Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina is a cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to help consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

The Boyd Foundation supporting outdoor recreational opportunities, the appreciation of wildlife, educational programs and enhancing the quality of life in Columbia, South Carolina and the Midlands at large.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina.

Family owned and operated since 1916.

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

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

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

We're so glad that you can join us tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty.

I'm a Clemson Extension agent and I get to come over here and have continuing education with all the smart people who come with, who could remember all the things that we all learned one time at that wonderful horticulture program at Clemson.

Terasa Lott is the Master Gardener coordinator and the co-host of our show.

And we thank you so much for coming and being with us.

As always, you bring such wonderful things to us.

<Terasa> Oh, thank you, Amanda.

It is certainly my pleasure to be a part of Making It Grow.

It really is continuing education, like you said, and I learn something new all the time.

I think we really should strive to learn something new every day.

<Amanda> I think that's a wonderful thing, and then we should try to remember it.

<Terasa> That is the tricky part.

<Amanda> (laughing) Carmen Ketron you are the horticulture agent over in Florence.

Do you have other counties as well?

If you get - Florence is so big.

<Carmen> Florence is big and we do Darlington, as well, and then I'll help out all around the Pee Dee for any home horticulture needs.

<Amanda> Well, you sure do help us out and we are delighted when you come.

Thank you so much.

And that beautiful smile that you bring too.

Always, it's just a great pleasure and Davis Sanders comes down from South Pleasantburg Nursery on the banks of the Reedy River up there in Greenville and you have been doing horticulture for a long, long time now.

<Davis> Yeah, I've been in one form or another in the business for about 43 years now.

<Amanda> And I feel like because not only are you involved in the retail aspect, but you actually do on your own, small things for clients, and that really does keep you current, because then you got to, when they have a problem, you got to research and find the most up to date ways that are approved to deal with the problem, don't you?

<Davis> That's true and now it seems like every month or so, I present a solution and find out I can't do it anymore.

So you've got to be very careful.

<Amanda> And occasionally you've sent us to wonderful places.

Send us to another wonderful place.

<Davis> Okay.

I've actually contacted a couple ... of our customers and haven't gotten an answer back from either one of them, but <Amanda> Well, pest them.

<Davis> I will.

<Amanda> Okay, thank you.

(laughs) Terasa, can we start off with some of those beautiful gardens of the week, the people who go out and actually at least have one part of the yard that they're willing to share with us.

<Terasa> I would love to show the gardens of the week.

Such a fun aspect of the show.

It's sort of like a virtual field trip when we get to see what you're doing in your yards, gardens, or perhaps with your indoor plants.

So let's take a look.

We begin today with Louise Cromer who has an indoor arrangement containing a ponytail palm, an Autumn Fern, Pothos and a bromeliad in a glass container.

From Becky Cribb, a prayer plant being grown under artificial light.

A container of pansies was shared by Melody Pedings and she said that was her late father's favorite.

One of the things I love about plants is that they do hold dear memories.

From Rachel Gaines, bright yellow daffodils from the home of her twin sister in Camden.

A forsythia flowering in Lugoff was shared by Marie Johnston, and we wrap up with Pam Rivers who also shared daffodils but these have orange rimmed cups and come to us from Wingate, North Carolina.

Thanks everyone for sharing your photos.

Make sure you visit our Facebook page and see all of the other submissions and don't be shy when we post our call for gardens of the week.

Be sure to post your photos right there in the comments.

<Amanda> Melody Pedings is from I guess, Melody has a Fort Motte address.

Her father was the greeter at the church that we attended, and just the kindest, dearest man in the world.

<Terasa> Oh, how neat.

I had no idea that you knew her.

<Amanda> Yeah, and her little her daughter, Samantha was a year older than Lille and adopted Lille as her own baby doll (laughing) I have wonderful memories of the Peding families, a really lovely family and that was thank you for reminding me of her father, who I've enjoyed seeing on Sunday mornings.

<Terasa> Aww.

<Amanda> At any rate, we're going to have some fun things for you today, we're going to Humble Acres down in Blackville, where they are producing a particularly good form of compost that you will enjoy learning about and perhaps want to use some, and then the South Carolina certified South Carolina showcase we'll show you when we went a year or two ago, and this year it's coming up.

If you get a chance to go, you'll certainly want to do that.

There are just all kinds of wonderful things to taste and to learn about at the same time.

All righty.

Well, I think you've probably got some questions for us.

<Terasa> I sure do.

You know, people reach out with all sorts of questions.

Sometimes they have sort of mysteries, they'd like us to solve, problems, advice.

We're going to see if we can help Harriette in Finklea.

She said, I have these mounds that appear around this time of year for a few months, but then they go away.

I put down mole cricket granules to kill them, but they just come back.

What can I do?

<Amanda> Hmm.

Well, Carmen, I think the first thing we should do before we put out poisons or control methods is be sure that we're targeting the right animal or, organism.

Isn't that correct?

Because otherwise, we might just be putting out things indiscriminately, and perhaps harming a perfectly innocent bystander.

<Carmen> Exactly, and to people who don't care so much about the animals, wasting a lot of money.

So what we started with is, you want to identify it.

And that's by observing, digging it up, maybe digging around, sometimes you can do a float test where you can actually flood out whatever the animal is, but determining what it is, is going to be the key in any thing you would call a pest, whether it be an animal, a weed, a disease, and then kind of looking at the habitat.

So kind of identify the picture that Ms. Harriette provided really gives a lot of really great clues.

It's got minimal vegetation.

It is after I called her south facing.

So it's a sunny area in a sunny location.

And unlike the mole crickets, when you dig it up, it didn't really have any area around it, to see some type of a path through the dirt, which is a good indication that it's actually solitary bees.

So after I called Ms. Harriette, and I told her well, have you sat with them and kind of observed them.

She goes, actually, there were bees popping out of there.

There's not a ton of them, but they just come on up and so that was a great way that she got to do some citizen science and observe that they're solitary bees.

<Amanda> And we need to worry about solitary bees?

<Carmen> No, not, not normally.

It's not like a ground hornet or anything like that.

Honestly, the ones that are hanging around outside are usually the males looking for a nice lady who's in there, and they don't sting, like you would worry about a, like, the ground hornets.

That's my best example.

<Amanda> Yellow Jackets.

<Carmen> Exactly.

Yeah.

And so if you're not real sure, on your bee biology or your insect biology, I would keep a safe distance, but these guys are fabulous pollinators <Amanda> And if I'm not mistaken, the female collects insects and paralyzes them, and then puts them in there and lays the egg on them and she makes a chamber, doesn't she?

And I think that she puts the females towards the back, because there's no point in the female coming out looking for a date, and then nobody's there.

So the males come out first and that's why they're just going buzz, where is my girl, I'm waiting for her.

<Carmen> Exactly.

<Amanda> I've got my bouquet ready for her.

<Carmen> It's way better than those dating apps.

I think.

So it works out, but if they didn't want them.

If they were absolutely against it, there are other ways that are non chemical to kind of make the environment a little bit less hospitable.

<Amanda> What would you suggest?

<Carmen> Well, they don't like a lot of dense turf.

So if they could go through, kind of till up the area and lay down either grass or sod, a nice dense turf and vegetation isn't their ideal area.

They want something that is open no grass around.

So, resodding is really a great option as well as over irrigating the area so that you're kind of flooding them out.

<Amanda> Why not just say that they're fascinating to go out there and watch them.

And I have seen them at times in areas that had a good bit of leaf litter.

So I guess it depends from species to species exactly what they want.

<Carmen> Exactly.

A lot of people will - will let them over winter in the leaf litter so that they have a nice area.

Now a lot of the times some of the leaf clutter bees, they're going to be in and around that area in smaller pockets of open stems of plants, things like that.

So they got all sorts of habitats.

<Amanda> Okay, cool.

Thank you so very much All righty.

Terasa.

What's up?

<Terasa> Well, this one is more of a suggestion not really a problem.

Gail from Taylors sent in a message.

She said has Making It Grow ever featured hellebores?

I would like to know more about them.

<Amanda> Goodness, well, I've been doing this for a long time and it seems like we've talked about lots of stuff, but you know, it's always good to refresh, isn't it?

<Terasa> Oh, yes.

<Amanda> Davis, I think that we're going to have a refresh and also, today's hellebores are not your grandmother's hellebores.

<Davis> It just so happens that I did bring a few with me.

It's a great time of year.

We're getting toward the end of the season.

>> All righty, <Davis> Which is not necessarily a bad thing, because we got to make room for all those beautiful spring flowers coming through.

But there's very little that's going to give you the duration of color and the variation of color.

<Amanda> And fits such an unusual spot.

It's sometimes hard to find things to grow in.

<Davis> Exactly, a lot of people use - And dry shade, And they can tolerate a little bit of moisture as long as it drains quickly.

<Amanda> Yeah..

They used to look down and see if their shoelace was untied all the time.

<Davis> And with hybridization and then propagation by tissue culture we've been able to find a whole lot of different varieties.

Some of them like this one right here, the flowers actually look up at the sky.

Some of them do maintain the knotting aspect and then others are more like a little periscope just up and looking around.

<Amanda> Isn't that fun!

<Davis> It used to be that you had three choices with hellebores.

You had the Helleborus Niger, which is the Christmas rose.

You had the Helleborus Orientalis which is the Lenten rose, blooms a little bit later.

<Amanda> That is the one I think most of us had.

<Davis> Right.

And then there was the unfortunately the named stinking hellebore, Helleborus foetidus.

<Amanda> But you had to get down on your knees if you even watered, because they are not very tall, so it's not a problem.

<Davis> Yeah, but with the new, the new hybrids ... you get a lot of variation in color, a lot of variation in growth habit, even variegated leaves, modeled leaves now, which I didn't have any of those to bring this time.

<Amanda> But that would really extend the time of interest wouldn't it.

<Davis> Definitely.

<Amanda> And then the flowers tend even after they bloom tend to remain on for a good while still looking quite interesting.

<Davis> I had a customer who had one hellebore, it was actually one of the species that one plant was in bloom for almost five months in the winter.

<Amanda> My word in heavens.

<Davis> Came into bloom in December and it was still blooming by the end of April.

<Amanda> I like to have cut flowers and of course there's not much, but I've noticed if they're still in the floral kind of active aspect, they don't hold up.

But once they set, start setting the seed pods, they cut fine and you can use them then So it's even fun to have from that aspect.

You can go out there and get something and have it on the kitchen table, and they're really just the right size for that.

<Davis> Exactly.

<Amanda> Okay, well now, so just almost I mean carefree just about.

Maybe divide them but I haven't divided mine and they've been there for 30 years.

<Davis> Well, the hybrids aren't as aggressive as the species.

They are not going to self seed all over the place.

The species does need to be periodically dug up and divided unless you want an entire landscape of hellebores, and that's really not necessarily a bad thing.

Only thing that you do want to keep in mind is to keep them thinned out, because over the last few years, we have seen a few incidences of what's been called the hellebore black death, which is still kind of a mystery.

We think that it's viral, but it doesn't seem to persist in the soil.

<Amanda> So that's good.

>> If you ever see a dark mass or a darkening of the stems and lower stems that seems to be creeping up and turning the foliage black.

Dig out those plants as much as possible.

Replace a little bit of fresh soil but don't replant anything in that area for a year or so.

It seems to do fine.

<Amanda> All right.

Well, that was lots of fun.

And it's so amazing what people do now with breeding and tissue culture, and that keeps that makes it available to people so fast because you don't have to go through all the long, long periods of growing everything out and seeing what you got.

Thank you.

<Davis> You're welcome.

>> Okay, we had a wonderful visit down to Blackville, which always means you get to eat at that wonderful Mennonite restaurant, and we visited Humble Acres and you are going to really enjoy this wonderfully integrated farm and how they're using all the products on the farm to make it sustainable.

♪ music ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I'm in Blackville, South Carolina at Humble Acres Farm, speaking with Tim McCormick.

Tim, y'all in this area, there are a lot of people who produce eggs, which are then sent to become the chickens that we enjoy so much, and so that means you've got I think 40,000 hens are in there just laying eggs right and left, because of that, you had chicken manure.

<Tim> That's right, Amanda.

We started off with just the chickens and we can only get at the manure once a year because it has a raised floor in it, and then it doesn't spread as good as some of the other manures because there's not a lot of organics in it.

So we started studying composting and as a way of, we chose to do a value added compost and that means you really get your carbon and nitrogen ratio right and then you blend it up and we have a turning machine to keep the get oxygen in the rows.

And once we do that, we start making compost.

It takes...about 90 days.

<Amanda> And it says I can't believe it's chicken manure compost because there are a lot of compost in the market and yours has been given the name of exceptional compost by DHEC, but besides that, let's just talk about the benefits of compost in a garden, or to use as top dressing on your grass, or even one of your products is a potting soil.

So, what are the wonderful things about compost when you add that to our soils?

<Tim> Really compost you know we first of all, we make it into humans where it looks like soil and there's no smell, and when you add that to your garden, it takes two or three years to get all the value out of it.

You get a 60-30-10.

You get 60% of the good the first year, 30 the second, and 10% the last.

So it extends the life and grabs hold of water, as you irrigate, or it rains, it grabs that moisture, and then it just lets it go as it turns dry.

and the fertility is a nitrate.

So the ammonia in the chicken manure, which would be a root burning issue that has been converted to organic form of nitric called the nitrate and it takes a little time to get that done.

<Amanda> Also soil structure is so critical to a healthy environment for our plants, most of what happens is below the soil, and as you said, it increases organic matter, but the soil structure means that it makes little aggregates and so that it's real important for air to move into the soil, and also that means that it's easier for the for the rain or anything to go into the soil.

It just and it's easier for the roots to work also in the soil, so there's just so many benefits.

<Tim> And as well it brings the microbiology community, you know, the same microbiology to break things down, produces some that produce nitrogen has millions of them, and it is bringing that with it as a benefit to whatever plant it is affiliated with.

<Amanda> I know that you're one of your son in laws, who does row cropping here, just does strip tilling and is really using cover crops which is all increasing the organic matter of soil and you've made it easy for us to do that at our house.

And so there are two size bags here that say organic compost, and I think the same thing is in both of them.

<Tim> You're right?

Blooming EZ was our first bag.

When we first put our bag together one of my daughter says Pop, it's just blooming easy to grow flowers in your compost, and so we chose that as our first name.

It was a smaller bag, we figured it was going toward high end market.

And so you know, <Amanda> Easier for people like me to put it in the car and get out.

<Tim> Pick up.

<Amanda> This third one here is for people who want to have beautiful flowers around their house and pots.

<Tim> Right.

We made a potting soil.

We've been making it about three years and we've been continually trying to improve it and so it's is 50% percent compost, 40% pine bark finds and 10% perlite and it'll hold the water and it reduces the watering needs.

Fertility will last you for two or three years a pot, and you know, if you water it too much you water the good stuff away.

You wash it out.

<Amanda> And tell me what your wife said.

>> My wife said she could extend the watering around the pool in pots in 100 degree weather to about twice a week.

where routinely you were watering it every day.

<Amanda> Yeah, You've got this chicken manure, which is about 30% of these products to compost.

And then you have to have a lot of carbon to offset that.

Like, it's 30 parts carbon to one part nitrogen.

And so tell me, you source your carbon from many different places.

<Tim> Yeah, that was my biggest learning curve.

When we started composting was the amount of carbon we really needed.

We thought we blow last straw in it and that would do it.

But that didn't change anything.

And so you have to cut it to 30 carbon 30 parts, you have to have 30 carbons, and one nitrogen.

The manure is the nitrogen.

So you got to have three times the carbon.

So we source wood ash from power plant that burns wood for Santee Cooper.

And so we get some of that.

We use saw dust.

We use some straw that comes off of farms usually is stuff that the cattle don't want, and we use some paper.

And can get paper and we have had some coffee beans.

<Amanda> And then so you've got this manure and you've got this carbon, and we want to turn it into compost.

So, how in the world are we going to do that?

<Tim> Well, you got to do a calculation on the sheet first.

So you know what per yard each each product is a carbon/ nitrogen ratio.

We got a book that tells us that.

<Amanda> So you going to mix those together?

<Tim> We're going to make them together.

So I come up with - I calculated on paper that I need one bucket of manure, that's maybe two yards and a three yard bucket of this kind of carbon and a three yard bucket of this kind of carbon.

I call it a bucket, that's a tractor (Amanda laughs) a loader bucket, not a 5 gallon bucket, but we calculate it in yards.

And then I give the recipe to my son in law or one of the guys that worked for us and they go out there and start laying it in wind row by that recipe.

<Amanda> Then you've got to mix it and it has to go through a pretty strong heat to kill the things that you don't want in there, weed seeds or other things like that, and some of the pathogens, and there's a certain art to having that happen.

<Tim> Right, we bought a compost turner.

That means we can turn that row upside down and it'll mix it, and we have to first of all, as we get it in the road, and we then we blend it up and we have to get the moisture to 50%.

Sometimes we have to add water, but in the last few years, we hadn't had to add water.

And so the first two weeks after we got it blended and gotten the moisture there, then we're in the high heat stage or what they call incipient stage, and it's 130, got to get it over 131 degrees for those two weeks, but you got to realize that's a core in the middle of the bed, that's maybe within six inches of the outside, and so we have to turn that five times in that two weeks to fold that wasn't 130 into the center.

In that time, that two week time, every bit of the product in there, got over 131 degrees to kill all the weed seed, and any other thing that's not wanted, and we do aerobic composting, that means we're putting oxygen in there by doing a turning.

And then so anaerobes like salmonella's and those sorts of things cannot live in an oxygenated environment.

So we have to turn it often enough to keep that oxygen inside that wind row.

<Amanda> Then you're going to keep on turning it and we've killed all the paths, all the microorganisms, many of which are beneficial, and you are real careful about your topsoil, and so you've got this nice warm place that's very friable and easy to move up to and I think those beneficial microorganisms are just saying, Hey, this is a nice place for me to get in.

<Tim> We do that in two ways.

One way is that some of them come out of the ground.

We're working on top of topsoil, and another way is when we screen our compost, then some larger particles or some will come out and we will take that and put it back into wind rows to inoculate and bring some more.

Bring those, let those bacteria begin to increase <Amanda> Because it is living product.

Mainly, that's right.

<Amanda> Yeah, and a living soil is what, that's where all the action has taken place in that living soil.

<Tim> Right.

It's kind of like a soil has been laid out for a long time and has, the top has folded down and has kind of grown over it and built that.

That was original agriculture, an original part of agriculture was just leaving the soil alone for so many years and then working it.

<Amanda> leaving fields fallow, but then also to get it bagged up and be sure that it doesn't have anything in it for the for the customers.

Do you have to screen it?

And then what are you do you do to get it ...in the bags?

<Tim> Yeah, we screen everything to three eighths of an inch, <Amanda> which is why it's so nice to work with in my hands.

<Tim> That's really small, that's really small, and people like it, because it'll spread well.

and now we try to get it dried down to 35%.

You can never get it hardly less than that, because it's going to suck up more every time it rains, but we've gone from 50 to 35, screen it, we also have a shredder if we need to that can just break up a ball and if it gets rained on and then we have a bagger, and we can drop it in there and it weighs these bags, and we got to sealer but you can see all this was stacked by hand.

(laughing) <Amanda> So here we are with five generations of your family involved in farming and it looks like you're going to go forward with this, this property is going to stay in agriculture and provide all these benefits to the natural resources, animals and all that use it.

And also, it's a product that we can use in our home gardens and find that we can reduce our water needs and our fertility needs.

It's just all around a win-win.

Thank you so much.

<Tim> Thank you too, Amanda we enjoy seeing people smile with the products we can make.

♪ music ♪ ♪ ♪ <Amanda> We had a wonderful time down there learning of course, Terasa, what comes first the chicken or the egg?

<Terasa> The world may never know.

You need - You need each one.

<Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

But it was interesting to learn about that aspect of poultry production, which is such a big industry in South Carolina.

I thought that was fascinating.

And all the way that they found ways to integrate and use everything from the farm.

They had several children who were working on the farm.

It's really a family operation, which is kind of that was the traditional way and I'm so glad that they found a way to continue that.

That was fun.

So hats, hats, hats, hats, hats, shoe button spirea, which is the white flower on this and you should see the floor behind me because I adore shoe button spirea, but it just shatters like that.

And of course, its named shoe button.

And I have at times brought the tool from that old fashioned thing my mother brought me in because you had to instead of just slipping your shoes on and then nowadays people just wear flip flops.

I don't wear flip flops.

But anyway, back then you had to use this tool to button the shoes, the buttons on your shoes so that your shoes would stay on.

That was fun.

And then I have a linaria, which is the blue, very small flower and that's one that you find in the fields right now, and they're now you can find linaria cultivars that are sold to seeds that apparently are very easy to grow in the garden.

And if it goes in the field, perhaps I can grow at my garden I don't know I've seem to have lost whatever green thumb I once had.

And then I've got also a little bit of flowering crab apple in it which is so beautiful this time of year.

And Terasa because there's so many cedar trees around me I always get Cedar apple rust on the foliage but I just don't worry about it.

I don't get to harvest many fruits and make crab apple jelly but there are plenty of jellies for sale.

And I'm trying not to eat so much jelly on my toast anyway.

So it was fun to be making a hat again but the linaria I do think is quite lovely and a beautiful little blue color.

And again, all these things are so nice for the things that are looking for pollen right now too, don't you think?

<Terasa> That's right.

<Amanda> So...

I will have to get the broom and sweep up afterwards.

<Terasa> It looks like it snowed on the floor.

<Amanda> And you said it when I was shaking my head stuff was coming out too.

(laughing) Well, what have you got for us now?

<Terasa> Camellias are a popular plant in our southern landscapes but Mandy in Andrews is having a problem.

She said she has two of her mother's camellias that are not flowering And have spots on their leaves.

And she'd like to know what is it And what should she do?

<Amanda> Well, we know that tea scale is the common thing we fight with camellias, but there's something else that's now problematic.

Can you tell us a little bit about it please, Carmen?

<Carmen> Sure.

I actually got her to say send me a number of samples because pictures are worth 1000 words.

And it actually turned out that she has two different problems.

So one of the big ones we end up with first is here on our Camellias, it ends up being, you start to see the discoloration on the top, it always, that's a good indication of scale, oddly enough.

Most people would sit there and think that it was some type of disease, but as soon as you turn them over on the back, you can actually start to see the little scale insects.

And that's always problematic, especially Camellias, magnolias any of that.

It's very probably, it's an insect too.

I was telling my mother about it and she goes, I don't even know what that is.

So a lot of people don't understand that scale is actually an insect that you have to keep an eye out for, but it doesn't look like an insect because it only crawls around every so often.

<Amanda> So the female settles in and makes a protective shell over herself.

I think, in this case.

There are different kinds of scale, is that correct?

<Carmen> Yes.

<Amanda> - a scale on Camellias, and fortunately, I mean, I've ridden by places in the country Davis where no one's lived for, you know, 50 years and there'll be beautiful Camellias there and generally, is not overwhelming to the plant.

Is that correct?

<Carmen> Yes, it very much.

It can be very livable.

It's not so much a problem, especially a lot of the times other insects will come and predate them.

So it should be fun in nature.

If something is happening to where it gets very bad, a lot of people can do a number of different things, including better sanitation.

I know breaking up the leaves, sounds like a big old chore, but it can really go to helping.

Additionally, a lot of people will use a horticulture oil during the crawler stage.

So what some what will end up happening is when that mother lays those eggs, they'll come out and they'll crawl, just a little bit onto the rest of the leaf.

But when it's in that crawler stage, you can actually use some type of a supplicant to suffocate the crawlers.

<Amanda> If you did have a severe problem, is there a systemic that you could use in certain situations?

<Carmen> Yes, you always want to make sure because scale insects work on a lot of different plants.

You want to check what plant you have, but a number of different chemicals can be used, but dinotefuran is probably the most ideal, where you can put it out around the plant, they'll just soak it right up, and it'll take care of it.

And that's especially important, like Ms Mandy was telling me, her Camellias are big.

She can't go around spraying all the time.

<Amanda> Well, one thing you can do is limb them up.

And that makes a huge difference.

When I go and look at the camellias in my yard, And you know, some of them are probably 100 years old.

The lower limbs seem to be much more affected by the scale than the upper ones, and so if you can, it's pretty easy to take the lower limbs off.

So there you go.

<Carmen> Yep, pruning them up air, letting airflow come through is always important.

<Amanda> There's a secondary aspect of something that she had also.

<Carmen> Yes.

So then on another plant, we found some algal leaf spot, and this one, you were kind enough to bring in some of yours on your magnolia also, any type of nice waxy leaf, the algal leaf spot can definitely get in there, especially like you were saying, if it is overgrown.

It's kind of wild that you have a parasitic algae.

<Amanda> I think it's the only one.

<Carmen> Really, it's kind of fun.

<Amanda> Hold that one up a little bit more.

<Carmen> Yeah.

This is a good one.

This is a good example.

You're just looking for some of the spotting that's usually slightly raised.

<Amanda> Can you show it on the magnolia leaf too?

<Carmen> Oh, yeah.

<Amanda> You can really see it on that one.

<Carmen> Here we go.

<Amanda> Thank you, Carmen.

<Carmen> This is a beautiful, a beautiful, specimen.

(laughing) Unfortunately, so most of the problem that you work with is aesthetically it's an issue until it gets into the twigs and branches.

So sometimes it can actually enter in a wound on a branch.

And that's when it can start to girdle the twigs and actually kill the branches, but here it's more of an aesthetic problem.

<Amanda> I can't make Christmas trees anymore.

So I just, I go to California and visit my children in Los Angeles And don't worry about Christmas leaves.

And I don't believe Davis in the Upstate, it's become a very widespread problem.

I think y'all have been fortunate up there so far.

<Davis> I think a lot of it might have to do with the variation in temperatures.

We do see it kind of frequently on camellias but not so much on the magnolias and when we are confronted with our advice is usually just like you said, provide good to air circulation, particularly when we've had long, cool damp seasons, in either early winter or mid spring, when we do tend to have a combination of wet weather and cool temperatures.

Looming them up is always a good one, but usually what we tell people is it's not going to kill the plant.

It just doesn't make it beautiful.

Don't worry about it unless you really need to get out there and pick the leaves.

<Amanda> Terasa, our friend, Kevin Parrish, who, used to we were so lucky when he and Jay would come down from Spartanburg Community College.

you know, and he's a magnolia expert worldwide, And has a magnolia name for his mother Kay Parish, which is a Magnolia grandiflora wood cultivar, and he keeps his magnolias every year he cuts them back to the trunk and keeps them about six feet tall, and so he always has wonderful, gorgeous foliage.

And apparently Magnolias are perfectly happy being treated that way.

<Terasa> Just caution to our viewers that not all trees are going to be able to handle that type of pruning and, you know, to make sure that if they're interested in trying something like that, that they contact a certified arborist or reach out to their local extension office for proper, proper pruning advice before accidentally causing the demise- <Amanda> - yes, yes, yes.

Thank you.

Yeah, magnolias are very interesting.

As a matter of fact, beetles are the pollinators because magnolias evolved before we had bees, isn't that fun, and so beetles go bumbling around in there before the flower even opens, and transfers pollen from somebody they went to before.

So, gosh, I've had to get the hose out and get the kinks out of the hose, And try to spray the cars because it's just pollen season pollen season, pollen season, and so you know, I love pines, and we all split.

Davis, in my part of the world, a lot of people got to go to college because their grandfather or father had planted pine trees, and so here are the offender's and these are not open yet.

These have not matured to start releasing the pollen, so I haven't brought them in.

These are the male flowers, not flowers because they're the cones, yeah, that produce the sperm, you know, the male gametes that are necessary.

Then I think that this in the center is going to be the female cone.

But anyway, pine pollen, if you get to look at it under a dissecting scope, looks like Mickey Mouse.

<Terasa> That's pretty neat and that's one thing we would talk about with kids when I was teaching biology is that water molecules also looked like a Mickey Mouse head.

Those types of analogies will stick in your head forever.

<Amanda> Yes, that's wonderful, isn't it?

Because water is the universal solvent.

So water is not neutral.

You know, it has polar ends and negative ends, but anyway, so pine pollen is just everywhere.

Supposedly, it's not the super offender for allergies.

But you know, there's so many things pollinating right now.

I mean, there's so many trees pollinating.

But this one sort of gets the rap for a lot of things <Terasa> It does bad reputation, it certainly causes a message to things we don't see that are offenders for allergies.

<Amanda> Anyway, but so I stopped and got some on the side of the road.

Of course, it was over my head.

So I had to take the shirt, I was going to wear off the hanger and bend the hanger, so I could pull it down, and it's just, you know, show and tell it's not always as easy as you might think.

(laughs) <Terasa> You should just film all of your adventures because you were always telling our viewers about stopping on the side of the road and collecting things for your hat or showing <Amanda> Usually you have to get through a ditch and you know, it's very difficult.

Yeah, yeah.

<Terasa> Very dedicated.

(laughing) <Amanda> I do like the roadsides.

I think there's so much to be seen there.

Yep.

Davis, did you have a show and tell for us?

<Davis> I do.

I have a little plant here.

<Amanda> Oh, you didn't.

You just went out in the nursery.

<Davis> Right, I didn't have to take a coat hanger.

This is one of the Saxifrages.

You know, we have such a botanical diversity in South Carolina.

There's so many different soil types and so many different climates.

This one is a very specialized plant.

One of the common names for it is rock foil, And it gets that name because the when the seeds germinate, they tend to like to be in dry, compressed spaces.

And a lot of times you actually see them growing out of rocks in their native habitat.

<Amanda> Fascinating.

<Davis> They can over time cause erosion and the fracturing of the rock.

This one, the Saxifrage is also the genus of the strawberry begonia that everybody's familiar with that thrives in wet soil.

This guy likes a little bit of shade.

It likes moisture, but it does like to like to drain.

It does not like our summer heat a whole lot.

So this is a good one for the people up along, up along the escarpment Table Rock and Glassy Mountain, Paris Mountain, a few places like that, where you've got more of a gravelly type soil.

It's an excellent little rock garden plant, and it loves cool weather blooms in early spring.

It lets you know that summer is on its way.

<Amanda> I guess if you've felt like you could do it, you could just use it as an annual and just replace it, couldn't you?

<Davis> You could.

<Amanda> If you had a rock, if you wanted a rock garden, <Davis> Right.

<Amanda> You weren't up there at Table Mountain or one of those wonderful places - <Davis> Right.

It doesn't have a particularly long bloom season.

Generally, they'll bloom for about three to four weeks, in early to mid spring.

<Amanda> If you wanted the garden tour.

<Davis> That's right.

Yeah.

Why not, and that's good for, that's good for our nurseries.

We'd be supporting South Carolina agriculture.

Wouldn't we?

<Davis> Exactly.

<Amanda> Speaking of South Carolina agriculture, in 2022, we went to the certified South Carolina showcase, what a day we had, first of all, people brought samples of things to try.

And of course, I'm a grazer at heart.

And so I'm grazing through all the wonderful things that people brought, for us to try.

It was just an absolute treat.

But also just to see the diversity of things that people are doing, and this year's showcase is coming up, and I would really encourage you to attend if you can.

We'll learn about new things that are happening, because the commissioner always gives a very fine address to us.

So let's see what happened at the 2022, and you could whet your appetite and perhaps participate in this year showcase.

♪ music ♪ ♪ We're at the Columbia Convention Center, and I'm speaking with Katie Pfeiffer, who is at the Department of Agriculture, and she's a Market Development Coordinator, and what are you marketing and developing today?

>> Yes, ma'am.

So we're at the Certified South Carolina Showcase at the Columbia Convention Center, and this is kind of a grower buyer networking meeting.

This is the first time we posted it here.

Amanda>> So let's talk about what it means if we have people preferentially supporting our local farmers.

Katie>> Sure.

So, we developed the Certified South Carolina program many years ago under the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, and this is a free branding program available to South Carolina producers that specialty food vendors, meat and dairy producers, fruit and vegetable growers, and they can use that logo to help buyers source their products at grocery stores, restaurants, and then we use this event to kind of help those producers connect with those buyers.

<Amanda> And it really does make a difference.

First of all, things are fresher, because it's local, if it's local produce or fruits, and then also it supports our local farmers.

Katie>> Yes, yes.

So supporting local, I mean, not only helps the farmers, but also the workers that are working on the farms, and it's really, you know, a trickle down effect.

So it's an excellent opportunity for those buyers to source more local to come here.

Amanda>> Well I think you started out with some good food last night.

>> We did!

So, we were able to host the Taste of South Carolina last night with our partners Ag South and Arbor One supported that event, and we had several stations and featured a lot of local farms.

So that was really fun.

Amanda>> And then today, you got people who have, who grow fresh produce or fruits or have a product that they have developed.

Katie>> Right.

Amanda>> I think this is a way for people from restaurants or people who want to carry those kinds of things in their stores or help distribute them to come and meet those people.

Katie>> Exactly.

We'll start out with the trade show from 10 to noon today, and we have like you said, our exhibitors, our farmers and that includes dairy, meat produce, as well as some chefs are here exhibiting and sampling some local food as well, and then our buyers' representative of grocery stores, restaurants, food hubs, wholesalers.

We wanted to have a good variety of different types of buyers, as well as producers, so that they can make connections, not only with potential buyers or suppliers, but also industry peers.

Amanda>> And I think one of the things is that people who are growing specialty foods, and are going fruits and vegetables, they can maybe do some networking too, because there may be opportunities for them to join together and have larger outlets as well.

Katie>> Exactly, or back hauling, or help with, you know, transportation, which is a huge issue right now.

Amanda>> Yes, it is.

And then I believe there's going to be a luncheon, and then I think we're going to have some educational programs as well, >> Yes, we're very excited for our educational programs, we team up with Jim Johnson from the Small Business Development Center, and he helps host those events for us.

So the first one will be a buyer panel, which is always super helpful.

So we'll have representatives from wholesale, a grocery store, a school and a small retailer, and he'll kind of host some Q and A, and then we'll offer Q and A to the audience too, which is so helpful, in people that are, you know, getting up to the wholesale level or already there and wanting to get into a grocery store, kind of learn what's needed to get into those different market outlets, Amanda>> learn the steps that you take, and how to go about it.

I mean, just because you can grow tomatoes doesn't necessarily mean that you know how to approach a corporation.

Katie>> Exactly.

Amanda>> That's fascinating, you know, there's some other things that will happen as well?

>> Yes, ma'am.

So the last educational session is the first time we've hosted this one, it's kind of a farm to university panel.

So we'll have a chef from the University of South Carolina, paired up with a Clemson Extension agent, and they're going to talk about the path from farm to university, benefits and how to do that.

So we're excited for that one too.

Amanda>> Well, because there is.

We have a wonderful, safe food supply in South Carolina.

and that's due to the input of a lot of people, including your food safety team, I believe >> It is very much so.

Amanda>> So this is really going to be fun, and so people can come in and have samples of things.

>> Yes.

>> and then a wonderful lunch, >> Yes.

>> and then hear some encouraging talks about the future of agriculture in South Carolina.

>> Exactly.

It's all about making connections, and we hope that this event helps strengthen the local food system.

>> Well, thank you so much for talking with us and for letting us come and be a part.

>> Thank you for being here.

>> We're excited to have some tasting too.

>> Yes, exactly.

♪ <Amanda> Well, I hope that gave you an interesting, being even more committed to certified South Carolina products and produce and if you want to learn about this coming event, just go to South Carolina Department of agriculture Certified South Carolina Showcase and you can find out how you could attend too.

It really is a real, a fun day.

I think you'd have a good time.

Well, Terasa always questions, always questions, always questions.

<Terasa> Indeed.

And this one is a question about weeds.

But remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so a weed to someone may be a beautiful plant to someone else.

But Clayton in Longs said, I moved into a new house.

The yard has popped up with all sorts of weeds this winter.

I think maybe he's at my house.

No, I'm just kidding.

How do I kill them and have a nice yard this summer?

<Amanda> Oh, the ephemeral, hard to ever accomplish weed free lawn in South Carolina, <Terasa> In deed.

<Amanda> I know.

Yeah.

But anyway, so Carmen, I think you've actually bought a couple that people might be running into, and you can tell us the good and the bad about them.

How about that?

<Carmen> Yes, I made a little.

I made a little posey for us with some of the number one offenders, the usual suspects.

<Amanda> And those look really pretty.

>> Exactly.

<Amanda> and I bet to some people and to some insects and animals they are.

<Carmen> Exactly.

And a lot of the times, if they're popping up right now, they are probably winter weeds.

So that's the fun thing, especially people who moved down here from other states, they aren't aware that we've got two seasons of weeds.

We've got our winter weeds and then we have our warm season weeds.

<Amanda> The winter weeds started while we were still barefooted out in the yard or the children were.

Didn't they?

<Carmen> Exactly!

Most of these are going to start in October, and a good indication for any of the weeds popping up right now, a lot of people won't notice it until they start flowering, and at that point, if they're flowering, it's too late.

We should just enjoy them.

So, things like oh, are dandelions.

Those are popping up right now.

It's too late for those guys.

<Amanda> John says they bloom seven, I mean 12 months of the year, and when it's cold, the stem that holds the flower is shorter, and as it gets warmer, it gets longer.

<Carmen> It elongates right out.

<Amanda> If you go out and look at them, often you'll find insects visiting them.

<Carmen> Yes, all of these are great winter foraging for our pollinators, because sometimes it's the only stuff that's hanging around right now.

So this one right here is our henbit.

This one, anyone driving through the fields and they see beautiful purple fields, it is probably at least in my part of the state is going to be henbit.

<Terasa> And fun fact about henbit is the pollen is like a reddish purple, and so if bees have been foraging on that and you can see their pollen sacs, it'll be like that reddish purple color instead of the typical yellow that you might be used to.

<Amanda> Delightful.

<Carmen> Another fun red one actually is our crimson clover.

<Amanda> Yes.

<Carmen> Now a lot of people are seeding this intentionally as a cover crop but if it's anything like my house, I accidentally dropped some of the seed in the lawn.

And so now I have crimson clover in the lawn but it can sometimes pop up on its own, as well.

<Amanda> I think that the highway department for a while was using that and it was just beautiful to ride by to see.

<Carmen> It's so smart, and then one of the ones that you brought me.

<Amanda> This is a perennial and kind of a nuisance and well it can be a big problem <Carmen> And this one's out of the lily family but a lot of people call it Star of Bethlehem or we've got spring star flower and it's absolutely gorgeous but it does have that very tell-tale garlicky smell to it, very much like any of your wild garlic and onions that everyone keeps talking about for...right now, and it's just not going anywhere.

<Amanda> And I think we have a enlarged bottom structure on one of them to show kind of what it is does it like, <Carmen> Oh, yes.

Just look at that.

<Amanda> Where I got I was coming back and saw some of that and it was like a mass I mean, I stopped on the side of the road.

I believe that some nurseries even sell it but it is extremely prolific spreads and Davis, you found a way to get rid of it, because I believe glyphosate doesn't work well on it.

What have you used in your horticultural hat day?

<Davis> Well, I've used primarily triclopyr, which is contained in Crossbow.

Bonide makes product called BK-32.

It seems to be pretty effective on it.

And I have used a combination product that contains both triclopyr and glyphosate.

The triclopyr is safe to use on all turf grasses in South Carolina except St. Augustine and centipede.

<Amanda> And picky St. Augustine, right.

But it seems to work and it managed to eradicate it from a couple of fescue lawns using that also.

<Amanda> All right.

<Carmen> Timing is important, as we always say.

At this point, it's they're this big, it can be problematic.

But one of the big things that we also do of course is mark your calendar now for September August for pre-emergent.

<Amanda> Okay.

All right.

Well, Davis I think you've got some beautiful things that you found to share with us today.

<Davis> Okay, well what I have here are two examples of Bletilla striata also known as either depending on who you talk to, it's either a Chinese ground orchid or Japanese roof orchid.

But it is a true orchid.

It's hardy in our area.

It will grow all the way from the coast to the mountains.

All it needs is a little bit of shade and a little bit of protection from late frost in the late winter, early spring, but that doesn't typically harm the plant.

It can turn the leaf tips a little bit black, but it's not something that's going to be harmful to the plant.

Fairly short bloom season.

Blooms for about three maybe four weeks in early spring.

Loves a little bit of shade, loves moisture, and if you if you want to tell somebody you have orchids growing in your garden, this is the plant.

This is also a good one to talk about South Carolina agriculture because these are grown by my friend Chris Chaney at Piedmont Iris farms up in Rock Hill.

<Amanda> Oh, how fun.

When I was in horticulture a long time ago when we used to really get cold, even in the Midlands, this did not flower frequently, because it is somewhat cold tender, the flower, with the way things are changing now we have so many things that we can have that we didn't before <Davis> It's also one of those plants that you can put out and when it when it does flower, you rejoice.

<Amanda> Yes, you do.

<Amanda> Then we do have our native orchids.

My favorite is Ladies' tresses, which you find just on the lawn sometimes which spirals around, I think, but then we have a good many other orchids.

They may not be as showy as some of the orchids.

Now, Terasa you have pretty good luck with orchids.

<Terasa> A few.

Now I haven't ventured out The orchid family is huge, and I have mostly phalaenopsis or moth orchids and then I have two Dendrobium orchids, as well.

So, my phalaenopsis typically flower, late winter, about now late winter, early spring indoors and then my dendrobiums they like a little more light and I don't have artificial light setup for them, and I just can't get them to flower indoors.

So they go outside in the shade.

Once it gets warm enough, and then they'll flower in the summer.

<Amanda> Terasa, I think that one of the things and you're so meticulous about detail, but it's funny that you're so successful with orchids because I think you're supposed to kind of leave them alone a little bit.

<Terasa> Yeah, orchids are relatively easy.

They don't require a lot of care, at least in my experience and the watering especially.

Many orchids are epiphytic and so they wouldn't normally be in soil And they do not want to be sitting in soggy soil.

So getting that medium right and the watering frequency.

Right.

<Amanda> Okay.

Well, I want to thank everyone for being with us today.

Just wonderful to be with all of y'all again, and it was wonderful to be with you all at home too.

We'll see you next Tuesday.

♪ music ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ music ends ♪ <Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina is a cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to help consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

The Boyd Foundation, supporting outdoor recreational opportunities, the appreciation of wildlife, educational programs, and enhancing the quality of life in Columbia, South Carolina and the Midlands at large.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina.

Family owned and operated since 1916.

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

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