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

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

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

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

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

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

♪ ♪ ♪ > Well, good evening and welcome to Making It Grow .

We're so glad you can be with us tonight.

Yay, yay, yay, yay.

I'm Amanda McNulty, I'm a Horticulture Agent with Clemson Extension.

And Terasa Lott, you also are associated with Clemson.

And I think you have some exciting news.

> I do.

I am very excited to say that we have a new "Master Gardener Training Manual" that was released this year.

Amanda> It took longer than nine months.

[applause and laughter] Terasa> Perhaps, but we're not going to focus on that.

We're just excited that it's finally out.

And we just had an event to celebrate its release at the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

So appreciative of Clemson Libraries for organizing the event, the Botanical Garden for hosting and Clemson University Press, who is the publisher of the manual.

Amanda> So the library was even excited for everybody.

Terasa> Yes, very much.

And have to make sure we acknowledge Cory Tanner, who is coeditor of the manual, along with me.

Amanda> With you?

Terasa> Yes.

Yes, and all of our chapter authors.

They are, the really... you know, they're the stars because they write the content.

Amanda> Yeah, the meat and potatoes.

Terasa> That's right.

Amanda> And I guess if you've... taken the Master Gardener course before, but you'd like a refresher course, you can probably order a manual yourself and have a more up to date reference tool.

Terasa> That is right.

Amanda> Well, thank you so much.

Terasa> You're welcome.

And really, although it's called the "Master Gardener Training Manual," I think it could be a good reference for anyone who wanted to learn more about gardening in South Carolina.

Amanda> Oh, so you don't have to show them your diploma?

Terasa> No, it's available to the public.

Yes.

Amanda> Okay.

You just call your local extension office and they could tell you how to get one, I guess.

Terasa> And it's available on Amazon.

Amanda> No!

Come on.

My word in Heavens.

[laughter] Well, y'all are just as uptown as anybody I've ever heard of, Terasa.

[laughter] Terasa> Moving on up.

Amanda> Yeah, good for you.

Well, Glen Payne, you came up here from the Beaufort area, and you're the Urban Horticulture Agent down there.

And, you have people who lived in their great-great-grandparent's house, and they have Camellias that are 200 years old and then you have new people coming in too.

> Yes, we do, Amanda.

We certainly have folks moving in all the time, and we just like to let them know that we are available as an extension service to folks that are moving into town.

Whether they're looking to test their soil or they're not having much luck growing their plants.

Please stop by and see us.

Amanda> And, you know, now if they're in a new development... it used to be, we'd say, "Oh, you know, you've got that beach soil and everything."

but I think, they kind of level the lots and just fill them in with whatever.

So, you really, it's even more important than usual to take soil test and find out what you've got.

Glen> It is.

And we'd love to help folks with that.

<Okay> Set them up for success.

Amanda> Good for you.

Yeah.

Just not tomatoes.

[laughter] It's just that, cherry tomatoes- Yeah, I've got to... I still can't make a BLT with a cherry tomato though.

Anyway.

One day.

All righty.

And then, Brittney King, the Commercial Horticultural Agent.

Good gracious.

Chesterfield, Darlington, Florence, Lancaster, Lee and Marlboro.

Well, they have them in, alphabetical order.

Good, gracious.

And, that's a lot for you to remember.

Do you have that many fingers?

[laughter] Brittney> Thankfully, I do.

Amanda> And I bet you're probably learning from the people you helped, too, because you said there's such a huge variety of things these commercial growers are trying to come out with.

> There is, there is.

Thankfully, where we live, we can grow a lot of things.

And as a fruit and vegetable specialist, there's a lot of fruit and vegetables that can be grown.

So, every farm I go to, it's really interesting to learn things from the farmer, see what works for them, what doesn't work for them.

And then us, we can also provide that research based information.

If something's not working, we could be like, "Well, this is why."

<Okay> So we definitely learn from each other.

So that's one of my favorite things about the job.

Amanda> And you can call other agents, also.

<Exactly> It's not like, you know, they say... "I'm not gonna tell you that."

I mean, y'all are all working together.

Brittney> Teamwork.

I love the people on my team, the people I work with.

They're great.

Amanda> I'm so happy.

Yeah.

Well, I bet those people over there are happy to have you.

Brittney> I hope so.

[laughter] Amanda> Yeah, and I, I think you're from there.

Brittney> Yes.

Amanda> How about that?

Good gracious, all mighty.

Well, we've got some fun segments for people to watch.

Hannah Mikell, who's one of our commercial ag agents, went over to Jeremy Cannon, who's a peanut grower.

And we learned all about peanuts.

And I declare, I just love peanuts.

You know, roasted peanuts and I also like boiled peanuts.

And then Jim Beaumier came over from Florence to talk about bonsai.

And honestly, I just learned a lot about that.

I think many, many people are interested in all that minutia.

A little too specialized for me, but I sure like to see what people can do with it.

And, Terasa, I bet we have some "Gardens of the Week."

Terasa> You know we do.

Our viewers always come through for us.

This is the time of the show when you get to shine, you get to show off what you're doing in your yard, your garden or maybe you've just seen something beautiful in the state of South Carolina.

Today, we begin with Stella Dominguez, who shared a bed outside of her screen porch.

From Cindy Panzer, we have a garden gnome with a plant known as Blue Daze.

Cheryl Winston, shared a succulent bowl on her back patio in Summerville.

From Debra Swagel, she described her photo as "the most sincere pumpkin patch."

We see, one fruit and one flower in this portion of the picture.

And from Jeff and Janice Wyatt, an eastern sunset sky over their summer flower garden.

Thank you all for submitting your photos.

This is just a random sampling.

You'll find many more on our Facebook page.

And I hope that when you see us make a call for "Gardens of the Week," you'll consider posting your photo right there.

And it may just appear on air.

Amanda> And the nice thing is, you don't have to have a fancy yard.

You can just have one spot or something in a pot.

You know, it's open to- <That's right!> Open to lots of invitations and entries.

Anyway.

Well, I bet somebody needs some help somewhere within the state of South Carolina.

Terasa> You are correct.

We're going to try to help Laura in Beaufort, who said, "Why does my tangerine have yellow spots and a black film on the leaves?"

Poor Laura.

Amanda> Oh, gracious goodness.

I love tangerines.

Aren't they just wonderful?

Oh, what you think?

Glen> Well, Laura, we are here to help at Clemson, and we've taken a look at your tangerine that you have.

And I've got a sample of it here that she actually brought by the office.

<Oh, okay> I wanted to bring it in just so you could take a look at it and see, what we deal with in the extension office.

So, Laura has a tangerine, she's very sentimental about it.

It is an old, older, citrus that's in her yard and she'd like to keep it in production.

But she's having some problem with some black sooty mold that's getting on the leaves as a result, from whitefly damage that had happened earlier in the year.

And then when we flip the leaves over, we can see that she's also had some tea scale that are on there.

And they're the little white dots that are on there with the tea scale.

And when we flip the leaf over, we can see that there are some yellow spots that are, starting to come out as a result of these tea scale sucking the chlorophyll and the sugars out.

And that's kind of really what they're after this time of year.

And what we're after, what Laura is after is some nice healthy tangerines.

<Yeah> So, we're trying to help her with that.

Some insecticidal soap would be a good recommendation for Laura, as well as some horticultural oil.

If she's really going after the tea scale and not having much luck.

Amanda> These are things she can spray?

<Yes, ma'am> Amanda> Underneath the leaves and on top or what?

Glen> You definitely want to hit them on the undersides of the leaves.

They've kind of adapted when it's hot and sunny.

They like to get on that shady side of the leaf underneath.

Amanda> Like a parasol that we used to carry.

Glen> They do.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Glen> That will help her out.

Amanda> So you think she might get some edible fruit still?

Glen> I do, I do think she may get some edible fruit.

So things are looking good.

Terasa> I noticed that those are awfully small... fruits.

Glen> Yes, Terasa, those are pretty small.

When I spoke with Laura, she has hundreds of tangerines on her tree this year.

<Oh!> Maybe, things have done a little too well.

And... back when they were just starting to go from flower to fruit, a few weeks after that, thinning out the fruit will definitely help the tree.

So if you have three hundred tangerines on the tree, maybe look at reducing it by a hundred, and keeping, one to two hundred tangerines on it.

It'll help them size up and definitely, help with the sugar production on those.

Amanda> You know, when we visit peach farmers, Terasa, they tell us that, I mean, they have, they take like, eighty percent of the peaches off.

It's just stunning.

Terasa> And it's hard, right?

Maybe commercial growers, I think, understand that.

But homeowners, it's a little hard.

You just feel like you're wasting it.

But most folks are going to want fewer number of larger fruit then lots of little bite-sized fruit.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Gosh, I think... maybe we've had our last peaches.

I think there's still a few coming in.

Glen> The good thing is our citrus is coming on, so you'll have plenty for Christmas decorations this year.

Amanda> Yeah, but there's nothing like a South Carolina peach.

<Agreed> Terasa> But if they were available all year, we might not appreciate them as much.

<I know> You just look forward to next year.

Amanda> It's like Christmas.

It's worth waiting for.

[Amanda making slurping sound] [laughter] Great, juicy peaches.

All righty.

Well, Terasa?

And thanks for bringing that in and telling us.

Glen> Yes ma'am.

You're welcome.

Terasa> I had talked to Brittney a little earlier, and I believe she's got a show and tell for us.

So we talk a lot about problems.

Sometimes pollination is an issue.

And I think you're going to tell us about how water lilies are pollinated.

Brittney> Mhm.

Amanda> Water lilies?

Brittney> Yeah.

Amanda> Let's find that out.

Brittney> Yeah, so I was actually at a garden center where I live last week, and they have an aquatic plant section, and they have water lilies there.

<Okay> And I happened to be there the first day that they bloom.

And I remember learning this in college, how pollination happens with water lilies and it's actually pretty interesting.

So the first day, the first flower that you see, it depends on the variety, but usually you'll- Amanda> Now we have some water lilies that are native to this area.

Brittney> Yeah, exactly.

I think in the picture, the one I have is kind of a pinker color.

But they usually start off white.

At night... they close up.

And how pollination actually happens is the flower starts out as a female.

A beetle or a bee will go inside the flower.

<Okay> And it kind of lands on what we call this "stigmatic bowl."

And it basically has this sticky liquid that kind of traps the beetle and the bee.

And so during the day, the bee's been getting pollen, the fly or the beetle's been collecting pollen.

So the flower traps the insect with the pollen inside.

And takes up that pollen.

And in the morning the flower will open back up and release the bee, the beetle.

But it's now pollinated.

And so now the male parts of the flower come up.

Amanda> Heavens.

Brittney> And the flower- Some varieties the flower color can actually change after it's been pollinated.

So it'll start off as a white flower and then it'll open up the next day kind of a lighter pink color.

<Heavens> And so then it closes one more night.

And when it opens back up, which, I think I have a picture of, you'll see, the seed pods start to form as well.

Amanda> Good gracious.

So it has this sticky area that holds the insect.

<Mhm> But it's not forever trapped.

Brittney> Nope.

<Okay> Sometimes they do, sometimes they do die.

But most of the time they can fly out.

<Huh> Yeah.

The flower closes up keeps them warm, they kind of sleep in there overnight and then, yeah.

[laughter] It's so cool.

Amanda> That is just stunning.

Brittney> It's really fun.

Amanda> What great, great fun.

Okay.

Ah, golly Pete.

How fascinating things are.

Brittney> I know it's so, so cool.

Terasa> There's so much to learn about the natural world, if only we just take the time.

Brittney> I know, yeah.

It's interesting.

Amanda> Well, we are so grateful to Hannah Mikell, because she's always doing great things.

She's got a very curious mind.

And she knows people that we don't know because she's a commercial ag agent.

And... we're going to now learn more than we did know about peanuts.

And gosh, it's just a great South Carolina crop.

♪ > Hello and welcome.

My name is Hannah Mikell, I'm a Clemson Extension Agronomy Agent in Clarendon and Williamsburg Counties.

I have the pleasure today to meet with Mr.

Jeremy Cannon with Cannon Ag Products.

Jeremy, tell us a little bit about your operation.

> Well, Hannah, pleasure being here with you.

I'm actually a fourth generation farmer here in Turbeville, South Carolina.

And we farm a lot of different row crops and produce and much like... where we're in the field here with some peanuts that we have planted.

Hannah> That's right.

Yeah, we met probably... 12, 15 years ago.

You were doing corn, soybeans, cotton.

You added peanuts about four years ago with some other produce that you grow on the side, which takes a lot of your time, right?

Jeremy> For sure.

Hannah> Yeah.

But today we're... I'm pleased to be here with you and talk about some of these Virginias that we have out here.

These are a nice big ballpark peanuts, right?

Jeremy> Yep.

Hannah> Do you grow any other varieties?

Jeremy> We actually grow some Valencia's.

Little small red peanuts that everybody loves to boil.

And we grow some for our market.

Hannah> Well, cool.

So with your Virginias, about what time of year are you planting those?

And what time are we looking at harvesting?

Jeremy> We're trying to get them planted, you know, mid-May.

And, the actual variety that we plant are called "Baileys."

And they are 120 day peanut.

So, you don't really... want to start even looking or even considering digging them until they get at least 120 days after planting.

Hannah> Yeah.

Well, that's cool.

Yeah, so our Runners then are going to be a smaller variety of peanut.

And those are going to be more of like our, our crushing peanuts and that sort of thing.

And the Virginias are going to be our candies.

Right?

Jeremy> Oh yeah.

Hannah> High oleic, they have a higher oil content.

So whenever you're growing these, what are some of the... few things that you need to keep your eye on?

Jeremy> Probably the thing that we look at the most is fungicides.

<Yeah> You know, what kind of, any kind of leaf spot or, you know, insect pressure within the field.

That's something that we would monitor every week.

<Oh yeah> We got a spraying schedule.

It's like a five spray, <Yeah> that we try to spray something every couple of weeks on them.

Hannah> That's right.

Yeah, baby them, kind of keep them in shape and make sure they're not losing their leaves because you know as well as I do, if the bush is out there, but there's no leaves to pick them up, there's no way really to flip them and invert them to let them dry during the growing season.

You also need the leaves to be, getting good shape because all that energy out the plant <Mhm> is going to go back into that peanut to make a good peanut, a sellable peanut.

Hannah> That's right.

Yeah.

Alright, so Jeremy 2024, this has been at most a challenging season with our rainfall.

Tell us about that.

Jeremy> It's been dry.

We have been so dry.

You know, we've had D3 drought status.

<Yeah> Which is just... you know, hardly no rain.

I don't think since May, we have had any rain.

I think we've had four rain events and all of them have been tropical or subtropical.

Off of a tropical storm off of the hurricane, it's not really a soaking in rain, something that's really going to benefit your soil moisture profile.

You know... and it's difficult to even imagine, what as dry as we are this year have been in 2024, what it would have been, had we not had any, you know, tropical system come through.

You know, I was just thinking that, sometimes even the storms... are a benefit.

You know, as much as we hate to see tropical storms, our state would be pretty desperate had they not came in 2024.

Hannah> Yeah.

And even after those, have passed this year, we still had a prolonged period just this tad bit of the end of the growing season.

But now let's say if, if we have adequate rain, these peanut plants are going to lap the row, right?

Jeremy> For sure.

Hannah> And when we talk about lapping the row, they're touching.

Jeremy> They're gonna touch each other.

Hannah> Yeah.

So what, tell us... what has your dad ever got on to you about how straight your rows were or how does that look?

Well, that's one thing that, you know, today we have that we didn't have 15, 20 years ago when I first started, pulling rows, planting rows.

Is we have GPS.

<Yay> Yeah, thank the Lord for GPS, you know.

But... you know, years ago we had it, we did it all by row marker.

We had... to start off a field, you would, you would pick out a tree or a bush on the other end of the field, and you try to drive to it.

Hannah> You close one eye and just see how straight you can get it, right?

[laughter] Jeremy> You know, I always did a really good job of that back in the woods, but the fields beside the highway, is when I would always- I was so efficient at making a terrible row, right beside the highway.

And then you got... your daddy's upset because you pulled a crooked row.

He'd say, "You had to do it right side of the highway."

Hannah> They're gonna be talking about it at church, after church.

They're all gonna say, "Did you see that row Jeremy pulled?"

Jeremy> At the store... you know, all your farmer friends, you know they would judge you when they came by, you know, looking at this row, "Now it's the crookedest row I have ever seen."

But... getting back to what we are today and these peanuts, you know, straightness and, getting on top of the row when your- Hannah> Accuracy.

Jeremy> Accuracy is, upmost importance because, you know, when you're digging those peanuts, if you're off one side or the other, you're leaving, it could be a third or half your crop in the dirt.

Hannah> Yeah, that digger blade, so what, what I guess our growers need or our viewers need to learn about is there's a big blade that kind of... pushes underneath that plant and inverts it.

And as it starts to pull it, it's going to turn it over.

Jeremy> That's right.

Hannah> And lay it upside down.

But if our blades off, it's going to start shearing the taproot off of that crop, which could leave a tremendous amount of peanuts in the ground.

So that's our yield.

<Yes> Up until this point you've harvested nothing, right?

So we want to make sure that that's as accurate as possible.

Jeremy> Right.

So that is the significance of, of being over the center of the row.

Is that knife can cut peanuts off and leave them in dirt.

I mean, your peanut is your weight, is your yield is your income for that year.

<Uh-huh> So but one thing that we have today is... the GPS accuracy.

We actually plant and harvest with, with RTK technology, which is, gives you sub... accuracy, repeatability.

When I say repeatability- We can plant a row and in three months or in six months or whenever we can come back and dig the same row.

<Yep> I just think that's, you know, it's fascinating.

It's amazing what technology does, but it is, it is key to making a good peanut crop.

Hannah> That's very true.

Very, very true.

So another part of that is not only knowing the accuracy of how to dig and how to spray throughout the growing season, but knowing when to harvest.

So we talked about the days there's... you know, you start planting in spring and then by the time we get to 140 days and we start really monitoring that crop for maturity levels, right?

<Yep> And I like to think of it as a bell curve.

Right?

So we're not going to want to dig too early where all of our maturity is, is immature because that's going to shrink.

We'll have a lot of loss there in weight, but we want it where most of our crop, whenever we pull them off and we check the peanuts are going to be at a peak performance, right?

Jeremy> Yep.

You know, we start looking at 120 days.

We go and get a sample and we blast them and kind of look at colors and, that color scheme will tell you, you know, when is the key time to dig.

Now... they say once the peanut gets mature, the difference between the pod being full and it being, you know, immature, you know, is about 500 pounds that you could gain <Wow> of yield in a week.

<Yeah> So that is, I mean, you can make an excellent crop, excellent plant, big... a large sample of nuts.

But if that nut is not fully mature, then you're giving away yield.

<Yeah> In this field, we're only 154 days, which is really late.

<Yeah> But we got some peanuts that were made- Hannah> Late season.

Jeremy> Late.

You know, after the tropical storm, the plant got a little bit of life in it.

Started blooming again, trying to set pods again.

So we actually have like two crops being made on this plant this year, when typically, you know, all of them will be, you know, in a closer window.

So as you get closer, you know, past 150 days, you stand the risk of losing the older ones.

Hannah> A lot of our people will know though there's a peg that holds that peanut down in the ground, and that's what's feeding it, giving it nutrition.

Right?

And so whenever you go to invert those peanuts and dig them, the pod or the peg strength needs to, to be great enough to hold it, to pull it up out of the ground.

So although you've got a nice load of nuts in the ground, if we don't have the pod strength and we haven't protected those plants well enough, we might lose some of it.

<Yeah> It's just knowing that sweet spot.

It's almost like an art, right?

Jeremy> Oh yes.

And you're looking at days, you're looking at... you're also looking at weather, you know.

Peanuts have to have at least four days to dry down.

And it has... that's four days of high temp and you're actually looking at four days, warm temperature, low humidity.

Hannah> So after they dry down, you get about four days.

And then what'll happen next?

Jeremy> Well, you know, we're going... we'll run the combine through them.

We'll actually pull some off and we'll take them to the market and check for moisture.

You know, they want them around ten and a half.

Hannah> Ten and a half percent moisture.

Jeremy> But there's also, you know, if there's a risk there, of not having enough days if we think rain is coming, <Right> down the road and we're not going to have enough days to harvest them all, then maybe we'll start digging around or maybe start combining around 14 percent.

The later you get in the season, the closer you get into November, <Yeah> the chances go up.

You got frost damage, you got rain damage and you have a lot less drying days.

Obviously, the days are getting shorter.

It's a pretty good challenge to picking the right day and the right time when to dig, when to harvest to get the most, yield.

Hannah> So, Jeremy, one of the most entertaining things I've had in my dealings with peanut harvesting, time of the year is knowing what's out in these fields and knowing how attractive a peanut is, right?

Especially to like... a mouse.

Jeremy> Oh, yes.

Hannah> So along with a mouse goes, what else?

Jeremy> Well, snakes.

Hannah> That's exactly right.

Jeremy> Exactly what you see out here in these fields.

Snakes chasing after rats chasing after our peanuts.

Hannah> And they will.

And so when those peanuts are dried and combined this habitat underneath these vines make for a perfect... place for little mice to run around, but also for the snakes to catch them.

And so when, you know, the combine is not going to select whether they're picking up a snake or a peanut, right?

Jeremy> Oh, no.

Hannah> And so that, unfortunately, the hand that's up in the top of the bin raking all the peanuts down and leveling them off occasionally we'll see a snake.

And all that whooping and hollering is is pretty hilarious sometimes.

Jeremy> Well, hilarious... is a strange choice of words.

Hannah> I'm sorry.

Jeremy> But... Yeah, it's not that fun when you're 14 feet in the air and, you get, get hemmed up in there with a snake.

So, it's evasive maneuvers, you know.

Hannah> It's either you or me, right?

Jeremy> One of us has got to go.

Hannah> Yeah, yeah.

That's funny.

Well, I've enjoyed talking with you about the peanuts.

I hope other people have, gained a little bit of insight into them if they wanted to try to grow some.

I know back home in Mississippi, my next door neighbor actually grew peanuts.

Isn't that crazy?

<Yes> The deer loved them, so they ate a lot of the tops out of them.

But always... it was a fond childhood memory of going out and finding what was in the ground, right?

Jeremy> Yep.

You know, deer actually like, if the deer pressure is high enough deer actually will eat the peanuts after they're dug.

Hannah> You're right.

Jeremy> They can start smelling them.

You know, I guess the sweetness of them and they'll actually, you can actually lose yield while you're waiting on the combine.

Hannah> Exactly right, yeah.

We've seen that.

I mean, we did a yield check one year and we were thinking like 500 plus pounds, and you got out there and we started getting our tickets back from the buyer, and it was... a thousand or more lower, which was disheartening kind of.

Jeremy> It's really hard to... see a two ton plus peanut crop, you know, laying on top of the dirt and then lose it.

You know, and that's, I reckon that saying, you know, it's one of those "don't count your chickens before they hatch" type deal.

The crop is never made until it's at whatever its last destination is.

Hannah> That's right.

Jeremy> Till its at the buyer's station.

Yeah.

So there's... a lot of risk.

Hannah> A risky business, that's for sure.

But it takes a good grower to end up being able to harvest after a challenging year that we've had this year.

And I look forward, Jeremy to seeing all the different other products that you produce on your farm, and just, maintaining the relationship and getting to know your family better and enjoying our time spent out in the field.

Jeremy> Sure.

I appreciate you.

Hannah> Yeah.

You're welcome.

♪ Amanda> Thank you, Hannah, for doing that.

I'm sure everyone at home watched, enjoyed learning that.

And it remind me of that... ♪ Found a peanut ♪ ♪ Found a peanut ♪ [laughter] But our South Carolina peanuts, none of them are rotten when you crack them open.

How bout that?

Thanks to our wonderful agents like Hannah who help the farmers.

Isn't that something?

Oh, my goodness gracious.

Well hats, hats, hats.

Well, I've got, let's see... here's the Gomphrena.

I think, I'm holding onto the right part.

And then, I've got this, ah... the fall Asters, I declare.

this beautiful daisy-like flower.

They're just so exquisitely beautiful.

And then I've got some Celosia, that Ann gave me.

And Ann got this Celosia when we were in, up in North Carolina and we went to Lake Lure.

And they had, a bridge that wasn't used anymore.

And the master gardeners had gone down there and planted flowers all over this bridge.

It was fascinating.

And they had a pile where they put extra things that they weren't using.

So Ann got a piece of this Celosia.

It's got purple leaves, some of them are green.

And she brought it home and I left- She now has it everywhere in her yard.

And I brought, I left some on my desk the other day, and it was a piece of paper.

And I thought, "What in the world is on this piece of paper?"

I've never seen so many seeds in all of my life.

Terasa> It's the gift that keeps on giving.

Yeah, like 110 percent... [laughter] germination.

But, you know, it's just a great little flower, you know, it's pretty.

Yeah.

And on and on and on, just blooms and blooms and blooms.

Especially because, you know, are we ever going to get a frost.

Yeah, yeah, it's something.

Anyway.

But whatever.

It's all fine.

Well, let's see whom we can help next.

Terasa> All right.

Let's see what we have on my handy-dandy spreadsheet of... call-ins.

Next question.

It must be, Citrus Day because this is also a citrus question from Paul in Beaufort.

Who would like to know, "Why are my tangerines turning yellowish brown?"

Yuck, that doesn't sound great.

Amanda> Oh my goodness.

I don't think that's what color they're supposed to be.

Glen> Well, in keeping with what we were talking about and cold weather being right around the corner, I think that's exactly what's happening with Paul's tangerine.

We took a closer look at the tangerine that he has.

And actually, what's going on as happens in nature, when temperatures start to cool down and the days start to get shorter and the nights are longer, the green chlorophyll actually starts to break down and you have different pigments that are in the fruit of the citrus tree- Amanda> Just like in fall leaves.

Glen> Right.

Exactly.

Like your fall leaves.

So, this pigment in particular you have is a carotenoid, just like a carrot that you would have.

So what Paul's seeing is his tangerine is changing from, green to a yellowish brown and then will eventually turn orange.

And there are different types of pigments that are responsible for different types of colors.

Like you have, for blueberries and blackberries just like you have with the orange and citrus.

So that's what he's got going on here.

And I did want to just open up the tangerine and kind of see how we were doing here.

See... if we had a good growing season.

And we can see how juicy this tangerine is.

Amanda> Oooh!

Terasa> Look at that.

Glen> And this thing is super sweet, it looks like.

But we would have to actually taste that.

[slurping] Mmm.

It looks like it's going to be a great year for tangerines, Paul.

Brittney> Don't let the outside fool you.

Glen> Yeah, that's right.

Terasa> That's just the ripening process.

<Yeah> The question sounded horrible, but then once you take a look at it.

Amanda> So do we... wait until they're orange to... pick them and start enjoying them at their utmost sweetness?

Glen> That would be a really good idea, Amanda.

Amanda> You looked like you enjoyed that, pretty much.

Glen> I was really enjoying this.

And, you know, there seem to be a lot of citrus this year.

We've had a lot of rain.

So a lot of peaches, a lot of watermelons.

And it looks like it's going to be a great year for citrus.

Amanda> Whoa, okay.

And I think you've got... a Lowcountry special knife.

Glen> I do actually have one.

And it's actually got a tiger paw on it, there.

So, every good extension agent should have a pocket knife so they're able to cut open their citrus fruit or check their plants and things like that.

So there you go.

And... as Brittney said, "Don't let the skin fool you."

You want to take a look on the inside, see what's going on.

May not look so attractive, but there you go.

<Gosh> It's gonna be a good year.

Amanda> It's fun when you tell somebody something wonderful and they don't have to do anything, except just sit on their hands for a while and wait.

Glen> Sit, wait, and pray for cold weather.

With the cold weather, you'll also increase the brix factor in the sugars that are in your citrus.

So this, will be a great tangerine.

Probably not one you want to use for making wreaths or Christmas decorations.

This is one you'll want to eat.

Amanda> You know, Terasa, my mother said when she was a little girl and they always did this- We'd get an orange in our stocking.

And she said "when she was little, they would get an orange in their stocking, and that was the only orange they would have all year long."

Terasa> My grandmother also, would talk about how joyous of an occasion it was to have a fresh piece of fruit.

Amanda> Wasn't that something?

Yeah, and we're so fortunate now.

Brittney> Yeah, we have it everywhere.

Amanda> I know.

Yeah, yeah, and all kinds of fun things.

I even like kumquats.

Not everybody likes them.

But you have to chomp down on it, right away.

Brittney> Yeah.

Amanda> Yeah.

Because the peel is sweet but the inside's kind of sour.

So it gives you a real nice combination, tickles your taste buds.

Thank you, so very much.

Thank you.

Well, let's see whom we can help next.

Terasa> All right.

Let's try to help Mike.

Mike, has a problem with squash and zucchini plants.

He says, "What are these white spots all over my plants?"

I think, I have an idea, but we have to see the, the picture in order to know for sure.

Amanda> Well... I think that we've probably got some farmers who grow this and so, I bet they don't like to see that.

Brittney> Right.

So this is actually something I'm seeing a lot of in really zucchini, squash this time of year.

And it's because we've been so dry.

Normally- Amanda> We were soaking wet forever.

Now we're dry.

Brittney> Right, right.

But in the Pee Dee, we really haven't had a lot of rain.

And that really encourages powdery mildew.

<Ah> So those white patches on those leaves, it can affect the top and the lower part of the leaf.

So whenever you do- Amanda> You'd think mildew would be with wet?

Brittney> I know, that's the thing.

Downy mildew is whenever it's wetter, but powdery mildew, you still have to manage for that whenever it's dry?

Yeah.

You're not safe in dry weather with cucurbits.

[laughter] So pretty much, you know, for home gardeners, you could do like a copper fungicide or chlorothalonil.

But the big key is to make sure both sides of the leaf are covered.

Because if you only cover the top, you're going to go out the next day, and it's just going to be a white mat of growth on the underside of that leaf.

Amanda> So, in a home garden, I guess somebody could go out and help you by lifting the leaves up or something.

But how do the commercial people manage to- Brittney> So commercially, they, there are tractors, they use a very high water pressure to really get into the canopy of the plant.

That's what they use.

Amanda> Okay.

And somehow it gets down on the undersides?

Brittney> Very high water pressure.

Amanda> Goodness gracious.

Brittney> It gets right into the canopy of the plant.

Amanda> Heavens.

Brittney> Yeah.

Amanda> I do like squash.

Brittney> I love squash.

Amanda> I just think squash is- Brittney> Doing great this time of year, too.

Amanda> Okay.

Yeah, it's not just a summer vegetable.

Brittney> Yeah, yeah.

No, all year round.

Amanda> All righty.

Goodness gracious.

Well, Terasa, is there somebody else who needs some... advice?

[laughter] Research based advice.

Terasa> Will try to help Sarah on Lady's Island who asked, "What are the red spots and hard brown things with white strings on my fig leaves?"

And thank goodness we do have a photo, but maybe something in studio as well.

Glen> Yes.

Sarah, thank you for your question.

This is something that you're going to see a lot later in the fall with your fig trees.

And it is unique just to your fig tree.

So, what she ended up with was fig rust.

Amanda> Oh, my goodness.

Glen> That she has on her fig and... in speaking with Sarah, she did tell me that... this particular fig tree was given to her as a cutting, and she grew it out so it could be something that, was transmitted in that cutting.

And now she has it in her fig tree, and there's really no cure for it.

So what we want to do is use some cultural IPM.

And what I mean by that is you're going to want to prune the fig tree to increase air circulation and so the humidity is not so high in the fig tree.

Some other things that you can do is look at adding mulch underneath of the tree.

And with the mulch it becomes a barrier in between the soil.

So when these leaves fall off and they're on the ground, it rains or the irrigation runs and the spores splatter up.

So the mulch will help with the prevention of that.

So that's something that you can do with the fig rust.

Those are different strategies you can use.

But she also had some other issues on her fig tree.

She said, "I'm seeing these brown pustules that I have."

And there's the little hard looking sack things that are on her fig, right here.

And if you look closely, you can see there's almost like a white thread that's coming out of the back of them.

And, this is a fungus that will start out on your fig tree.

I'm sorry... It's not a fungus, it's a leaf blight.

And the leaf blight is known as "thread blight."

Let us back up... how far?

Just a little bit Sean or what?

Amanda> Okay.

Go ahead.

Glen> So it's a leaf blight known as "thread blight."

And it starts out on the base of the stem.

And then it will work its way up onto the actual leaf.

And so you end up with this blight that you have on your fig tree.

It's not something that will completely, kill your fig tree.

It does look unsightly.

And it is something that, you can manage culturally and that's the answer to your question of what it is.

It's going to be thread blight that you have on there.

Brittney> Does it attack the fruit as well?

Glen> No, it just gets on your leaf.

Amanda> But the leaves need to photosynthesize to have nice juicy fruit.

Glen> Right.

Amanda> Goodness gracious.

Well... Glen> These are things you can see with your fig later in the tree.

They may look healthy all spring and summer long, but it's been a long, hard growing season.

And, trees are kind of worn out at this point, and they're trying to seed and put fruit out for us.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, I do like figs.

They are really, really, really tasty.

Well, one other thing I like also is bonsai.

And we really enjoyed having someone come over and telling us all about it and giving us some examples.

I think I will leave it to the experts.

I'm talking to Jim Beaumier, and he came over from Florence.

And I believe you and your wife have a shop over there.

Jim> Holly and I have a shop called "Growing Hobby."

And it's at the Pee Dee State Farmer's Market.

And we're open six days a week, not on Sunday.

Amanda> All right.

And, she has lots of things.

She's interested in succulents and you've got carnivorous plants.

But your interest, I believe, is bonsai.

> Bonsai.

Yes, yes.

Yeah, I've been interested in it for years.

And, we opened the shop in 2020 and Holly said, "Put some bonsai out."

And so I did.

Amanda> Okay.

And so let's talk about the different kinds of plants that you can use in bonsai.

And we'll start with this one.

Jim> Yes.

Bonsai was created in China.

We know from at least 700 A.D.

and then it moved to Japan.

And the idea is put a plant, put a tree in a shallow pot.

And this one that you're looking at is a good example of that.

That is a Juniper.

And it's got a slant style and some dead wood on it.

Amanda> Oh.

Jim> And that's, it's really something we like.

Amanda> So it's something that I might see.

And then this is a miniature of that- Jim> That we bring inside.

Amanda> Isn't that fun?

Jim> Yes.

It's... they're quite beautiful.

Amanda> And then next to it?

Jim> Next to it is, a deciduous kind.

So it loses its leaves in the winter.

That is a Japanese Maple.

And that variety is interesting because it is forest styled.

That means it's got many plants in the same planting, but again, small shallow pot.

And then on- Amanda> That's something we'd see from afar and then brought in.

Jim> Yes, bring in the forest.

Interesting.

<Yes> And then on the very end is a tropical.

And what that means is you can't keep it out in the winter.

It's got to come inside at, under 50 degrees.

And that one is a Fukien Tea or Carmona.

And it's got a nice curved shape to it, which we like as well.

And you can make tea from the leaves.

Amanda> Ah!

[laughter] All righty.

I don't think we were gonna pick the leaves off.

Jim> Maybe not.

Amanda> And then over here, you've got some lovely things as well.

Jim> Yeah.

This first one close to me is on a rock.

And that's sort of interesting a little, little more advanced.

But you have to use a little different soil.

And I've got two things in there.

That's another Juniper.

That's an American Juniper, "Nana" which means small.

And then it's a boxwood which is a common plant.

But this one happens to be from Thailand.

It's got really cool root... trunk on it.

Amanda> And next to it looks like another tree.

Jim> It is a Japanese Cypress.

And this one, I've cleared the branches out quite a bit.

It is not native to here, so it needed a little work.

And this is an upright style and it's kind of broom or brush style.

And then the other thing I'm doing with it is kind of creating clouds.

So it's a little... little portions of it that are separated like clouds you might see in the sky.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

So you're thinning it out some.

And really, that way we can see the overall shape much more beautifully than if it were just all bunched together.

Jim> Right.

And it's also healthier for the tree because the sun could get in there.

And, bushes that you see are often dead in the center.

And this one won't, that won't happen to it.

Amanda> Yeah.

It looks very healthy and happy.

And then down on the end, we have one that looks like it's growing on a rock face out in California or something.

Jim> Yes.

This is Serissa, which is a flowering plant.

And this variety likes, or doesn't mind to have its roots exposed.

Amanda> Gosh.

Jim> And I bet you know that, you don't expose the roots on plants.

Amanda> And so you probably had to put a lot of work into getting that done.

You didn't just yank it out of the ground and stick it in there.

Jim> We move it up yearly- Which is, most of them can stay where they are for three years or more.

<Yes> But this one I have to move up yearly to expose the roots, and then I clean it off.

Amanda> Gosh, there's a good bit of work that goes into it.

Jim> It's not too bad, I enjoy it.

Amanda> Yeah.

And you enjoy teaching people about it?

Jim> I do.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Well, let's talk about how you make a bonsai, shall we?

Jim> Well, and I've studied a little bit.

I am an amateur.

<Yes> So, I'm not a bonsai master, but I've done some studies.

They're bonsai masters in North Carolina who I've gone to visit.

And then I learn a lot from doing on my own.

<Okay> So, we start with a bonsai pot, and the first thing we've got to do is it's got this big hole in it.

And so we've got to put a screen in it so the dirt doesn't fall out.

Amanda> Wow.

Soil.

[laughter] Jim> Soil, yes.

Or "substrate" is what they call it.

And so we... do a little manipulation with wires.

Amanda> Wow.

Whoa!

So it'll stay right in place.

Jim> Yeah.

And then I've got, I've got that there.

Amanda> Super.

Jim> So and then we've got the tray, when you put it inside so the water doesn't fall out.

Now the other thing is when we put it in there we're going to cut the taproot.

So I also have to wire the plant into the pot.

<Whoa> So I use wires... to put the plant into the pot.

Amanda> Now, you're going to put the screen over that other little whole too.

Jim> Yes, I will.

I was going to skip that step, for now.

Amanda> I don't want this plant to die.

So I want you to do it right.

Jim> No, or the dirt... soil to fall out.

Amanda> Substrate.

Jim> So, there we go.

<Okay> Then... I'll get my plant.

And this is where it gets real fun.

Amanda> And this is easily bendable?

Jim> Yes.

Amanda> It's just copper wire.

Jim> Well, actually, not copper, because copper would corrode.

So this is anodized aluminum wire.

It does look like copper from its color.

<Yeah> Right.

So now I get to be- This is why people like doing bonsai because you get dirty.

<Okay> So then we take the plant out of it.

<Wow> See, I told you I was going to make a mess.

And we can take off, a half to two-thirds of the soil.

Amanda> Gracious, goodness.

Jim> So we're going to decide now, which is the front.

And, one of the things that we want to do as you can see in my plants, is we want to expose... the main trunk.

<Yes> And the main branch, there.

<Yes> So, even before I put it in the pot, I'm gonna do a little trimming.

[scissors snipping] And there, I've exposed it, there.

Amanda> So that's going to be the front?

<Right> Amanda> That was pretty easy to understand.

And then so we can manipulate this plant in two ways.

We can trim it but we can also wire it.

So this plant- Amanda> And you have trimmed it some.

Jim> Yeah, I did trim it.

And then I would move the wires to do that.

And what I'm doing is showing the trunk here.

<Yes> And the main branch, we got one branch going out this way.

And then another branch going out this way.

Amanda> This is gonna be pretty, I think.

Jim> And then... and I'm not going to do all of this right now, but then we fish the wire through the root ball.

And we put it in there.

And... we tie it up real good.

And then the magic here.

I've got one that I've planted in a pot.

[laughter] And then I'm going to clean up my mess a little bit here.

[scraping sounds] I like making a mess, though.

That's the fun part.

Amanda> And look what we're gonna have when we finish.

Jim> All right.

So what I've done here is I've wired it into the pot.

But you can't- Amanda> But I'm just going to say, So here I can see the wires when I pull this branch back.

Jim> Right.

Amanda> But the way you've- Your artfulness, it doesn't really show.

Jim> Yeah.

So I've done some trimming on this one already, but this branch is in the way.

Amanda> Yeah, it is.

Jim> So what I'm going to do is finish wiring it.

And as I mentioned you get the design you want both by- Amanda> Trimming.

Jim> By trimming and also wiring.

So we do... a combination of both.

Now what I'm doing is wiring and I want to make it look nice.

So I'm wiring it tightly to the branch.

And I'm going to wire first before I bend.

Amanda> Oh!

Jim> And then... so I've done that.

<Yes> And I pull it like that.

<Wow> And then I should have a fairly good shape.

Yeah I do, and I'm going to grab something else- Amanda> I'm gonna peek and look.

<Yeah> Oh, that's going to be lovely.

Jim> Right.

And this is just a- Amanda> Lazy Susan.

Jim> Well lazy Susan, or it's a potter's wheel, actually.

Amanda> Okay.

Jim> And I was doing so much of this on a little not very nice potter's wheel.

And Holly got... or lazy Susan.

Holly got me this, this nice potter's wheel.

And this way I can kind of look at it all around.

Amanda> Oh, wonderful!

Jim> So, there you go.

And I'm going to just do a little trimming here, and then I'll show you.

[scissors snipping] But again, I'm exposing the main trunk and I'm not going to do all of that.

<Oh> But there you go.

Amanda> Gosh.

It already looks pretty good to me.

Jim> Well, it's going to get better.

It'll take me a little while.

I want to talk about the soil.

Amanda> Yes.

Because we need to get some more soil in there.

Jim> Yes.

So the soil... consists of three components.

There is lava rock.

Which is, you know- Amanda> Makes it very porous so the water can move through.

Jim> Exactly.

But the other, the other design of this is so that the bark will get gnarly and old looking.

So it's not nutrient rich at all.

And so we're not necessarily growing this plant.

We're making it look older, and that's by design.

So in a few years this bark here will look kind of rough and gnarly.

And you mentioned on this plant how it's flaky <Yes> and coming off and so forth, makes it look older.

Amanda> It does.

Jim> That's with the bonsai soil.

In addition to that, we use, a Japanese clay called Akadama.

<Yes> And this, is very common in Japan, but obviously not here.

But we do get it because it works so well.

Amanda> What's its purpose?

What does it do?

Jim> It keeps the moisture.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Jim> As you mentioned, the lava rock... no moisture.

The water is going to go right through it.

So that helps.

Now I cheat and I use some organic material.

<Yes> Many bonsai people use no organic material.

But then you have to do all kinds of supplement- Amanda> Fertilizing.

Make sure all the nutrients are there.

Jim> Well, not just the nutrients, but all those, trace elements.

<Sure> So anyway, I use pine bark mulch.

<Okay> That seems to work out well.

And my customers like, like it.

<Easy> So it works out very well.

And then, so... when I get to that point, I'll push that soil in here.

[rustling sounds] There you go.

Amanda> So you're starting with?

Jim> It's the mixture of those three elements.

Amanda> Oh, you mix it up?

Jim> Yes.

Yeah.

I use equal amounts of these three elements.

Now I've also got to do this.

And of course from Japan we use, we have to use a chopstick.

But, what I'm doing here is making sure that this new soil is integrated in there with the existing soil.

Amanda> With the root system that you have in the soil.

Jim> Yes.

So if there's air in there pockets in there, the roots will rot.

<Yeah> So I'm going to go and go like that.

Amanda> My word.

Jim> Yes.

And then eventually we'll come out with one of these that we have like this.

Amanda> My word.

Now do you think that you will trim the back of this some... Jim> Yes, I'm going to do- Amanda> As time goes on?

Jim> quite a bit more with it.

But I just wanted to show a little bit of a sample.

Amanda> Okay.

We, we use pliers to crank that wire down so that it's, it's tight in the pot.

I don't want this to come out.

And remember, I trimmed the taproot off of it.

And then I have my wire cutters.

Amanda> Goodness.

Jim> And I use different sizes of wire depending upon how big the branch or the... even you can manipulate the trunk is.

Amanda> Surgical tools... Jim> Yes.

Amanda> Well, this is really exciting.

And if I want to, I could come and take classes with you, I believe.

Jim> Yes, we offer classes and we even have a bonsai club.

The club is mostly my former students and also people that come into the shop.

And we use different plants.

We have thousands of, nursery plants that we can use to make bonsai.

And, I have a hundred or so, finished bonsai.

Although, they're never finished.

You'll always work on them.

Amanda> Thank you so very much.

I've really been intrigued by everything that you've taught us today.

This was a lot of fun.

Jim> Thank you so much.

Amanda> We really thank Jim Beaumier for coming over and telling us about this ancient art and, that's still in practice today.

And he seems to be a practitioner of it.

Well, that's a funny looking squash.

What in the heck is going on?

Brittney> Yeah.

So I like to call this "squash sisters."

A cute name for it.

<Yeah> So this is actually something that happens, it's called "fasciation."

<All right> And this happens in a lot of different plants.

Basically, it's where the meristematic cells, they usually, these are cells that can divide and turn into anything, leaves, flowers or whatever it may be.

Something goes on with that and you get... with normal flowers you can get a very long, flat stem.

<Yes> But with fruit, sometimes whenever the ovary develops it actually splits into two.

And so that's exactly what happened with this squash.

It split into two fruits.

And this squash specifically, you know, the cause of this fasciation, it could be weather, it could be a virus, it could be insect induced.

This field particularly, this came from a squash field.

It does have a virus.

It's a variety that's more of a heirloom variety.

So those are more susceptible to viruses.

So I definitely think that is what's causing the sister squash.

Amanda> Well, let's see what it looks like inside.

Brittney> Yeah, yeah.

I love cutting this open and seeing the... Amanda> Bla, la, la, la.

Brittney> The double... [laughter] Amanda> Whoa!

Brittney> There you go.

You got two completely separate squash here.

Amanda> Fun, fun.

Brittney> You can see all the seeds there.

Amanda> Perfectly good to eat.

Brittney> Perfectly good to eat.

That's right.

Amanda> You just get two squash for the price of one.

Brittney> Put some grill marks on there, and just oil it up, and put it on the pan.

[laughter] Amanda> Well, I'm sorry that the farmer, I don't guess you could... send that out commercially, but maybe he can just- Brittney> Luckily, I would buy it.

It's two for one.

You know what I mean?

[laughter] Amanda> Okay.

Thank you, thank you.

And thank all of you at home.

And, we'll see you next week.

Night-night.

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

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

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