kaolin on tomatoes.

Is that right?

Zack> Yeah.

So there's... a couple products.

Amanda> Kaolin clay is the worst thing in the world.

Amanda> I mean to have in your garden, but Zack> Right.

Zack> Kaolin clay and then there's another product, it's a calcium carbonate.

It's a spray, and all it is, is, you know, think of it as sunscreen.

Amanda> Sunscreen.

Zack> and so we...use it a lot on watermelons.

this time of year.

Watermelons are exposed, so they don't get sunburned.

so we'll spray.

And all it is, is just a, you know, a barrier.

Amanda> It's just like, put sunscreen on.

Zack> Yeah, yeah.

So, but yeah, that can be used and it can be purchased locally at a lot of places.

Amanda> I just thought that was such a funny thing to learn about because, my parents backyard was a kaolin pit.

And they actually at one point had to do some work, on the foundation of the house because it was starting to sink.

Isn't that crazy?

Yeah, but, it was a big deal.

Kaolin clay.

And, and it was what, it was really a very important product, they would ship back to Europe for, for fine China.

Isn't that funny.

Yeah.

Because it was kaolin and so white and clean.

I think that's just kind of cool.

Everyone> Yeah, yeah.

Amanda> Anyway, soils, soils, soils.

Okay, Terasa who else can we help?

Terasa> How about we try to help Lorraine, who wrote us from Lamar.

She said she has three giant pecan or pecan trees in her front yard, and she said she knows it's supposed to be a good year, but the leaves are turning yellow and dropping, and she is hoping that we can give her some advice on what to do.

Amanda> Oh, because Carmen, they talk about alternate bearing or something sometimes.

So you sometimes you do have a year, you think it might be better?

Carmen> A lot of times, it should be this year, but a lot of people, especially homeowners that have maybe 1 to 5 trees, they're experiencing a lot of drought conditions up in the upper Pee Dee.

And unfortunately, June to August is the, is the crucial time that pecan trees should be getting lots of water.

Amanda> Oh, to, because they've got to send it up there and fill out that nut.

Carmen> So it's critical that if you have, if you're a homeowner, a lot of the big orchards use younger trees and you put them all on irrigation, but for your 1 to 5 trees, you got to get out there, put the hose to it.

We need at least one inch of water, or one inch of water a week right now, during this critical growth time.

Amanda> And you and I've talked before that when you're watering a tree particularly, because its roots just grow from here to Kalamazoo.

You want to put the hose, maybe a hose on real slow, and let it run a couple hours and then move it around the tree, kind of out towards the drip line.

Carmen> For pecans, it's something like 3000 gallons an acre, so if you've got more than ten trees, it's a big investment.

So you got to just watch it, you got to do what you can, but make sure to move that hose.

Amanda> Where I am there tons and tons of old pecan orchards and, I've got, gosh, Terasa maybe eight trees in my yard.

And I don't think the old trees produce as well, is it kind of like young women are better at having babies.

than people my age?

Carmen> You're not going to catch me saying that, but, it's true for pecans, is that the younger ones, ...just produce more as they get older, but they're such wonderful shade trees.

You just really enjoy them and you want to keep them happy.

A lot of the times they will lose branches over extended periods of drought, and a lot of the times the drought this year can affect them for years to come.

Amanda> Oh goodness gracious, you know they're funny, Terasa, you probably didn't, don't have them in your yard and didn't grow up with them, but they'll just lose a branch on the most peculiar days.

It's not during a big rainstorm or anything.

Sometimes I was out getting the mail with Conrad when he was a baby, and this huge branch just fell down around us.

And I kind of did like this, but, I mean, it was just a sunny day with no wind.

I don't know why they do that, they're just peculiar.

Carmen> During peak nut time, though, a lot of the times it's the weight of the branches.

But yeah, we know we had one just drop yesterday, it was wild.

Amanda> Anyway, they sure do taste good, and, and you say the only time you say pecan is when?

Brad> Butter pecan ice cream- Amanda> -Okay.

Butter pecan ice cream, You said (laughing) Brad> I get part of it right.

(laughing) Amanda> Oh, goodness, but they are, and, you know, they're just, I'm sure there are lots of things that enjoy pecan trees, don't you think?

Yeah.

Carmen> It's a wonderful, it's a wonderful plant for herbivory.

Lots of really great pollinators or and other insects.

Amanda> Oh really.

Carmen> They all eat, they all you know thrive off of this, and all the squirrels love it.

Amanda> They sure do, don't they.

Yeah.

Carmen> You can't beat it.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, thanks so much.

That was fun.

Terasa?

Terasa> Let's see.

How about Mack in Pawleys Island, has an irrigation question.

He says he lives near the coast and irrigates from a well, but has heard about saltwater intrusion.

Should I have my irrigation water tested?

That is a great question.

Amanda> Gosh, it sure is.

Well, what do you think?

Brad> Down next to the coast, we certainly deal with the saltwater intrusion into wells and that sort of stuff.

So it's always a good idea to have the water tested, especially if you're suspecting, a problem with the water.

Right now, I've been dealing with a situation where there's some possible saltwater, salt in the, in the well water.

And you can bring a sample of that water into one of our offices, Amanda> You can?

Brad> and get it sent off.

You can do just a standard, standard irrigation test.

It'll tell you PH, and the salinity level, in the, in the water.

Or you can do what we call our special irrigation test, gives you some additional, information on that water as well.

So I normally recommend people go ahead and do the special irrigation test and get as much information as they can.

And then myself, or in combination with one of our water resources agents, will help kind of decipher what may be going on there, and see if it's got salt in it.

But, it happens a lot, especially now when we're having these, drought situations too, the wells, those, those aquifers are not being refilled, and so you get a higher salt content because of being so close to the coast.

And so it's pretty easy to pump that salt water, through the irrigation system and kind of damage some, damage some plants.

Amanda> If you have that are there some plants that will tolerate some, salt?

Brad> There are definitely a lot of plants that will tolerate salt, the stuff that grows, close to the coast.

We have some fact sheets on the Home and Garden Information Center, that talk about a ton of different, there's probably a hundred different plants on there, that will tolerate more salt.

I mean, a lot of plants, when you get to a certain point they won't tolerate, but a lot of plants will tolerate a lot of salt, especially if you're close to the ocean.

You're getting some of that salt spray and stuff like that.

But when we start irrigating with saltwater, it can really be a problem.

And I've also ran into situations too where, some folks may be pulling out of a of a river that could be brackish at times, that are kind of off of a bay or something like that.

Amanda> Especially if there's no fresh water coming down running down stream.

Brad> Exactly.

You have to monitor that as well.

If you get these periods of drought and stuff, you have to have to pay attention to that.

So definitely not good to, to, to water with salt water.

Amanda> Zack I came down to a field day y'all had and I think they took us around and talked about, maybe y'all were trying to come up, breed I guess.

Zack> Yeah some.

Amanda> crops that might be tolerant.

Zack> So you know it's scary if you're a homeowner, but it's really scary if your farmer.

You know, and you've got, you know this land and infrastructure investment, and then your well goes salty.

So we're seeing that a lot on John's Island, and especially on Saint Helena Island down in Beaufort County.

We're experiencing this.

So, our researchers at the coastal REC, we're trying to stay a step or two ahead of it, and so we've gotten some grants and some research projects.

Dr. Sandra Branham, was kind of leading that effort, and Dr. Brian Ward.

But they're trying to breed salt tolerance into some of our crops, to see, can we grow crops in these areas where maybe we've had a hurricane and we've got some saltwater intrusion?

Or could we use salt water from a well to irrigate?

So we're...looking at rice.

We're looking at turnip greens.

We're looking at cucumbers.

Amanda> Those are big crops that these people traditionally grow?

Zack> Those are some big crops, and those are kind of model crops that we're using.

And then once we can identify those genes and how it works, then we can speed the process up, to try to get those genes in to other plants.

But rice is the big one because, you know, there's, you know, historically we grew thousands and thousands of acres of rice, and with sea level rise, you know, a lot of old rice fields we can't use anymore because they're salty.

So we're trying to breed that tolerance into the plants, so we can reclaim some of these old fields.

Amanda> And you know, we came down and did a story with Dr. Branham, and she's got ways they can kind of figure out the genetics of all these things.

And sometimes she doesn't have to grow it all the way out.

She just needs to get a leaf, maybe.

Zack> Right.

Amanda> So which, speeds it up dramatically instead of having to grow it all the way out and then put some salt water on it.

Zack> Traditional plant breeding, you grow it to seed and then grow it out and test it and that sort of thing, but we can look at the genome of it, from the DNA and we're looking for specific markers.

Amanda> Okay.

Zack> Once we can find those, then you can speed that process up by years and years.

Amanda> You know, it's so nice to hear the things that Clemson's doing behind the scenes that, you know, because I mean, agriculture is such is the number one industry in South Carolina.

Yeah.

Goodness.

Well thanks a lot.

Zack> Yep.

Amanda> Well Dr. John Nelson came back down and visited us and we did some recordings and had a good time.

I think he could enjoy this segment.

I'm with Dr. John Nelson, who has been roaming around our parking lot or behind the Opera House.

You can find things anywhere.

And you said there's a wall there that's got a pipe on it, that's got condensation.

And so it's a little tiny micro-environment.

Dr. John> Yeah, there's all kinds of stuff growing on it, at least two different species of ferns.

And the point in all that is, you don't have to go very far to find interesting plants.

Amanda> Okay, so what is this one?

Dr. John> Well this one's called, ladder as in a ladder that a fireman climbs Amanda> Jacob's ladder.

Dr. John> A ladder brake and brake doesn't mean your car brakes, but B-R-A-K-E is commonly used for a number of different fern species, sort of like bracken, Amanda> Okay.

Dr. John> A bracken fern, or a brake fern.

Amanda> Okay.

Dr. John> So this one is not native, but this species of brake fern, is actually, actually widespread and from much of eastern Africa to...eastern Asia.

Amanda> So it's introduced here.

Dr. John> Oh, yeah.

This is definitely an introduction.

Amanda> And I call it Huguenot Fern, because if you're in Charleston, you'll see it coming out of every little nook and cranny.

Dr. John> Right, and of course, in Charleston, they think everything's a huguenot.

Amanda> Yeah, well, well, they're somewhat selective.

(laughing) Amanda> but it really is a cool thing, and I think the look to it is quite beautiful, Dr. John> It's elegant, I think...and, we can talk a little bit about how ferns are put together.

And of course, the leaf of a fern is generally called a frond.

And then we have these divisions of the frond, and in this case the divisions are quite intact.

They are not further divided into divisions.

Amanda> They're not very complex.

But this isn't, so these are... what do we call these?

Leaflets?

Dr. John> We call them.

We could, or... most people call them, Peony.

Amanda> Okay...because, it's not.

Yeah.

Dr. John> As in, or peonules.

Amanda> Okay.

Dr. John> But they're just divisions of the frond.

Amanda> Okay.

Dr. John> And... the...divisions are almost linear in shape and they're bright green, I just, I think this is kind of a wonderful thing, but now we have it turned around and we're looking at the backside Amanda> Now we're going to look at reproduction.

Dr. John> Oh yeah, now for the interesting stuff.

So you see, that on most, well you remember from class, most ferns will have, an arrangement of their sporangia within little structures called sori.

>> Yes.

Dr. John> That is well, A- one sorus, many sori.

Amanda> Okay.

Dr. John> So a sorus could be, like a dot, or it could be an elongated line, depending on the species or various shapes.

Depending on the species.

But now in this genus Pteris, which is the genus and that's a, this is interesting too Amanda> P-T-E-R-I-S Dr. John> It's a P-T word.

Pteris...Vittata is the species that in pteris the genus pteris, all the species will have their, their sporangia, not indiscreet sori, but in linear arrangements just at the edge of the division of the frond.

Amanda> And it's a tannish color, very different from the very vibrant green in the middle.

Dr. John> Right.

And if you look closely, you might need to use your hand lens to see this, but you could see where the outer edge of the division is sort of rolling over, where there's sporangia.

That's a sort of a protective device, we...presume.

And so lots and lots of spores can be produced from this one frond.

Amanda> And a couple of them might be lucky enough to land someplace where they can reproduce.

And even that's a complicated process that we'll talk about another time.

Dr. John> Right.

Yeah.

It's complicated.

Yeah.

(laughing) Amanda> Okay.

Well, it's kind of like genealogy in South Carolina, That can be complicated too.

Dr. John> Lots of genes.

Amanda> Okay.

Thanks, John.

Dr. John> You're welcome.

>> Ferns can be such a cooling aspect of summer, and thanks to Dr. John for coming in and talking to us about them.

And then hats, hats, hats.

I was just I came here with some other stuff to do, and when I got here, you brought some stuff and you brought some stuff, Zack, so I'm going to let y'all talk about what's in my hat.

Carmen> We, I made the, I did the wreath part.

That's our smilax Lanceolata We've got like, 15 different varieties of smilax around, and I just love that one, because it doesn't prick me when I cut it, and it makes wonderful greenery.

We can do table scapes, and I just thought it was lovely.

A lot of people mistake it, some for poison ivy.

Amanda> Smilax?

Carmen> A lot of the times that, a lot of the Virginia creeper, so it's important if you're, if you're out and about this summer to be able to identify that poison ivy.

But, I just love the smilax.

Amanda> Leaves of three, let it be.

Carmen> Exactly.

Amanda> But...you know, we used to do my...friend Ruthie, and I used to do weddings and all kinds of things.

I cannot begin to tell you how much smilax we've pulled from trees.

And it goes to the top of the tree, and you have to pull it, and pull it, pull it, and you usually end up falling behind on, on your behind.

And...then but we would always get a really a wonderful one that didn't have any stickers on it.

That's the one that we wanted.

And this one doesn't have stickers either.

But I think this is more of a coastal.

Carmen> We'll find that one a lot in the sandy bogs.

Amanda> Okay Carmen> So we love that.

Amanda> And, you know, Terasa, you can eat it when it comes up.

It's particularly the nice, when there's some that have a lot of stickers.

So sometimes it's called Chainey briar, but it's also called wild asparagus.

And so Edward and I go out and collect it.

And when it comes up you want to get the shoot and just break it off.

And then you bring it inside and just cook it like asparagus.

It's perfectly delicious and a lot cheaper.

(laughter) And it doesn't have an after effect like asparagus can.

So I think yeah, but it's, but it's just, you know, we use it, people used it for Christmas to decorate and weddings to decorate.

I mean for years and years because, you know, now you can go get all the flowers you want anytime you want, but back then, that wasn't available for brides and things.

So smilax, just, ahh...it can make anything so beautiful.

Yeah.

I'm so glad you brought it.

And then, Zack, you brought me a pepper.

And I was careful using it because I didn't know if it was a hot pepper.

I didn't want it to get juice on my fingers.

Zack> Yeah, well, one man's trash is Amanda's hat piece, so that was actually, on the pepper plant that I brought in that had the southern blight.

Amanda> Oh, we talked about it earlier.

Zack> Yeah, Amanda> when you were here last couple of weeks.

Zack> That's a banana pepper.

It's good to see them turning colors like that.

It's hard in South Carolina to get colored peppers, because they get so many diseases on them.

Amanda> Oh, and they.

So you saying as they age, they naturally get color.

Zack> Correct.

Correct.

So green peppers, you know, they're they have a final destination of red, orange or, you know, yellow.

Amanda> But here they often can't last that long- Zack> -because of our, you know, diseases, and heat, the sunburn we talked about.

Amanda> So...that's why when you get them in the store, you pay more for the red ones than the green ones?

Zack> Yep, the green ones just are immature, red pepper, green pepper, orange pepper.

So...yeah.

Amanda> Okay, Cool.

Well, thank you both so much.

Zack> Sure.

Amanda> And, anyway, it's kind of making my head itch, (laughing) but this one doesn't have stickers.

Carmen> Yeah, and it's not poison ivy.

Amanda> No, it's not poison ivy Okay.

Well, fun.

Oh, Terasa, what we got?

Terasa> Let's help Justin in Mount Pleasant, who said his tomato plants started getting spots on them, at the bottom.

"They turned brown and they started losing their leaves.

"What could this be?"

Amanda> Zack, spots on the bottom?

I don't quite understand.

Zack> Yeah, well, Justin's got a lot of problems.

Problems with his tomatoes.

(laughing) But growing tomatoes is hard.

I think everybody thinks that, you know, it's the the perfect summer plant, but really, a slicing tomato, in my opinion, is one of the hardest things to grow.

to get the final fruit.

So, if you've grown a tomato in South Carolina, you've 100% had this disease.

I can, you know, put the family farm on it, but this is bacterial spot.

It's very, very common, and what happens with bacterial spot, it usually comes in on the seed or the transplant when you buy it.

That's why it's so important- Amanda> -Oh, gosh.

Zack> when you're buying your plants, to get clean healthy plants with no spots.

If you bring them home with spots they're going to continue to have spots.

So the key with bacterial spot is it's really a race against time.

The longer you can keep that disease off, the more chance you will have to produce a fruit that's edible.

If you get this early season, then you might not produce any fruit in the plant you know, it will quickly lose its foliage or defoliate.

It starts at the bottom, and a lot of times when it, when we have rain, which we haven't had in forever, or very humid mornings or nights, it's a bacteria, so it really likes those moist, thrives in those conditions, and so it spreads up the plant.

And so it starts at the bottom and you'll start to see some, some black spots.

Amanda> So it's not a fungus.

So you can't use a fungicide.

Zack> Correct.

You can prune these plants, and so when you see leaves that have it, go out there when it's dry in the middle of the day, and pick those leaves off- Amanda> -that might help.

Zack> and get rid of it.

Don't leave it in the field.

That'll help, and then there's some products like copper and Manzate that you can buy, that you can purchase at home and garden stores, that will help keep it at bay.

They won't stop it, but again, you're, it's a race against time, so if you can delay the spread of this disease by a week or two weeks- Amanda> -you might get some tomatoes.

Zack> You're more likely to get that fruit.

Amanda> Okay.

When it's hot and dry like this, do you need to take extra precautions if you're applying some of those things like the copper?

Zack> Yes.

And so if it's hot and dry, you probably don't need to spray, even though your plants probably look pretty rough this time of year just because that's what happens in summer.

But yes, when it's hot, you can get some phytotoxicity, especially with your... sulfurs and your coppers and those sort of things.

They can actually burn the plant.

So but when it's hot and dry, you don't need to spray because those pathogens like, like the moisture.

Amanda> Okay, okay.

Gosh, so if you irrigate, you would want to not irrigate from above, but- Zack> -and that's a very, good integrated pest management tactic is we use drip irrigation, versus overhead because when you spray the plant, you're just splashing those spores to new leaves that aren't infected.

Amanda> Gosh.

Zack> Yep.

So you can kind of see here there's some early stages and then this, kind of stem on the right is really an advanced stage where the plants are starting to foliate.

Amanda> Well, fortunately we have some growers, people used to talk about Johns Island tomatoes all the time.

And I think we have a lot of people, fortunately, so we can have, enjoy tomatoes even because they are more prepared and able to... deal with some of the problems.

Zack> And a lot of the seed companies and universities, they're, they're trying to bring in a lot of resistance to these diseases, so we don't have to spray as much.

And so a lot of the new varieties and things, are really I wouldn't say disease proof, but they're a lot better than the old heirloom type varieties, at these diseases.

Amanda> Those heirloom tomatoes are good though.

Zack> So good.

Amanda> They really are tasty.

Well, thanks a lot, I guess.

(laughing) Okay, Terasa.

Terasa> All right, the next question is... initials, just W.M.

from Hamar, South Carolina says, "For years "I've used a glyphosate product at the same rate "around the edge of my beds with success until this year.

"Now, my hydrangeas are showing distorted flowers.

"What is going on?"

Amanda> Oh my goodness.

Common names, active ingredients, it's gotten kind of confusing, I think, Carmen.

Carmen> It has, especially this year because a lot of our glyphosate containing products, like "Roundup" with brand names that we know- Amanda> And used to just use automatic- Carmen> -and just grab cause, I love, I love a brand name just as much as everybody else.

A lot of them have actually changed their active ingredients so they don't contain glyphosate anymore.

They contain a combination of other active ingredients, that actually end up, having different effects on the plants that we are spraying in and around.

They stay in the soil sometimes longer, so you cannot replant in them as long as you would normally, Amanda> Yeah.

Carmen> when using glyphosate.

So it's so important right now, especially in W.M.

's position, and a lot of peoples that you read, you take that, you take your reading glasses or your magnifying glasses- Amanda> -because it's little Carmen> to the store, and look down at the bottom for that active ingredient list.

And, as my master gardeners know, I'm going to get it tattooed on my forehead, "Read the label!".

You have to read the label, because now, things that you are, you are used to just buying and spraying, they are going to have different directions for use, different re-entry periods, things like that.

So you have to be vigilant right now because everything is changing.

Amanda> Gosh.

So it's more important than ever.

>> Yes, and make sure to follow all the directions "to the T" making sure not to spray in the heat now.

It's very important because you can have a lot of different, effects Amanda> And the plants, I think have to be well hydrated for it to be effective and.. they're, they're not.

Carmen> So this, this ain't the year.

Amanda> Yeah.

So it's just not.

Carmen> Yeah.

Terasa> But the great thing about our HGIC fact sheets is they do list that active ingredient- Amanda> Oh do they?

Terasa> you can, take your mobile device with you or print out the fact sheet for whatever it is and then match what you see on there to what you see on the label, and then, you know, you're getting the product that you need.

Amanda> The one that you want and have used before very effectively, but it's easy to get off track now.

Carmen> You just have to go shopping around now, don't go by brand names.

Zack> And one active ingredient might have 15 or 20 or 30 trade names that it's called, so that's why it's important to look for the active ingredient that you want to use, so.

Amanda> Goodness gracious.

(gasps) Well thanks for telling us.

And we'll, Terasa and thank you for saying that we could go to HGIC and find that information there.

And that would give us a head start when we go to the store to find what it is that we actually want.

Carmen> And always call your Extension agent if nothing else works.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

And you can call HGIC as well, I believe.

If y'all are out doing things in the field, I think they've got, I think they answer the phone from 8 to 4 or something like that, don't they?

Terasa> 8 to 430 Monday through Friday, (888) 656-9988.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

And they, they're people who like to talk on the phone usually.

So, thanks.

(laughs) Okay.

Well, who else can we help Terasa?

Terasa> I think we can help William in Kingstree.

Who says he would like to do some landscaping while he has time off during the summer, but is this the best time to plant?

(Amanda laughs) Amanda> Oh gracious goodness.

You know, a couple, a while back, the grocery stores had all these things sitting out there and they wanted you to plant all these things, half of them were things that wouldn't even grow here.

But what is the best time to install plants in your yard?

Brad> That's a good question.

So it really depends on the plant that you're that you're putting in.

I'll kind of start with like our woody trees and shrubs and that sort of stuff.

Now is not the time to do that.

You know, if you plant a tree right now, you're going to be out there, you know, that's going to be your job for the rest of the summer, is watering it to make sure it, it can, you know, survive this, this heat.

Amanda> And you may not survive.

Brad> Exactly, you better take your umbrella with you.

So the best time to do those woody, trees and shrubs, that sort of stuff is in the fall.

That way they can start to get established as it's cooling down- Amanda> because they, you know their roots, they're used to being watered every day, and their roots are stuck in this little thing, but they've got to start really going out, don't they?

Brad> Exactly, exactly.

They've got to start building that, building that root system and with the less heat and stuff, it will, it will... allow them some time to get established and start building that root system without this massive water requirement.

that they need to, you know, with that small root system, they need a lot of water to keep up their...canopy.

So fall, best time for that sort of stuff, different, perennials and annuals can be planted, maybe in the spring or the fall.

It's really depending on what you're wanting to plant.

Some different bulbs can be planted at different times- Amanda> Okay.

Sure.

Yeah.

Brad> But during the middle of the summer, is pretty much not a good time to plant anything.

I know people get off and have some extra time in the summer, and a lot of the nurseries and grocery stores will have stuff set out that looks beautiful, but it's really probably not the best time of the year to plant anything.

Amanda> And then Terasa I think that the grocery stores and all the big chains, somebody in Timbuktu is making the order and have it shipped here, and they'll have apples and things that just don't do here at all.

Don't you remember- Terasa> I do see fairly frequently things that are offered or available, and they're just really not gonna, going to do well here.

So I encourage people again to utilize our Extension services.

Utilize those fact sheets.

Do your research.

See what's going to grow.

Now, if you just want to give it a try, and I mean feel free sometimes things happen.

We never know.

Maybe if you nurture it along.

I've managed to grow some rhubarb, which I absolutely love.

And it really is not happy, so I've had to give it extra shade, give it extra water, but that was something I went into it knowing it's probably not going to do well, and I was going to be happy if I only got a season, because from a cost perspective, what I invested in that plant, if I just got a maybe two harvests to make a couple pies, it would have been equivalent to what I would have had to, you know, the cost, if I had to a- Amanda> -If you had gone to a store that did carry it.

Terasa> Yes.

Amanda> Do you mix it with something or do you just make- Terasa> Strawberry rhubarb is my favorite, but you can mix it with almost anything.

Amanda> I've never had a... you'll have to bring me a piece sometime, I've never had rhubarb pie.

Terasa> I will do that.

Rhubarb has been used, actually, as well in jams, not necessarily for its flavor, but because, you can mix it in, in small quantities, and it doesn't change the taste if you use it in a small quantity.

And then it's sort of, you know, makes your, your other product go further.

Amanda> Okay.

Carmen> Deepens the flavor, I love that.

Amanda> I think now... palmetto trees though I think are different because they're not trees, they're grasses.

And I think that you want to put them in at the end of the spring, in springtime.

Is that right?

Brad> You can certainly plant those during the spring, and I used to be in the landscaping industry, and so, you know, we would do things at all times of the year because that's when the customer was paying us to do things.

And so a lot of things can be done.

It's just depends on how much work you want to have to do on the back end.

Are you installing in that irrigation system so you're not having to hand water.

Are you willing to maybe lose a few things if it, you know, you get a really bad drought and it gets really hot and stuff, but there are some things, that can that can be done at other times, for sure.

Amanda> Goodness gracious, and then, Terasa, when people have a commercial site or, you know, where they had to get a license from the city or the county or wherever, in order to have the final inspection, they often have to have a tree of a certain size planted there.

And there's a nurseryman here in Sumter who's told me he's had to send these 2,000 dollar trees in the middle of July, and he knows they gonna die, because there's no way in the world, that, that person is going to keep that tree alive but, they can't get the lights cut on until they do that, and, Terasa> Yeah, especially with trees, you're right, so sometimes people want kind of the instant gratification, so they, they will opt for a larger size tree when, the larger is, the harder it's going to be for it to get established.

It's such a traumatic experience for it to be uprooted, brought to your house, put somewhere new.

So really, you are better off going with something smaller and just give it a little bit of time, and if you did a side by side, you would probably see the smaller tree actually outgrows the larger one.

Amanda> Paul Thompson really likes to talk about trees, and he's told us that.

He's also told us, a lot of people want to neaten them up.

And he said the side branches that eventually, you know, you wouldn't want to have on there, but that, that makes the trunk... thicker there, is that correct?

I think it's what he's been telling us, and so you want to have a nice strong trunk down below that... that's where if it's got leaves, that's where those carbohydrates are being concentrated and will help it have a good strong trunk, which I thought was very interesting to find out.

So don't be so tidy sometimes, which is not hard for me to do, but.

(laughing) Okay.

Well, it was so... John came a while back, Dr. John Nelson, and I ran around town and found, things for him to stay and talk about that were interesting to me, because he always has such interesting knowledge that's far beyond anything I know, and so we're going to talk about Magnolias.

Dr. John Nelson is down visiting, and we're talking about one of the favorite flowers of the south, this time of year, which this is Magnolia grandiflora.

Dr. John> Correct.

Amanda> And there are a lot of native, magnolias.

Dr. John> There are good many in the south east, some of them are deciduous, and then this one is an evergreen, Amanda> And I mean, if you have a wedding or any kind of fancy thing going on, you need to get magnolia leaves, and put them in the fireplace at Christmas because they're so beautiful.

Dr. John> Oh, yeah.

Amanda> But I think this one is a cultivar that's been selected because it has much smaller leaves.

They're really glossy.

And the back of the leaf, can you show them what the back looks like?

Dr. John> Sure.

The back of the leaf is very, ruddy or brownish or tan or one of those good words, and sometimes very strikingly so that you can see that they're- Amanda> -That one there.

Dr. John> And they're fuzzy, and the reason that these, all of this color is down here is because of these lots and lots of little teeny hairs that are even eventually, that color.

Amanda> So, I mean, it's just beautiful all the time, but then when they bloom, Magnolia, is just about the best smell, one of the best smelling things in the world.

And it's got a it's not just sweet, sweet like gardenias.

Dr. John> No, it's a more, to me, It's a...

I'll never forget smelling these things when I was a kid.

I'm thinking, wow, what a complicated smell.

Amanda> Yeah Dr. John> but sort of, lemony, lemony- Amanda> a little citrusy Dr. John> sometimes very strongly lemony.

And a little goes a long way, but... Well, let's look at this bud real fast.

Amanda> Okay Dr. John> So this is the bud of the same cultivar plant, and of course, you know, it's got all these little beautiful white parts that are sort of surrounded by little parts that aren't quite as white.

But if, if we were going to take this apart, might be like peeling a...

I don't know, a Chinese puzzle-(laughs) Amanda> a tangerine Dr. John> But anyway, all the innards are inside this bud, and I guess we're like, cut to the chase here and, see that this, unopened flower, let's see, Does it have a smell, yet?

I mean, the bud.

Amanda> Yeah.

Little bit, Dr. John>a little bit, sort of... pine Amanda> Yeah, but not as strong as you often think of Magnolias having Dr. John>So this is the unopened flower, and you can see that it's got all these parts, lots of parts.

And remember, now the, viewers will remember that this is the bud, so this is a very, very young aspect of what's going on with the flower.

So down here at the base of the flower will be, several dozen stamens.

And these, of course, these are where the pollen is going to be produced- Amanda> the male flower parts, Dr. John> the male flower parts.

And these are actually what botanists call rather primitive.

Amanda> This is a very early flower.

Dr. John> These are very early in the, in the fossil record for plants, and the stamen bases are sort of reddish.

They look almost like, like little matches somehow.

And then the pollen producing parts are what take up most of the length of- Amanda> This part up here.

Dr. John> Right.

And, of course...remember now, this was in the bud.

So this is not really doing its thing yet as far as pollinators or whatever visitors.

So then we, let's leave that alone for a minute, and take a look at the fully open flower.

And of course, remember, now, Amanda> I'm gonna pull this back so they can see it, if that's ok. Dr. John> Right, that, this is, considerably smaller than what we find.

the regular, the regular species.

This is a name variety of Magnolia grandiflora, and, you can see that it's basically the same as that bud, except now the flower parts, which we call tepals are all spread out, and that the stamens are doing their thing, splitting open, and they're releasing their pollen.

And also within Magnolia, the female parts of the flower, are what make up the rest of this cone like affair.

And you can actually see the stigmatic portions of the pistol way up at the top.

You know, in contrast to- Amanda> You usually get the male flower parts sometimes on a separate structure, sometimes on another as a separate... sometimes on a whole nother plant.

But here it's just this was early evolutionary and it's kind of all on the same structure.

Dr. John> Yeah.

All the... flower parts are together, lots of flower parts and very little fusion.

Amanda> Now... this has been fascinating to me when I learned about it, and they said that magnolias are so early in the process of flowering plants that it was before we had pollinating bees and that they were, they're pollinated by, beetles, that kind of climb in while the flower is still closed- Dr. John> -or barely opened.

Amanda> Yeah, and bumble around Dr. John> and just go crazy with the smell and just... how happy they are.

Amanda> And at that point, maybe the pollen is, is ready.

And so the pollen on this part is not ready to be fertilized Dr. John> The female part won't be ready.

Amanda> And then they go to another plant and kind of climb into it and bumble around and hopefully cross-pollinate.

Dr. John> Right, because by that time, if it's a slightly older flower, that older flower probably won't have any, any pollen left, but the female parts will be receptive to the pollen from the first flower.

Amanda> And then when they do decide to make fruits, I guess this is a... when it's finished.

Kind of sort of.

Dr. John> Yeah.

This is.

sort of like..it's like a time machine.

Amanda> And again, this is the just a straight species and you can see it, still has hairs on the back, but they're not pretty.

Dr. John> Well they're kind of pretty well (laughs) Amanda> To a botanist.

Dr. John> So that cone that we were talking about is right before us.

No problem.

Seeing that.

And I can still see where the scars are where the stamens used to be at the bottom.

And they leave a very characteristic scars there.

And then you can see that the female parts, each one of these was actually a separate pistil.

Amanda> Wow.

Dr. John> What we're going to do is cut it open just for fun Amanda> the section.

Dr. John> Because we have a pair of snippers here.

Why not?

(laughs) Amanda> Don't cut your finger.

Dr. John> Oh boy, that would be...a trip.

And then... Do this kind of thing.

Amanda> Pull it apart.

Dr. John> And it's not real impressive, but you sort of get the idea that there's a lot of stuff going on in here.

And these separate pistils are, adhering together.

So this is actually a cone of pistils.

Amanda> Wow.

Dr. John> It's although it is one single flower that's making this whole thing up.

Amanda> Okay.

Dr. John> You know, and it is fragrant.

It's got a sort of a piney smell.

Amanda> Good.

Yeah... Now then, later on, there are these little thread like things with a red fruit on it or.

Dr. John> Well, this is these, each one of these, again, each one of these, pistils develops into a single fruit.

And we call each one of these little fruit, they're not ripe, right now- Amanda> Pistils are the female part of the flower?

Dr. John> Right, but the ovary of that pistil is going to develop into what we call a little follicle.

A follicle splits open when it's ready to, when...one seed inside, and these are not ready.

Amanda> Yeah.

Dr. John> But when it... that'll happen in the fall and when the seed is ready, is mature.

What usually happens is that each one of these little follicles will split open, and the seed will dangle out on a little thread and the seed will be bright, bright red.

Amanda> It's like somebody left pie out on the table, and you go in the middle of the night, you're hungry because the birds are going to come along and say, "Boy, this is really eye catching."

We...suppose that.

Dr. John> Well, and it seems to make sense because birds really do like to chomp down on the seeds- Amanda> I don't know if they were here as early as the Magnolias, you know.

Who knows.

Dr. John> Or something else.

Amanda> Something else could come out and get them Dr. John> Anyway, so that's the way, Magnolia grandiflora does it Amanda> and if you want one, I would go to a nursery and find one that's a named species.

And I...

I like the brown back.

And if you don't, one... that's a, don't want one that's a million feet tall, you can get one of the shorter varieties.

Dr. John> Yeah, that would make sense if you have a limited amount of space.

Amanda> Yeah.

Okay.

Well, I'm sure it's a state flower somewhere.

It's not here, but.

Dr. John> And all those other southeastern states, Amanda> I'm sure everybody loves, loves magnolias.

Well, thanks so much, John.

Dr. John> It's been fun.

Amanda> I learned so much from Dr. John.

I hope that you enjoyed some of that information as well.

Well, Terasa, what do you think?

Terasa> I think we're going to try to answer Brett's question in Ruffin.

He said, what are all these cracks in my tomatoes?

And I know I have experienced this, but, what can we tell Brett?

Amanda> Gosh.

It looks like you're prepared to answer this one.

Zack> I'm ready.

I went and harvested some, tomatoes that had cracks because, and the reason we're seeing these cracks, is because we went so long without water.

And then in this particular area, we got 3 and a half inches of rain very, very quickly.

Amanda> Whoa!

Zack> So we had a lot of uptake of that water by the plant, then put it into the fruit, and the fruit just could not keep up with it.

And so you get these cracks.

And so, this is a Cherokee purple.

Amanda> So the...skin, I mean, the exterior of the fruit just couldn't... Zack> just couldn't hold it in.

Amanda> Oh!

Zack> So, you know, about an inch a week is what we say for fruit production.

And so when you go for so long without water and then you get just a deluge of water, then it's going to take it up and split, and so you'll get these, radial cracks that go around like this.

Amanda> Yes.

Zack> Those typically will hold together and they'll kind of scar over and it's ugly, but you can still eat it.

This one kind of got smashed on the way here, so it kind of looks ugly.

But, what you don't want is when they get these type cracks, these vertical cracks, when they split, because insects, gnats, fruit flies.

Amanda> Yeah.

Zack> Things get in there.

And this one you can see some, some opportunistic fungi have started getting in there.

So you can cut that out, but- Amanda> -you might as well go ahead, Take that off and discard it.

Zack> Yeah.

And so in this field it was probably a three acre field.

And just about every tomato on the plant had busted.

Amanda> Oh I hate that for the grower.

Zack> Yeah.

So that happens in tomatoes, and then when you, when you do eggplant you know you get cool designs, Amanda> What!

Zack> with eggplant.

(Amanda laughs) Terasa> That might have had some human help in there.

Zack> Maybe, maybe.

(Amanda laughs) Amanda> They're in the same family, Terasa.

Zack> Yeah.

So it's like a family, so.

Oh, that's.

Yeah.

You can see it with eggplant.

My grandpa was a woodcarver.

so he'd be probably disappointed.

The the roughness of this one.

Amanda>I think Mother Nature did a good job with those cracks.

Zack> Yeah.

So, Amanda> So, the eggplant have some of the same problems as tomatoes?

Zack> They don't crack as much, but certain varieties, especially the smaller varieties, they'll crack, as well.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, that was really fun.

Thank you.

So hold that up again.

Zack> Yeah.

There we go.

Amanda> And you can have him wave goodbye because it's time to say goodbye.

Thank you.

We hope we'll see you next week.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

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

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

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

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