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.

♪ 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 horticulture agent.

And we just live for continuing education.

And I get that every time I come here because so many smart people come and tell me all the things that I've forgotten all the years ago that I took horticulture.

We're having a fun show tonight because we've got a just fascinating program on pictures from our wonderful friends up in McBee.

And a great time that John Nelson and I had Goodale State Park.

And behind me is an exquisite, handmade, crocheted memorial to Making It Grow.

And it was made by Miss Martha Patterson, who's in her 90s She lives in Calhoun Falls.

She taught school for 30 years, taught science.

And then Terasa, when they couldn't get a Home-Ec teacher, she came out of retirement and taught Home-Ec for three years.

<Terasa> Oh, my goodness!

<Amanda> And her husband loved little airplanes.

And she came home one day, and he had extended the runway by digging up her garden and he was in hot water.

<Terasa> Oh oh!

<Amanda> But anyway, we want to thank her so much for this beautiful artwork that she sent us.

Thank you so much as Patterson and also for all your years of teaching.

South Carolina students I truly bow down to public school teachers.

And Terasa Lott was a public school teacher in her former, in one of her many former lives.

But now she's the Master Gardener coordinator for Clemson, and that means she's trying to herd cats a lot, I think.

<Terasa> No, I wouldn't say that.

Our master gardeners are a wonderful group of volunteers that help us to extend the public outreach arm of the university.

So, help our horticulture agents like Brad and Christopher, so we can reach more people that way.

<Amanda> It is because people like Christopher Burt, who has more counties than I can count and they're some of the biggest and fastest growing counties in the world.

<Christopher> It does seem that way.

I know Berkeley County is second fastest in the state.

I think second only to Horry County.

<Amanda> And um, and you've got Berkeley and Dorchester as well as Charleston.

<Amanda> Yeah.

So you need some people to help answer the phone and give some answers to questions.

Don't you?

<Christopher> Absolutely.

<Amanda> We're so glad that you're here.

And we're so tickled.

You are actually from Green Sea, and Brad Fowler.

That's where - That's right up on the North Carolina border.

<Brad> Yes, ma'am.

<Amanda> That's where Pat McDaniel in our office, where her family's from and I think you knew her cousin, her niece, Yeah!

>> Yes, ma'am.

<Amanda> But now you live in... >> Georgetown.

<Amanda> Georgetown.

>> Yes, ma'am.

<Amanda> But you've done some fun things and worked at some kind of cool places.

Yeah, I worked at Brookgreen Gardens for a while and managed the landscaping company in Pawleys Island for a while so seen a few different things.

<Amanda> You now get to have fun because you have a I don't know how big he is, but tell us about what's going on.

<Brad> So, I gotta - We have an 11 month old son So he's in the busy stage right now.

So yeah, we're having a blast with him.

<Amanda> Yeah, and you having to go and put things in all the sockets and all that kind of - <Brad> Chasing him around is pretty much our life right now.

<Amanda> Well, and just wait...

It's gonna get even more so that way.

Well, we thank you so much for making the trip.

<Brad> Thank you.

<Amanda> We really do.

and welcome to Extension.

So, pleased to have you as part of our family.

<Brad> Yes ma'am.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

<Amanda> Terasa, usually you have somebody, some people who sent in some, I don't know how, in this crazy summer we've had anybody has a pretty part of the yard.

But um, I think you've managed to put some pictures together for us.

<Terasa> That's right, we do have our gardens of the week photos.

And these are just chosen at random from people who send in their submissions.

We're going to begin today with some hearty Hibiscus shared by Denise Wilson.

In the same plant family, we have Rose of Sharon sent in by Rich and Linda Savoy, <Amanda> and I'm just going to interrupt.

That's one of the most satisfactory plants for you know, a harsh summer, don't you think?

>> The Rose of Sharon?

<Amanda> Yeah.

I mean, you can't cut it and bring it in.

But gosh, I mean, it just goes almost anywhere and just blooms and yeah, I mean, talk about an old heirloom.

I'm sorry.

Didn't mean to interrupt.

<Terasa> That's okay.

We have an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail visiting a butterfly bush from Jan Lagrone And the same butterfly but the dark morph of our state butterfly visiting Zinnias was sent from Caroline Moss.

And we finish up with Janet Smith, who shared a garden area featuring at least two Rudbeckia helianthus.

and echinacea So, thanks, everyone for submitting your photos.

It's so fun to see what's going on in your yards gardens.

around the state.

It always makes me feel happy and uplifted even when things in my home yard might be looking a little, a little sad.

<Amanda> Now that's not fair because we know who does most of the work.

And he deserves a big shout out.

<Terasa> It is true, when you have a husband who's retired, you volunteer - you have the ideas and then you say "Honey, please!

Will you help me out!"

<Amanda> Well, Terasa, I think you got some questions for us.

Is there one we can start out with, please?

<Terasa> Oh, yes.

This one comes in from Cynthia in Denmark.

She says my roses have not looked good all year, despite proper fertilizer.

There have been few if any flowers, is there something wrong that needs to be treated?

What can be done?

<Amanda> Oh, well, Christopher, I'll go to you on that.

But I'm also going to say, if you don't mind my saying so you can do a soil test for roses.

But a lot of people have these kind of home recipes for roses.

And I think sometimes that can get people in trouble.

They think they're doing the right thing.

But now I'm gonna throw it off to you.

<Christopher> So, you're absolutely correct, you do have to be a little bit careful not to overdo it.

A lot of times we're not getting flowers on a specific plant, a lot of times it's because we're putting too much.

So, fertilizer is just meant to help the plant along to allow that plants to better make nutrients for itself.

And roses are one of those that we have the misconception to really fertilize a lot in order for them to be as happy and healthy as possible.

And in reality, we kind of want to have them be a little bit leaner on the fertilizer side.

A lot of times we tend to forget about the water part, which is really what we ran into this year is we had kind of an extended period of dry, which led to a lot of stress.

A lot of just struggling in plants, roses included are going to allocate resources based on whatever they can handle.

And roses and flowers, unfortunately, are just going to be one of those things that are gonna fall by the wayside when a plant is just trying to survive <Amanda> just trying to stay alive.

Yeah.

So how we usually say that most plants need like an inch of water a week.

And so, with the rose, it would be important if you could, I would imagine to apply it at the base and not to get the leaves wet, if you can.

<Christopher> Yeah, you're absolutely correct.

Roses, the biggest issue with roses, for the most part is going to be black spot, which is a fungal disease that affects almost all roses, there are a few exceptions.

And so, avoiding getting the leaves wet as much as possible is going to reduce that <Amanda> although if we get an afternoon thunder shower, I'm not gonna say don't rain.

(laughs) <Christopher> You're absolutely right, but you're almost dead on when you say about an inch a week.

And for roses, they don't necessarily need a lot of water, they just want it consistently.

And that's really key when it comes to the keeping them as healthy as possible.

<Amanda> Okay, so if you had a sandy soil, you might want to water twice a week less, because that's not going to hold the water as well.

Is that correct?

<Christopher> You're absolutely correct.

And if you sandier soils, especially along the coast, we're probably going to be watering a bit more often.

Again, it really all depends on that drainage.

If your drainage is much less, then you're really just watering to the point where you know, okay, it gets at once that should be it.

<Amanda> We often feel like we have a fall flush of roses, and I think you've got kind of a scrawny looking rose behind you.

Let's see what we can do so that maybe <Christopher> So, I brought this in obviously.

It is late in the year.

But I really wanted to emphasize that when you have roses, and they don't look as good as they should come say, June, July, don't feel bad.

I mean, roses are temperamental.

And so, you can treat roses, kind of like a lot of other plants and just start over.

<Amanda> Okay.

>> And when it comes to roses, I'm really going to kind of emphasize that pruning is one of the best tools that we can use when it comes to rose care, because roses respond extremely well to pruning.

<Amanda> Oh.

<Christopher> And so this is where I actually have done this.

Earlier this year, I had a couple roses that just did not do anything.

And so, what I did was I went through and I cut them back fairly significantly, and you'll kind of see with something this size, you always want to keep in mind, we're never going towards the base.

This is where the grafting is going to be.

That's really where the heart of the rose is going to be.

<Amanda> So many roses are not grown on their own stem?

>> No.

They're definitely not grown on their own stem, there are some but for the most part they're not.

And so, what I'm going to do is I always like to go about six to eight inches, whatever kind of hand length I can get.

<Amanda> Yeah.

<Christopher> And then I find a good healthy node that doesn't have disease on it, and then I'm actually going to cut right above it.

And you see, I always angle it, and you can see it, but I angle it away from the node, above it.

So that way, just in case that water does run off, and then I'm going to make that cut and a very clean cut, and I did both sharpen and clean these pruners before I did that, but again, you're gonna... <Amanda> Now did you try to look for a bud that would be an outwardly growing bud?

<Christopher> Yes, I do generally look for outwardly growing buds, but sometimes, especially with something like this, I'm really just trying to find a healthy one.

>> Okay, <Christopher> So if I can find a healthy one, one or two is usually going to be enough.

But that's where I'm going to take that, and I am going to cut again away from that growth.

And sometimes cuts don't come out as well as we want, but you can see something like this, but you see I took out <Amanda> You've taken it back.

<Christopher> You take it back, but again, it signals the plant to go ahead and refresh out and sometimes it's hard to find the exact part you want to cut, and sometimes you may cut a branch and that branch may just die, and that's not a bad thing, because again, roses are gonna cycle through their branches, their stems as much as possible.

And so, you just go through, clean them up.

And then you want to - this is the big part, you do want to fertilize them.

When I do cut them back like this, I want to put some phosphorus and some potassium on there.

Because that's going to help that plant refresh back out.

not necessarily nitrogen, but you do want some nitrogen, but you really want to be kind of phosphorus and potassium heavy.

So that way that plant kind of - it signals to kind of rebound.

And then of course, as it starts to grow, having a little nitrogen in there is going to help kind of refresh it out.

<Amanda> Now, Christopher, a lot of our soil tests come back real high in phosphorus.

Isn't it?

<Christopher> That can be the case.

And that's why soil tests are always important to have.

<Amanda> So always do that before you just go and buy a general over the counter thing.

>> Exactly.

>> And that's because some of the other nutrients tend to wash out with water, but phosphorus tends to stay in the soil.

Is that correct?

<Christopher> You're absolutely correct, phosphorus will hold in the soil a lot better than say potassium or nitrogen.

And so, if you do have high phosphorus, you're just you're gonna do a nitrogen and potassium, only fertilizer and leave off the phosphorus.

But again, it kind of depends on the type of fertilizer and how much you actually have in the soil.

Because remember, just because it's in the soil doesn't mean it's available to the plants, and sometimes adding just a little bit, even if you have plenty can make it - it's already available for that plant, once you water <Amanda> Well, isn't the main thing that determines the availability, the pH?

<Christopher> You're absolutely correct.

So that's where again, that soil test is really going to come and play.

We want to make sure everything is <Amanda> now we have that black spot, black spot, black spot, I mean, roses, bless them, bless their hearts, And so, I've heard that you actually sometimes need to rotate the - not necessarily just the bottle, but you have to look at the ingredients and rotate, like use a fungicide that has one type of ingredient and then maybe use that for a couple of weeks and then switch to another one.

<Christopher> So, it kind of depends on how aggressive you want to be when it comes to treating for black spot.

I always recommend a good preventative measure.

And this is where at the beginning of the year I'm replacing the mulch altogether.

<Amanda> Oh!

>> So I'm replacing the mulch any fallen leaves that could possibly carry that disease is gone, I have refreshed that mulch, I do my spring fertilizer and then as I get a fresh flush in the spring, <Amanda> Yes?

>> that's where I'm going to do preventative treatments of fungicide there and you are correct.

Because it's one of those we have to treat pretty regularly, it is good to rotate your fungicides.

For most homeowners, copper and sulfur are a good kind of one, two.

So, you can rotate that without necessarily going the kind of the heavier chemicals.

Those are generally labeled organic.

But you're also, you're still rotating because they have a different kind of mode of action, but generally preventative is going to be the best course of action.

Once the rose is flushed out and you start to get some black spot on it.

It's all about just keeping the plant healthy.

That way, it prevents the spread nearly as much as long as it's happy.

<Amanda> Well, I am so tired of looking for things for hats in this dearth of summer.

So, I expect you to have a wonderful flush of roses, and I'm going to have a rose hat.

Okay?

<Christopher> Absolutely.

<Amanda> Okay, I'm counting on it.

Okay.

We have wonderful friends at McLeod Farms, up in McBee, South Carolina, and they are a sponsor of Making It Grow.

And we do appreciate their sponsorship, which they do through the ETV Endowment.

But we like to go out there because they're just such a wonderful family.

And the last time we went, I have never had such an educational experience in my life as to what goes on, so that you can get some (slurps) juicy peach that just runs all the way - juice runs all the way down your mouth.

So, let's go up to McBee and have a wonderful experience ♪ I'm in McBee, South Carolina speaking with Spencer McLeod and Spencer, I don't think anybody would take a blood donation from you because I think y'all probably bleed peach juice don't you?

>> That's right!

That's right!

<Amanda> Because it's been how many generations now?

<Spencer> So, I am fifth generation, my great great granddad, Hector McLeod started our farm in 1916.

<Amanda> Whoa, and things have changed dramatically since then, I mean, diseases and things.

And they're all kinds of new ways of doing things, and people think, Oh, the peaches are ripe, and they just go pick peaches, But - it's there's so much work that goes on, and it starts.

I mean, I guess you wake up on New Year's Day, and maybe you get to take that day off.

Right after that, you're out here.

<Spencer> Yes.

Right now it is our busy time, but we've been working on this crop since January.

So January, we start pruning, and we prune from January through March.

And then after pruning, we have thinning and that happens around April or May and then we start our harvest.

<Amanda> And these trees are grafted onto a special rootstock.

>> That right.

<Amanda> That's resistant to some things that would be problematical.

<Spencer> So all our trees, we get them from a nursery in Tennessee, and what's unique about a peach tree is that it actually has two different genetics.

So, you've got the rootstock that has disease resistance and nematode resistance for any soil born challenges that it's going to have.

And then what's grafted on top of that rootstock is actually the cultivar, the variety that we pick, that grows the peach that's red, big, and also the time of year that it comes off.

<Amanda> Always delicious.

<Spencer> That's right.

<Amanda> But, um, so you prune to, I guess the trees have to get sunlight into them.

So, you have to prune for that.

And then you told me that only the new growth sets peaches, so you must prune pretty severely.

<Spencer> That's right, so we're pruning just to maintain the tree.

To train the tree, we grow our peaches fairly tall.

But we have four main liters and so that helps maintain the trees health and also encourage new growth for next year.

<Amanda> And then you've got to go in and start thinning because the tree would set far too many blossoms that it would be able to produce a good-sized peach from <Spencer> That's right and our heavy crops, we can thin up to 80% of the peaches.

<Amanda> That must be hard to look down and see all those peaches that you put in.

<Spencer> That's always a challenge.

So, when you're when you're thinning a heavy crop, you don't want to look down because you're thinking, "Wow, I just destroyed my crop", but you really need to look up in the tree.

You know, you want to space your peaches out, because what we're for thinning is we're really trying to get that size, the tree is only going to take up so much nutrients and water, and so, by thinning we're getting a better sized peach.

We're getting a better tasting peach higher sugar content.

And so that's a, that's a process that we go through and it's a difficult time too.

We thin during a time where we could have a frost event, and so, you know do you take the peach off, do you not?

And so there's always a big decision to do that.

So, we try to wait as long as we can and that means that we generally hand thin our tree.

<Amanda> These trees are big, and you all have a high density of trees, and that there's certain that's for certain reasons.

That's right.

So, because we have a tall tree, we have higher yields per acre.

And so, we use wind machines during frost events.

And so that helps justify that cost of having a wind machine protect more yield.

And also, that helps us with the irrigation and our infrastructure as far as placing an orchard and having more yield per acre.

<Amanda> And y'all are very, very careful with water.

These trees are drip irrigated at each tree.

<Spencer> That's right.

So, we've got dripper irrigation across all our peaches.

And so we, you know, that timing of watering in that final swell, we're really focused on the trees that we are picking right now.

And so, we try to manage our water as best we can.

<Amanda> And interestingly, I think most of the trees bloom, kind of during the same time period, but some are early peaches, And some are later, because you want to be able to supply peaches to people for a long, long time.

<Spencer> That's right, so we have about 40 to 50 different varieties of peaches on our farm, and what that allows us to do is pick peaches from the end of May, all the way to September, and so, we're picking that particular variety, over a two week period.

We'll have about six to eight different pickings over that two week period, that we generally go in the field every other day, or we may do a two day skip.

And so having those different maturity, varieties that allows us to have peaches throughout the season.

<Amanda> Spencer, you have contracted people who come in, and you said that they have been here through several generations, and they are integral really to helping you have such high quality peaches.

<Spencer> That's right.

We started using the H-2A program.

It's a visa program where we bring in migrant workers from Mexico, and they we've had some of the same people since the early 80s, 90s.

And they've become a part of our family in helping our operation to be successful.

If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be here today.

<Amanda> And I've learned so much about all that goes into getting a great peach and getting it off the tree, and now I want to learn some about getting these peaches to the people who want them.

Thanks for spending some time with me.

<Spencer> Thank you.

♪ <Amanda> I'm in the packing shed from McLeod Farm Peaches And I'm speaking with Doug McCormick.

Doug, you are a member of this family now.

<Doug> Yes, ma'am.

I married farmer's daughter, I'm in deep.

(laughs) <Amanda> Well you did pretty good by yourself.

>> Yes, ma'am <Amanda> As far as I'm concerned both ways.

But we've these peaches that are in from the field.

But that's just the very first step because then we got to get them in the hands of the consumers, and today, I don't know about you, but I'm kind of hot, and I think the peaches are too.

So, what's the first step to try to get those peaches cooled down.

<Doug> So, when the peaches come here out of the field, the first thing we're going to do is we're going to run them through the hydra cooler.

And what's happening there, we're putting the bins of peaches on a chain that takes about 45 minutes to go through this hydra cooler.

And we're dumping cold water on them think of a cold shower.

So, we'll chill this water down to about 35 degrees.

And the objective here is to get that field heat out of the peach before it comes in here into the pack shed.

And that's what we're doing.

Like you said, it's hot today.

I'm hot.

You're hot.

The peaches are hot.

We've got to remove that heat before they come to the pack shed.

<Amanda> Because they got to last for a couple of days till they get to the store, and if we just shipped them like they were, they would just be burning up and turning to mush.

<Doug> Yes, ma'am.

It's going to slow the ripening process.

And you know, we want to get them cold.

And the thing is, we got to get them cold before we put them in a cooler, we can't put a hot peach in a cooler and expect the cooler to pull all that heat out of them.

So that's why we really need that cold shower, like say a 45 minutes in the hydra cooler.

And that's where it all begins right here.

<Amanda> Well, maybe at the end of the day, we'll go stand there for a minute.

<Doug> I don't know if I can make it 45 minutes.

>> But after that happens, where are they going next.?

So, when the peaches come out of the hydra cooler, we will pull them off of the chain with a fork truck and immediately put them in a cooler to keep them cold.

We've already got them cold.

We want to keep them cold.

So when we're ready to start packing, we'll pull the bin out of the bin cooler.

We'll put it on the chain and that's where it starts that bin will go through a dumper.

That dumper will dump the peaches onto the line.

At that point the peaches are moving with a conveyor.

We'll have our first check.

We'll have some people they're looking for the obvious.

This is this peach is soft.

Let's take it out.

This is mush.

Take it out.

We'll pull the leaves off.

After that, after that first initial check.

We'll run the peaches through a washer and what we're doing here is we're knocking the fuzz off of the peach.

We're also going to apply food grade wax, a thin coat of food grade wax to help preserve the peach health, the shelf life of a peach.

After the peach comes out of the washer.

We're going to run that peach across grade tables where we have people who are just great at grading peaches.

We have great help here at McLeod Farms and we couldn't do it without them.

What they're going to do, they're going to check that peach and say, "Is this peach soft?

"Yeah, let's take it from a number one grade "put it in a number two grade.

"Does this peach have a cosmetic defect?

"Yes, it needs to come out of "a number one grade, go into a number two grade."

<Amanda> It's still a perfectly edible peach.

<Doug> That's right.

<Amanda> And these grades are set by the government, I believe.

<Doug> That's correct.

We have certain specifications that we have to go by, if we're going to call our blue box, our Mac's Pride blue box a U.S. extra number one, <Amanda> All right.

<Doug> So that's what we're grading out.

We're grading out, this piece doesn't belong in a in a blue box.

After it goes through these grade tables with people, we got a brand new machine last year.

And so prior to this machine, we were sorting peaches with a machine, but that was only by size.

you know, two and three quarter or two and a half inch, big, medium small.

Now we have the capability of sorting these peaches by grade.

So, with a machine we can also grade the peach.

Say, "This is not a number one peach."

"The machine saw soft spot.

"Pull it out, put it in a green "number two box."

So we're sorting it by that.

We're also sorting it by size.

And then we have all these different orders.

You might have a specialty pack for bags, for trays, You've got your volume filled blue boxes, and what we're doing there is we're sizing the peach.

We also have load sales where, we're weighing the peach, you know, for instance, a customer might want a 30 pound tray that contains 112 pieces of fruit.

Well, what we're doing, we're weighing that peach and we're saying send me all the peaches that average this weight.

Send them to the tray so that when I put 112 peaches in this tray, it weighs 30 pounds.

<Amanda> And I think again, you are using the agricultural workers who come in under a Visa.

Is that correct?

<Doug> We couldn't do it without our H-2A workers for me they're like family, you know.

They're my friends.

They're family.

And, you know, we have people here that their experience on this farm.

I mean, it far exceeds my own.

I mean, we have we have H-2A workers that I go to and say, "What do you think about this?

"What do you think about this peach?"

And so they are a vital, a vital part of McLeod Farms and Mac's Pride brand, and we couldn't do it without them.

And they're great at what they do.

<Amanda> Y'all are a big family up here.

And for safety control, and, you have stamped the boxes are stamped with information on them, I believe.

<Doug> Yes, ma'am.

Every lot and a lot means it'll contain the information of what variety is this peach?

What field did it come out of?

What day was it picked?

All that gets stamped on the box when we're packing.

So, we will know what variety, what field and we'll also know the Julian Date, what day that peach was packed, what day that peach was picked, and that also transfers over to when we load the truck with that box.

So when our produce goes on a truck, we know exactly what's on that truck, and that helps us with traceability of being able to know what we sent where.

<Amanda> And then, so is the peach finally ready to go on the truck and go to the consumer?

<Doug> Yes, ma'am.

After the peach is put into the box, it rides on a conveyor to the back, and that's where we will palletize basically stack the boxes up, get them ready to go on the truck.

After they're stacked up, we'll place that peach right back in a cooler.

<Amanda> Of course.

And so we're back, not where we started, but we're back to keeping that peach cold.

<Amanda> Quality, quality.

<Doug> It'll stay in that cooler until we put it on a truck and even when the truck backs up, the truck will be cold as well.

<Amanda> And then I think waste not want not even the peaches that got knocked off as not being perfect, can you send them to someone who can perhaps make a product out of them?

<Doug> Oh, sure.

So, we've got our number one grade, and that's basically what we're sending out commercially what we're putting on the trucks, that's going to take the commercial loads to our buyers.

We also have a number two grade.

And I tell people all the time, there's nothing wrong with these peaches.

They're great, I mean, you might have to cut around a soft spot.

You might have to cut around you know a little cosmetic defect, but it's a great peach.

It still tastes well and you can still make a peach cobbler out of it.

You know!

That's our number two grade.

That's going to be our green box.

After everything that does have, made the number two grade.

So everything that's not good enough to go on a number two green box, that's basically mush.

That's trash, and we also you know we have some people come get those peaches and process those and make juices or smoothies or whatever you want to do with the you know process peaches, and so... <Amanda> So, all the work that went into it, almost every peach finds a way to be used.

<Doug> That's exactly right, and like I said, that's what's so rewarding for me, you know, this, this farm I'm an in-law.

This farm is over 100 years old.

There's a huge legacy here and when we are precise in putting the pieces where they need to go I feel like that I bring value and that I'm doing a small part in upholding that legacy of passion and I guess artistic whatever you want to call it growing peaches and just pouring our heart into it.

So, it feels great to be able to bring something to the table.

<Amanda> You know it's just so exciting to see what our family farms in South Carolina do and I thank you for being with one of them and for explaining this part of the process to us.

>> I thank you for all you do.

Thank you for being here today.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ <Amanda> So if you think it's just a simple matter of going off and picking things and put them in a box, I think now you can see that the peach industry, which is just so important to South Carolina because we're the tastier peach state.

That, all of our farmers who are growing peaches are going to, are taking remarkable steps to see that we get such high quality fruit.

So, it's kind of that time of year when there wasn't much in the garden.

I was out trying to work in the garden some this weekend.

It was hotter than blue blazes.

And my sweet Chinese abelia, it's just the most remarkable thing.

It just blooms and blooms and blooms.

So, the majority of this hat is Chinese abelia, and it's just one of the best things you can have because it's always covered with flowers.

And Terasa, it's wonderful because it's always covered with pollinators as well.

<Terasa> That always makes me happy seeing busy pollinators at work.

<Amanda> Yes, and then I just put some other stuff that was out there, including that horrible Liriope that's always taking over the yard, but it's a nice color blue, or purple to have in the hat, so and there's a little bit of phlox and other stuff in it as well.

It is a hat.

It fills that purpose.

Right?

<Terasa> It sure does.

Some days.

That's all we could hope for, right?

(laughs) All right, Terasa.

Well, we've got a newbie here.

How easy are we going to be on him with a new question.

<Terasa> Well, I think this one will be right up his alley, considering he previously managed a lawn care company.

So, Oscar writes in from Myrtle Beach and says, "I have an unwanted "grass taking over my yard.

"What is it?

"And how can I get rid of it?"

<Amanda> (Sighs) Ah, and it's not Bahia grass?

(laughs) <Amanda> I'd be glad for Bahia grass.

<Brad> You'd probably rather have Bahia grass, but it looks like panicum repens, which is torpedo grass, and we're starting to see quite a bit of torpedo grass in the Horry and Georgetown area.

And it can really take over a yard.

Pretty, pretty quickly.

It is an exotic, invasive grass.

It does really well in wet conditions.

It can do well in dry conditions, and unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of control for it at the moment.

<Amanda> So can it kind of out compete your other grasses and overgrow them a little bit.

>> It can definitely out compete your other grasses over grow them.

It moves by rhizome, very, very aggressively.

<Amanda> So it's got this underground structure?

<Brad> It does.

It does.

And the tip of the rhizome is kind of how it got its name it's sharp and pointed like a torpedo.

And that's kind of how the grass got its name.

<Amanda> Well, you said that we hate to fuss at the government, although we do it, but can we fuss at the government a little bit about this one?

<Brad> We can.

We can a little bit.

Unfortunately, they introduced it to be used in, in pastures as you know, foraging and it didn't work very well, and now we're dealing with it in our, in our home landscapes.

I even saw a case the other day where some new sod had been laid and it was in the new sod.

<Amanda> No!

>> So, it's being spread pretty rapidly and it's pretty nasty grass.

<Amanda> So, do you have to then go on with the herbicide and just spot treat or what are some of the things that you recommend that people do when they have it?

<Brad> So it kind of depends on where it's at in your landscape.

If it's in your landscape beds, in the mulch or something like that.

You can - maybe you can control it a little bit more.

<Amanda> You said if you pull it up it makes it worse than because it breaks the rhizomes just regenerate... <Brad> Exactly, exactly.

Once you start breaking those rhizomes and stuff, it's just going to split off.

<Amanda> So don't think that you'd being a good person by weeding.

<Brad> Exactly!

A lot of times it does take some sort of herbicide to get rid of it.

The problem is, is when we get it in our, in our desirable turf grass, like our centipede, zoysia, Bermuda, St. Augustine.

There's just not a whole lot of herbicide that you can spray to get rid of the torpedo grass without killing your wanted turf.

<Amanda> So it's not going to be just like a nice little tidy clump of it in the grass?

<Brad> Unfortunately, not.

It's going to spread out and intermingle with all of your desirable turf and eventually can take over those areas.

<Amanda> Well, I'm just going to be the devil's advocate.

What happens if it takes over?

<Brad> That's part of the problem.

You're pretty much looking at starting over and you have to be <Amanda> - Is it ugly?

<Brad> I guess that's up to personal opinion, in my opinion, it is ugly.

It's not a, it's not a nice thick, It doesn't create a nice, thick turf grass or anything like that.

It has a very thin blade.

And in my opinion, though, it's not very desirable.

<Amanda> Oh, gosh, so you might have to hire a professional company, and then I mean, if there's any of it left in the ground, it might just come back again.

>> That's the problem is, if you do decide to go after it, you really want to make sure you know whether you're using, you know, digging out some of the old soil.

using herbicides, you really want to make sure you get rid of it.

If you decide to go that route before you replace with new turf, <Amanda> And does it send up seed heads too?

<Brad> It will send up seed heads, but most of it's spreading is through those, <Amanda> Very aggressive rhizomes.

>> Yes, ma'am.

<Amanda> Oh, la la la.

What next?

(laughs) <Brad> It's unfortunate for sure.

<Amanda> And is it mostly, are you seeing it mostly kind of down towards the coast or...?

>> - so far <Amanda>...has it just not been recognized in other places?

>> I'm sure it's in other places, but it does do well in pretty wet areas.

It can even grow out into the water.

So I'm sure that's part of the reason we're seeing it a lot down at the coast, but at the same time, it can do pretty good in dry areas as well, so... <Amanda> It takes whatever you throw at it?

<Brad> Pretty much.

<Amanda> Oh my goodness gracious.

Well, that was - that's kind of an unfortunate thing to hear about, isn't it?

<Brad> Yes.

<Amanda> Ah, well, Terasa, I don't guess we have any happy questions, but... <Terasa> Usually, if it's a question, it's about a problem.

So it's not usually happy.

Although, occasionally people are just asking for like maybe how to bring pollinators are something, but this one comes in from Thomas in Holly Hill.

Thomas apparently planted some pumpkins in plenty of time for Halloween, but is noticing some leaves that have a little bit of a white substance on them, and some holes in the fruit, and so he asked, "Are these two "things related?"

That white substance and the holes and what can he do about either of those things?

<Amanda> Okay.

Well, you know, everybody would like to grow their own pumpkin.

But I think it's kind of hard to grow a pumpkin in South Carolina and have it ready for Halloween.

What's your take on it?

<Christopher> So yeah, if you get it in, in time.

So, it sounds like if they got it in I usually I say by about July 4th.

Usually that's enough time for that pumpkin to grow and actually produce.

That being said, the white substance that they're running into is powdery mildew, and pumpkins and powdery mildew just go together.

<Amanda> Love and marriage.

Horses and carriages.

<Christopher> Exactly.

It's an unfortunate disease though.

It is not necessarily as difficult to control because it is a disease that tends to sit only on the surface, as opposed to some of the other ones that actually colonize the inside the epidermis, inside the cells.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Christopher>So, there are kind of a broad range of treatments.

You can still utilize it as kind of that vegetable crop and treat it with something like neem oil, treat it with something like copper or even sulfur and it can be relatively effective.

The problem is you don't want to let it become widespread.

So when it comes with powdery mildew, it's one of those it can get out of hand very quickly.

And so catching it early and controlling it early is going to really be the best <Amanda> Now, I get mixed up one of them, likes for it to be wet and one of them doesn't like for it to get, the downy and the powdery.

They're kind of, and ones on top once on the bottom.

<Christopher> So it is fascinating.

So powdery mildew is one of the few diseases.

It is caused by a fungus, But it is completely independent of moisture.

It does not require wet or dry conditions.

It really doesn't mind either.

Now, downy mildew is caused by a water mold.

It is technically different, but that water mold as the name implies, does prefer moisture and actually moves with weather systems and gets inside the leaves, but and, of course the spores are always found on the bottom, powdery mildew though, dry wet, it really doesn't matter.

<Amanda> Okay!

>> It comes as it pleases.

<Amanda> Well, Terasa, if you've got their number, tell them, or their email, tell them if they carve it up, to send us a picture.

Will you do that?

<Terasa> We - that would be great.

<Amanda> That would be fun, wouldn't it?

Okay.

Well, who else can we help?

<Terasa> I think we might be able to help Cameron in Little River.

Cameron says, "I've been watering my lawn daily "because it's been so hot and dry, "but it doesn't look like it's helping.

"What should I do?"

(Amanda humming) Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

(laughing) <Brad> So this time of year, it does, we are, it's getting really hot.

It is, it is very hot, and the way we think is okay, we're hot.

The landscapes gotta be hot, well, it needs water, because why not.

But a lot of times, we can actually run into problems when it gets hot, and we get in that mindset.

So what we want to do, is we want to understand that turf only needs a certain amount of water per week.

A good rule of thumb is about an inch per week.

And we want to pay attention to our grass.

We want to, you know, if it's looking very dry, if we're in a really a long drought situation, but what may be happening is is...they may be watering it too much.

And they're over watering.

Even though it is hot, they may be over-watering which is causing some root issues and causing that grass to go away.

<Amanda> And if your roots aren't healthy, then they can't take the water up and translocate it up to the blade.

<Brad> Exactly.

If they're sitting in water all the time, then they're being deprived of that oxygen, as well.

And so they you really don't want your roots of your turf to be sitting in water all the time.

<Amanda> And I've heard or I feel like they've said if you go out in the afternoon and walk on your grass, <Terasa> The footprint test <Brad> Yep, exactly.

<Amanda> Talk a little bit about that as kind of an indicator of if you do need to water or if it's just because it's hot, and it needs to just go through the night and refresh in the morning.

>> Yes, ma'am.

So yeah, that's, that's a quick, pretty simple test.

You can just walk out across your yard, kind of later afternoon, evening, and look at where your footprint is.

If that grass bounces back up, then it's probably okay.

If it stays pressed down and flat then it may need some water.

<Amanda> Okay, but you wouldn't want to water right then?

wouldn't you want to wait until the next morning to water?

>> Well, the best time to water really would be any time after the dew point at night.

<Amanda> Oh!

>> So 10 o'clock, 11, anytime between that point... <Amanda> - after the dew point >> ...and the following morning between 6am, 7am, something like that.

<Amanda> Yeah.

Okay.

All right.

Well, that was that was a big help.

I appreciate that.

<Brad> Yes, ma'am <Terasa> It's sort of related just think, we always encourage people to calibrate their irrigation system so you know how much water you're applying.

So try to calibrate it at the same time that you're going to be doing the irrigating because if you're irrigating when there's a lot of demand on the water system, it might be applying a little bit less water then.

Six o'clock, five o'clock is peak time, peak use.

<Amanda> - If everybody in the world is watering, you might not have as much water coming from the local municipal source.

<Terasa> Right.

<Amanda> That's interesting.

I hadn't thought about that.

Okay.

Well, we have some pretty wonderful state parks in South Carolina.

And Dr. John Nelson and I got to take a trip to one and we had a terrific time over at Goodale State Park in Camden.

♪ I am at Goodale State Park speaking with a state park ranger, John Wells.

John, you're in charge of this park and Sesqui, but I want to concentrate on this one because it's kind of a hidden gem, but so accessible to South Carolinians and there so many ecosystems here.

Let's talk a little bit about some of the marvelous things that are available for the public at what I believe is actually even a free park.

>> Correct, Goodale State Park.

We're right off the highway 1, US-1, just a few miles off of that.

We have - the park is free to the public.

We do not charge admission to this particular park.

We have picnic shelters, a small playground.

It's a wonderful place for the family to come out.

We also have a 140 acre lake here in the park, and it is covered with cypress trees all over the place.

It's a really neat ecosystem, because you have the land.

You have the water.

You have a swampy environment, where you have different plants and animals that call it home, and you have the trees that a lot of lakes don't have trees growing out of the middle of the water.

We also have canoe trails, one the few canoe few trails in the park, You don't hike it.

You don't bike it.

You actually paddle the trail through the forest.

<Amanda> That's pretty remarkable.

It is.

>> But then surrounding the park, there was a drier area with a great variety and interesting plant material for people who like to do that as well.

<John> Our nature trail, the official nature trail goes behind our community building and through the section of the forest back there, and it is a more drier ecosystem there.

Also, people call it a trail but if you're actually walking the top of the dam that goes along the side the lake, and I always thought it was really neat because the dam, you're walking with the lake on one side and then the spillway comes across and has a wetland area another swampy area on the backside of the dam.

So, anywhere you look, it could be a different ecosystem, just standing in one space.

>> Well, my friend John Nelson is here today and we're going to hop in one of your boats and go out on this beautiful black water and see all the things that are waiting for us in an unusual tour of Goodale State Park.

<John> That'll be fun.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ <Amanda> John, I really just can't tell you what it meant to go out there and see those little communities.

It was just so much fun.

<John> Those places are fantastic I think.

I'm also glad we didn't fall into the lake.

<Amanda> But, we talked about the trees, those pond cypress, and you said that they are different from bald cypress in a good many ways.

So, let's go through that.

<John Nelson> For one thing, pond cypress grows in ponds or places where the water is not flowing rapidly, that is not riverine situations.

So you see pond cypress in places like Carolina bays, that sort of thing or even in pond cypress savannas... when they dominate the canopy there, but pond cypress and bald cypress are much different the way that their leaves are held on the branchlets.

So, pond cypress has the leaves are very tightly pressed to this little branch, whereas in bald cypress, the branchlet looks like a feather.

<Amanda> It does.

<John> Right and it's very easy to see the difference if you are in a place that has either one.

<Amanda> ...And they seem a little more dense when you look at it from a distance because it's they're all as you said, if I take one piece it's got a thousand leaves on it.

<John> They're just spiraled very closely along that branchlet.

<Amanda> Then but like the bald cypress when we got out there they had that swollen base and um, and then they've got that very textured bark, and of course there's plenty of moisture out there so the lichens almost, you said, almost looks like spanish moss a little bit.

<John> Some of them.

<Amanda> There was so much.

<John> There's a variety of lichens which will be... on those trees including the snags.

We were talking about the plants that colonize the base of a cypress, and somebody said that it's sort of like each tree has its own little garden down at the bottom.

(laughs) Just a variety of different things to look at.

<Amanda> We saw a lot of lyonia?

<John> Lyonia is fetter bush.

It's relative of blueberry.

<Amanda> Alright and then we also saw itea?

<John> Itea is not in the same family, but it is characteristic of most of the wetlands on the coastal plain.

<Amanda> Then there was a hypericum that we saw.

<John> Sure.

There is and what about those the insectivorous plants?

<Amanda> Yeah, that was just so exciting because Sundews are actually my favorites.

I know they're not the showiest, but...there they were glistening.

<John> Yeah it's amazing how the little glandular hairs on each leaf will have a drop of glazing glistening glue basically.

So in addition to those sundews.

There are also pitcher plants.

<Amanda> - another insectivores plant.

<John> Another insectivorous plant.

We have several species in this state.

The one that we have here at Goodale State Park, is a species called Sarracenia rubra.

The red pitcher plant.

It's really pretty, and it's blooming now.

<Amanda> We also saw what looks to a lot of people like it's eastern red cedar, but this is a really different tree.

<John> Right, it's...a tree that's known as Atlantic white cedar.

It's not the same as their common red cedar.

Atlantic white cedar is a plant of wet places, usually stream heads, very commonly in the Sandhills, and they have a population of Atlantic white cedar here on the hill, overlooking the pond.

<Amanda> One seed landed at the base of one of those buttresses and it's growing out there, and when you people go down towards the coast and they see Cedar Grove Church and Cedar Swamp this, and all that, and they think they're talking about eastern red cedar.

They're talking about Atlantic white cedar because unlike regular eastern, like eastern red cedar.

Atlantic white cedar wants a wetter place.

>> Right and especially in places like Chesterfield and Marlboro counties.

They have a good bit of that plant up there too.

<Amanda> John, it really was a very special way to spend a Friday being out here with you and let's, - Let's get it on the calendar to come back.

<John> I think so.

>> I will say too that the staff here could not have been more accommodating.

The state park rangers here will do everything they can to help you get oriented and have a real good time.

You were a big help to us today <John> Those guys are great.

♪ ♪ ♪ <Amanda> Any day with John Nelson is fun, but to go someplace as special as that and I do want to particularly thank the Rangers there who just made our trip so much easier, and were so attentive and helpful to us in every possible way.

Check out your local state parks.

They are an ...an unknown and untapped treasure in some ways.

Christopher, I think we've had some holes in some pumpkins, and I know that when we carve them, we want some holes in them, but we don't want holes in them real early.

So can you go back and help us with that little part of the question?

<Christopher> Yeah, we started talking about the powdery mildew and kind of left off the holes in the pumpkins, but the good news is they're not related.

<Amanda> Oh, >> The bad news is the holes are usually caused by something like pickle worm, which is a pest that will get inside and basically eat out the contents of your fruits.

Oh, I've seen them in zucchinis.

I've seen him and cucumbers.

You don't see him nearly as much in pumpkins, The best thing to do is just keep an eye out on him.

Generally, as I said, you don't see them as much and kind of hope that you know something's going to take care of it for you.

But if they're all on one fruit, you'll probably lose that fruit, the best thing to do is kind of make sure they stay off some of your other ones.

<Amanda> Well, if you had it on one fruit, is there a preventative?

You could use to keep it from going on the others and how is it... who lays the eggs?

<Christopher> So it is ...it's a moth that lays the eggs.

<Amanda> Okay!

>> The best thing to do, there are some preventative treatments.

But as I said, if we're treating it as a vegetable, we tend to reduce how much we're spraying on it.

So the best thing to do is look out for the eggs, and if you can spot the eggs and get them before they hatch, generally that'll kind of take care of the issue.

But as I said, when it comes to pumpkins, they're probably not gonna go after every fruit and so that's kind of the good news, is because powdery mildew... <Amanda> It's not like squash vine borer, >> Exactly where it kill the plant.

This one you'll lose a fruit or two, but for the most part, you're probably not going to get them on every one.

<Amanda> Okay, okay.

So there's hope for Halloween after all.

<Christopher> Absolutely.

>> Yep.

Yep.

Yep.

Well, I want to thank everybody for being here, and thank you so much.

And um, next time you can bring a picture of - What's your little fellas name?

<Brad> His name is Mac.

<Amanda> Mac.

Okay.

Is that his full name?

<Brad> Yes, ma'am.

Mac Wayland-Fowler, is his name.

<Amanda> That's mighty nice.

Yeah, and bring us a picture.

We like to see happy pictures as well as pictures of problems, and of gardens of the week and garden spotlights.

Thank you Terasa.

Anyway, thank y'all, all for coming.

And we'll see all of y'all, right here next week Night, night everybody.

♪ ♪ ♪ 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.