Making it Grow is brought to
you in part by

the South Carolina Department
of Agriculture

Certified South Carolina Grown
helps consumers

identify, find, and buy South
Carolina products

Mcleod Farms
in Mcbee, South Carolina.

This family farm offers seasonal
produce including

over 22 varieties of peaches,

additional funding provided
by International Paper

and the South Carolina
Farm Bureau Federation

and Farm Bureau
Insurance.

♪

Well, good evening and
welcome to Making It Grow.

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

I'm Amanda McNulty, a
Clemson Extension agent

and our show is a joint
collaboration between

Clemson University and
SCETV and we have a really

great group of experts
to help you

with your gardening
questions tonight.

So, you're going to learn
a lot and have a good time

at the same time.

Terasa Lott, wants to
start us out with

something joyful and
happy, because, of course,

a lot of times were asked
we're I'm trying to answer

questions about problems.

So, let's start out,
Terasa with some of those

beautiful Garden of
The Week pictures.

>> Let's do that.

We have so many
to choose from.

I'm glad that we just
use a random sampling,

because I could never
select what would be

considered the best.

First, we will begin
with Monty Pittman,

who shared what I think
is called shades of pink

with some lovely day
lilies and Gerbera daisies.

Marianne Brady shared sort
of wildlife area

with an assortment of plants,
including a bird bath.

Karen Harris-Sweetman has
a close up of a white

flower Datura, sometimes
called devil's trumpet.

Janet Marie showed us
some nice ripe tomatoes.

I bet she's having a
nice tomato sandwich.

Frederick Woodley was
lucky to capture a monarch

visiting his lantana.

And what I love about
this photo is the angle.

It feels just like I am
part of the butterfly

flying down.

And wrapping up, we
have April Scott's 4-H. family,

Maddie, Allie,
Mason and Jason.

And she loves that
their 4-H experience

has been making
and sharing lots of memories.

Thanks to everyone
who shared photos

through email and through
our Facebook page.

I encourage everyone
to take a look.

I think we had over
70 submissions.

<Amanda> Whoa. And so, all
people have to do

is go to Making It Grow's
Facebook page

and see all the ones

that were equally fun,
we just can't use them all.

Isn't that right, Terasa?

<Terasa> That is correct.

>> Well, Terasa, you're
so good about people

always sending messages
and writing out questions

on Facebook and that I know
people write to you

even through your email
with things in their garden.

Have you got something
that we might start off with?

<Terasa> I do we get questions
all sorts of ways,

sometimes even
through text messages.

Our first one today is
from Jared in Blythewood,

who writes, "My cantaloupe
vines are wilting.

"It's affecting
some of the vines,

"but not all of them.
What could be the cause?"

>> Well, I am so happy to
welcome to Making It Grow

Rob Last, who's one of
our agents

who helps commercial growers
down in the Barnwell

and area's
surrounding counties.

And Rob, I know that - I
think melon production

is big in that area -

- is this something
that you've run into?

And do you think you
could help this person?

>> That's absolutely
correct Amanda.

We do produce a lot
of cantaloupes

and watermelons commercially
in the campus I look after.

There's a couple of things
that it really could be.

The first one, which
I think is unlikely,

it could be nematodes.

And those would be
eating on the roots.

And rather than just an
individual vine on the

plant with a
nematode attack,

you'd see the whole
plant start to wilt.

So that would be every vine
that's on there.

There are a couple
of insects that

could also cause it,

particularly cucumber beetle
and squash bug.

Now, there's an easy way to tell
what's going on.

If you take one of those
wilted vines

and cut it at the stem

and place the cut stem
into a clear glass of water,

that way you'll see if
there's any bacterial

ooze come out of
the stem and what will

look like is clouds of
liquid coming out

and it'll create a cloudy effect
within the water.

That's indicative of cucurbit
bacterial wilt

which this could well be.

And cucurbit bacterial wilt is
spread by cucumber beetles.

In fact, it's actually,
it's one of the bacterial

diseases vective cucumber
beetle feeding activity.

So, if you look closely
at that wilted vine,

you may find,

some evidence of some insect
feeding damage

actually on that vine
before where it's starting

to wilt.

So that's a
really good test.

>> If that happens, is there
anything you can do,

or is that just it?

>> The prevention for it
Amanda and that's a really

great question is actually to
keep control of cucumber

beetle numbers
within those vines.

And the threshold that we use
commercially

is five beetles per plant
and that's going to warrant

treatment with
an insecticide.

>> So if you have it

is there anything you
can do at that point,

or is the vine just on its
way out and it's too bad?

>> You can certainly try
to prune out the wilting

vines that may protect
the rest of the plant

by removing the source
of infection.

Just remember if you're
going to do that,

that we need to sanitize
our pruners to make sure

we don't risk spreading
that disease further around.

>> Okay, so you can use alcohol
or a weak bleach solution

or something like that?

>> Absolutely. Absolutely.

>> You've got on a beautiful
blue Clemson shirt.

And I'm going to say I prefer
the alcohol route,

because every time I get
around bleach I seem to

get it on myself
as well as on my

[laughs]
thing.

So, a homeowner if they

needed to treat the
cucumber beetles,

I would imagine at our H.G.I.C.
factsheet page,

they could
find information on how

to go about that?

>> Absolutely, there's
some amazing fact sheets

within our home and garden
information center that

are readily available.

Yeah. And that will give you
some control options for

a variety of pests
within cucurbits.

>> Well, thank you and
we're so glad that we can

look forward to having you
help - your helping those

farmers down there,
because I do think that

there's nothing better
than our wonderful

South Carolina watermelons when
they start coming in.

Thanks a lot for all the
help you're giving

our farmers.

>> My pleasure and
thank you Amanda.

>> Terasa I was looking
at our Facebook page,

Making It Grow's
Facebook page.

And I saw that there's
a survey

that's posted there.

And I wondered if you
could tell me a little

more about it, please.

>> I would be happy to.

That link is to what we would
call a needs assessment.

So, rather than us taking
viewer questions,

we're sort of posing the
question back to viewers.

What is it that
you want to know?

Here with us tonight
is Cory Tanner,

who is Program Team Director
for our horticulture team

at Clemson Extension.

Cory, could you share a
little bit more

about the nature of that
needs assessment?

>> Sure. Thank you,
Terasa and Amanda.

Happy to be here with
you this evening.

Yeah, we just want
feedback from home gardeners

of any skill level,

from the novice
beginning gardener,

all the way to the most
advanced gardeners out there.

We'd like to know in Extension
how we can best serve you.

What are the things that
you most need

and what are the ways
that you'd like

to receive gardening education
and information?

You know, COVID through us
a lot of curve balls

and so we had to shift our
Extension programming

for a year plus
to a mostly online,

virtual environment.

And we saw great benefits
of that

and we would like to know
from our viewers

and our gardeners
in South Carolina,

how much of that you'd
like to see continue

as far as online virtual
opportunities,

versus in person
traditional programming options?

And so this survey is one
way to capture some

of that information,

as well as just what gardening
topics

you're most interested in
learning more about.

So, we'd really
appreciate it.

The survey takes less than
ten minutes to complete.

You can find it in a
number of different locations,

the Clemson
Extension horticulture page

is linked to the
banner on that page,

as well as multiple
Facebook pages

for Clemson Extension
and Making It Grow.

And there's a blog post
on the Home

and Garden Information Center
website, as well.

So any of those routes
will get you to that page

and we'd like to take
as many responses

as possible, because again

our job is to serve the
needs of the people

of South Carolina and we only
know what those needs are

when people tell us.

So, I would really like
for people to complete

that survey and let us
know how we can serve you.

>> Cory, I think that

although it was difficult
for all of us to

to have to change gears,

because we're always comfortable
in our regular pair of shoes,

I think almost everyone
at Clemson

in the Extension program has
found that we stretched

and learned new ways
of reaching people.

It's been a hard road -

I think in the long run,
it's been beneficial,

don't you?

>> Oh, yes. Absolutely Amanda.

It was difficult, but our
team and our colleagues

across Extension
were up to the task,

and we made some things
happen

and we reached new audiences
as a result of that.

So, we were able to
expand the reach

of Extension programs
virtually,

even what we did here
on Making It Grow,

making this shift and
the way the show is

produced and disseminated
has made a big difference

in how we do business.

And some of that will
stick and some things will

go back to more normal,
but right now we really

just would like to know
how people would like

to interact with us and
how we can best serve

the needs of South Carolina.

>> You'll never know
if you don't ask.

So, I think this
is a great idea.

Thanks so much.

>> Thank you

>> We always appreciate it
when Cory Tanner can come

and help us he's got a lot
of responsibilities

on his shoulders as the head
of the hort team.

It's kind of like Terasa
trying to herd all those

cats, the Master Gardener
Program Coordinator is

and I'm afraid the hort team

- it's a little like herding
cats there sometimes too.

It is always so rewarding
to find someone in

agriculture who

finds a situation where
they can do something

to help their community.

And we met the
Roberts family up in Anderson

and they have
turned a little interest

in sunflowers that started
in their backyard

into a tremendously wonderful
program that brings beauty

and to certain parts
of the county

and also supports some
wonderful activities

♪

♪

I'm outside of Anderson,
South Carolina

speaking with Danielle Roberts,
who's the proprietor

of Sol Farms and boy what a
field of sunflowers we have.

>>Thank you. Thank you.

We have about five acres,
right here.

>> And this started out in the
backyard in town,

I think.
>> It did.

>> Tell us a little
about your story.

>> Well, we just had
a little family

backyard garden
and we grew

lots of things, tomatoes
and cucumbers, but we also

always wound up with a
nice big long row

of sunflowers, just
for the fun of it,

And it just sort of was
maybe the beginning

of something much larger.

>> Well, originally I
think your daughter's used

that as a way to help
fund going to college

and things like that.
Tell us how they started

getting these flowers
to the market.

>> Okay well they did.

We built them a little garden
of their own

and we helped them learn to
grow the sunflowers

and they would harvest them
and take them,

to our local farmers market,

and they got
a little pocket change,

had a little money to take
with them to college

and learned a valuable
lesson in hard work

and it turned into something
that we all loved.

<Amanda> But those girls
have gone on to careers,

and you had an interest

in local organizations
that were

supporting families
and children issues,

and I believe your
husband was on

a foundation that you
thought maybe

you could help support.

>>> That's right.

We've always been very
involved in the community

and we love where we live.

So we wanted to do
something to sort of give back.

We like it here.
We raised our children here.

And it was just a thought
that maybe we could

do something on a larger
scale to return

a little bit of that back
to our community,

and you're right my husband
does sit on the board

of the Foothills
Community Foundation,

and it was a great place
for us to put the money,

so that it can go out
into this community

and do the most good
for the most number of people.

<Amanda> And that supports three
counties, I believe.

<Danielle> That's right
Anderson, Oconee

and Pickens County.

<Amanda> And the goal of
Community Foundations is

to encourage people to

support local charities,
that way you can really

see where the effect
is going to be made.

>> That's right. >> Well,
how do you market these flowers,

or take donations
for them?

>> Okay. Well, we have
a Facebook page,

Sol Flowers of Anderson

and we did most of the
marketing

just through Facebook.

We don't do a lot
of advertising,

very little advertising
of any other kind,

but the Facebook page opened us
up to all kinds

of publicity,

so not only were we
reaching a number of people

with our Facebook page,
we were also gaining some

interest from
newspapers and news stations

who would come
out here and do things,

and it really helped
the word spread,

and again just with very
little paid advertising.

>> I believe two weekends
of the year people are

invited to come out here.

>> That's right. We plant
the seed late in April,

because we know that's how long
it will take them to come in,

right around
the fourth of July,

which is the week we like
to have the event out here.

We have people come out
on the weekend before

and the weekend after.

They're invited to come
out and take pictures

stroll through the fields
and just enjoy all these

gorgeous sunflowers.

<Amanda> And you have
people helping you

cut the flowers, and at a
station they are

ready for people to trade
for a donation,

to the foundation.

<Danielle> That's right.

We'll cut the flowers and
bring them up out of the field,

and then they'll be
cleaned up real nice

and bundled up and prepared
for people to take them home.

>> How much have y'all been able
to give to the foundation?

>> Well, to date,
and we don't know what this

year's proceeds are yet,
but in the prior three years

that
we've done this,

we've raised over 30
thousand dollars.

>> And this is because
people allow you to use

the land at no cost?

Someone helps you with the
equipment, the planting?

>> That's right.
We have a,

family that allows us to come
out here and use their land,

and we have
some great farmers

that come out and help us
with the planting

and with their equipment,

and get the field looking
real nice for us.

>> Now, this is
not a florist type sunflower

and there are some advantages
to that for you.

>> That's right, Amanda.

These are production
sunflowers,

and by production, I mean

these are used typically
for sunflower oil.

But the advantage to me
is that

they are less expensive,

and they're great
pollinators.

<Amanda> The pollinators
out here are just phenomenal.

It's so exciting
to see them.

You see butterflies
and all kinds of bees

and different things on them,
and then of course,

one of the thing is that most
people think sunflowers

follow the sun, but
because this is such

a big strong sunflower,
tell me how it acts.

>> Well, early on you may see a
little a little bit of weight

>> twist and shout?
>> Yeah.

- while the plants
are young and tender,

but as they get more
and more established

this particular variety is
going to all face to the east.

>> And that's because they
have such a great big

flower head full of seeds,

they really have to have a
strong system to support that.

>> That's right.
>> What do you do about - ?

I don't see a irrigation.
What do you do about water?

<Danielle> We just,
we depend on rain.

And luckily we've had some
great rain this year.

We had a nice amount
of rain right after we planted,

and then a few more
smaller rains to come through.

The rain has everything to do
with the height.

The flowers look good no
matter how much water they get,

but if we can get some good
rain, we can get nice height.

<Amanda> I think people
like to come out

and take photographs, too.
Don't they?

>> They do. We have lots
of people that come out

to do family photographs.

Moms bring their iPhones.

We have professionals
that come out

and do professional
photography out here.

So, we see a lot of that.

<Amanda> Danielle, if people
want to know more

about you and what's your
family doing out here,

what's the best way to
get that information?

>> You can go to
our Facebook page,

Sol Flowers of Anderson,
South Carolina

and that's
S-O-L Flowers.

Also you could go to the
foundation's website,

which is Foothills Community
Foundation.org.

>> Well, thank you for
what your family's doing

to support good
causes in Anderson,

Oconee and Pickens County.

And thank you for sharing
your story with us today.

>> You're welcome.
Thanks for coming out today.

♪

>> Well you can see what a
beautiful sight a field

of sunflowers is and the
Roberts family has -

an event planned,
a big weekend,

or whatever day the
weather cooperates.

So if you want to be a
part of that check their

Facebook page and
Instagram account

and you won't miss that fun
outdoor experience.

Terasa, I bet you got
another question for us.

Let's hear what it is.

>> All right. Well, Nelson
in Chesterfield asks,

"I'd really like
to grow hostas,

"but never seem
to have any luck.

"Do you have any advice?"

<Amanda> Aha!

Keith, it's so good
to have you here.

Keith Burns, the Director
of Grounds at Historic Columbia.

And I don't know how you
managed to keep all those

beautiful properties
looking so good, Keith.

But I've - and you have
everything

from sun to shade.

So, I bet you can help us
with some hosta ideas.

>> Absolutely, if you - it
is true, that in general

hostas are a
challenge for us,

down here in the south, and

one of the first
things to think about,

even before you acquire
any hostas is the fact

that there are some that
do better than others for us.

And what's really
important to look for

on a hosta, if
you're ordering it

from maybe a website
or a catalog or even

at the nursery is to look
and see if there's

a hardiness zone
info on the tag.

And really what you're
looking for is a hosta

that at the very least,
lists being able

to be grown in zone eight.

So, that will
probably be the

highest number on there.

And even better if you can
find on that list

being grown in zone nine.

Now, that is a little
bit warmer than we are,

but when you see something
can be grown in zone nine

it usually can do a lot
better with our heat,

a pretty good indicator.

And there are a couple of
varieties that we grow that

tend to do better for us.

One of those is called
Abiqua Drinking gourd.

That's a long name,

but it's an
excellent plant.

It's a larger hosta.

It has these beautiful
powdery blue leaves

with sort of a puckery
look to them,

that cup, that make a really
sort of

a large cup, that holds a
little bit of water

when it rains

and a really nice
sort of white bloom,

as well.

One of the other hostas
that is our favorite

is called Paradise Island.

And this one's got a
little different look.

It's not as big
as the first one.

Instead of having
very much dark green,

it's more of a
chartreuse color,

almost a yellow
with some red coloration

on the petals,

which is really very nice.

>> Keith, let me say,
let me ask you,

it sounds like these
would be good to group,

and at least, I mean
you've got such a big garden,

but even in a home garden.

I mean just one by itself

you'd get
a lot more bang if you,

put three of them together,
wouldn't you?

>> Yes, if you're planting them
in the ground,

it gives you much more
of a dramatic effect

to have masses and drips

of hostas.

There is the school of
thought and it does seem

to work pretty well, that
if you're a good waterer,

it's sometimes effective
to have hostas

in containers or in what
some people

like to call troughs.

If you've got maybe a little bed
around a fountain,

in your garden, which we
do have one of those

at Hampton Preston, if you're
good about watering

the containers in the troughs
are pretty good,

because they actually
allow the plant to get

just a bit cooler
in the winter,

which actually
helps the hosta out.

>> So Keith, even
though in the winter,

you're not going
to see the hosta,

because it's
going to die back.

The root system will be
healthier and come through

with less stress

if it gets more cold,
which it would

being in that container.

>> Right, the hostas
really do expect

if you could say that,
more cold than they

generally get here.

>> You said that you've
got them near a fountain.

I think of fountains
as often,

kind of being in a sunny spot,

but a hosta wouldn't want to
have too much direct light,

would it?
What do you recommend?

>> They really,

I don't recommend
any full sun,

maybe 30 minutes
to an hour

in the very early morning,
might be okay,

<Amanda> Oh!

>> because that's the
coolest time of day.

It's very
important to know

how the light works
in your garden

at all times of day

as during later in the day,
the light is much harsher

on plants especially
in our summers.

But for hostas in general,
what I really prefer is

what I like to
call high shade,

which is trees that
are very tall,

and give you a
filtered light,

but still very bright.

It's kind of difficult
to achieve sometimes,

but I like to use

large pecan trees as
an example of the kind

of light that's really
ideal for hostas.

I do have some at
Hampton-Preston that are

under Live Oak trees,

which you wouldn't
think would work,

cause they're so dark
and they're so thick,

but really we've done a
lot of editing

on the canopy
of the trees

to give us much more
filtered light.

>> Aha! And then as you say,

if you have them
in containers,

you can kind of play with
them until you find

a place in your yard
where they seem

to be the happiest,
if you're not quite sure

about the light.

>> Yeah. That's a great way
to do that

and when you do them
in containers

you have to
make sure they have

good room for their roots.

They're not one of those
plants that generally

loves to be
tucked in tight.

>> Are slugs a problem -
If you have me on the ground

and they're coming
back every year,

do you sometimes have to
worry about slugs

as they're first emerging?

>> I would say that we've
not had that issue here

in Historic Columbia,
but it certainly could

be an issue given your
conditions in your garden.

One way to do that
to combat that would be again

to make sure you have a
lot of vertical space there

in your shade
because that will

encourage air flow,

which is going
to dry out

your soil surface
or mulch surface

or whatever you have,

and sort of discourage
a lot of that activity,

outside of that, there's
some other tricks I know

that people use, like

putting out a little bowl
of beer at night

to let the slugs in.

>> Okay.

Well - And Keith my
last question is

should you remove
the spent flower head

so that it doesn't use
energy trying to make seeds?

>> Yes, there's
not unless you're

into hosta breeding,

there's no real
reason to leave those

flowers scapes up after
the flowers are finished.

You're correct.

It's just expending energy
on making those fruits

and seeds,

that's not very useful
for you in the garden.

Taking those off is going
to encourage it as well,

to divide
a little bit faster.

>> Oh! Okay, so you can't
expect to multiply that

they're going to
multiply eventually,

and you can start with
one and after a couple

of years have a couple -

>> Right. Now, they're
slower than most,

but they will divide out.

<Amanda> Okay.
Thank you so much.

>> Well, Terasa what's -
I know we've got a big,

you've got a big list
of questions,

and Keith did a good job
answering that one.

What's the next one coming
to the top of the pile?

>> Next up is Ginger
in Greenville.

Ginger writes,
"I've noticed lots

"of apple varieties available,
but they don't seem to be

"available all at
the same time.

"Why is that?"

<Amanda> Well, Terasa,
we're lucky that Kerrie Roach

who is our Extension
agent up in Oconee County,

which is kind of apple
country if there is

any apple country

in South Carolina,
is with us tonight,

Kerrie thank you so
much for joining us.

And can you help us
understand what the -

why some apples
are coming in,

and some are going out
and when the fresh apples

for the brand new year start
coming in because I know that

they do store
apples, don't they?

>> Yeah.

So, you go to the grocery
store and you can get

apples anytime of the year,
Right. >> Yeah.

>> You don't ever know
what's going to be the one

you like, the one that's
good or what not,

but so growers
and grocery stores

they store those apples
in cold storage

and many of the varieties
do really well with that.

Some get a little bit mealy

and don't necessarily last
as long in cold storage,

but for the most part, the
varieties that you'll see

now in the store

were actually
from last year.

We are just beginning
to start our apple season

in the southernmost part
of the United States,

including South Carolina,
in the end of July,

and so we'll go from July
all the way

through October,

even a little bit
into November

depending on the varieties.

So, we have a pretty
long season when it

comes to apples

<Amanda> And so, I
guess the stores

as you say some do better
in the cold storage

than others, and so that
may influence what

the people are offering
to the stores

at any particular time.

>> Yeah, so we choose
apples as a consumer

with our eyes, right.
We eat with our eyes.

But as a grower,
they are choosing

apples for specific tasks
or specific markets.

You know, whether it's
going to be a fresh fruit apple,

or whether it's
going to go

to wholesale market and be sold

to grocery stores for
cold storage, eventually,

whether they might
be keeping it,

maybe they have a contract
with a school system,

and they have to provide
apples

throughout the
whole school year,

then they might be storing it

on their own farm
in cold storage.

So there's lots of
different ways that they

might be picking for that.

So, if you're
an apple grower,

and you're picking
for fresh fruit,

you're going to leave that
apple on the tree

as long as possible,

because the longer
it stays on the tree,

the higher the sugar
content is

and the better flavor
it's going to have.

<Amanda> Really.
>> Yeah,

so if you're picking for
a wholesale

to sell to a wholesaler,

then you're going to be picking
a little bit earlier.

The sugar content's going
to be a little bit lower,

but it's going to have
more pressure

or a bigger crunch.

So, there's always that
like optimum time

for each variety,

where you catch it where
it has the best

sugar content with the highest
amount of crunch

and that one week window comes
together.

<Amanda> Wow! That's a lot
for them to have to keep

up with, because it's
going to differ

from the right cultivar
to cultivar, isn't it?

>> It is and the
crazy part is that

you might visit a grocery store
or even a market stand

and get a gala apple one week,

and think, Oh this
is my favorite,

and then you visit
a different grocery store

or another stand
and that gala apple

tastes totally different.

>> Well, that's because
they're not all created equal.

They're not
the same apple.

There's different types
or in the apple world,

we call them sports
or cultivars.

There's different
types of galas.

<Amanda> Really >> Yep.

>> I would have thought
it was all just

the exact same
genetic material.

>> Yeah, so there's
different types of galas.

There's different type
of golden delicious.

There's different
types of red delicious.

There's different types
of all those apples

so when you get,
even from the same grower,

he or she might have

different types of those apples

on their farm,
because they might

ripen a little bit
earlier or later,

or even have a different
disease resistance profile.

>> Whew, well, you know what,

I'm real glad that I'm not
in the apple business,

because it sounds like
it's above my head,

and I'm glad you're up
there to help give them

some advice, because
I sure do like a good

crispy apple
with a good flavor.

Thanks a lot Kerrie.

<Kerrie> You're welcome.

>> Terasa, I think the
Gardens of the Week has

been such a hit that we're
kind of expanding

and having occasionally
kind of an

in depth
Garden of the Week,

and I think you have
one for us this week.

<Terasa> We do.

So we've mentioned
Swan Lake Iris Gardens

on the show many times,

since it is right here
in Sumter,

and today our viewers
have the opportunity

to get that virtual field trip

through our Gardens of the Week.
Let's take a look.

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<Amanda> Swan Lake is a
beautiful jewel

in the heart of Sumter,

free and open
to the public,

and an absolutely gorgeous
place to visit

and see cypress trees.

There's a boardwalk,
and of course an amazing

collection of swans.

Well, I was out in the
yard seeing what was still

up and about
this time of year,

and I came across
a few things,

So this is a
hodgepodge hat.

I have a hot pepper,
a calla lily,

calla lily leaf,
some hydrangea,

some poppy seed,
dried poppy seed heads

and an oleander.

So, this is
hodgepodge hat night.

That's what we've got.

Well, Terasa, you are so
kind to keep all these

questions from
viewers coming in,

so tell me which one
we are

going to try to help with now.

>> We are going to try
to help Beverly in Denmark.

Beverly writes, "What can
I do with my vegetable

"garden beds now to help
prepare for the fall?"

>> Aha! Well I always admire
people who prepare

because I'm always

a day late
and a dollar short.

Rob, I know that as someone
that's helping

commercial people, you are well
aware of things that have

to be done ahead of time,

because they have to make money.

So, what advice would
you give our viewer?

>> That's an excellent question.

The first thing I would
usually start with

is literally clearing out
as much of the debris

from any previous
crops as possible.

That's going to minimize
any pests and disease

carry over into future,

into your fall crop
and fall plantings.

There are some really good
things that we can do

through the summer.

In South Carolina, we have
really two growing seasons.

There's the cool season
over the winter,

and the warm season
over the summer.

Well, we can grow things
like buckwheat, cow peas,

sorghums,

as covers crops for
our vegetable plots.

That's going to remove
any excess fertilizer,

and utilize any fertilizer
that we apply

to our spring vegetables,

which can lock it up
and into plants

that we're currently growing,

so our cover crops,

which then, as they
decompose in the fall,

it's going to help us
with nutrient

and water retention,
and our fall plantings

of vegetables.

So, crops like buckwheat
are also fantastic

for pollinators.

So, it's another good way
to bring some beneficial

insects into our
vegetable gardens,

which can, A, help us
with pest control,

but can really help
with pollination.

>> Well, so if people
put these out, Rob,

then are they
going to naturally

phase out when
it's time for us

to put in our fall garden,

or do we have
to come in,

and mow them
or crimp them,

or what
will a home gardener do?

>> They certainly need some
management, Amanda.

You're absolutely right.
Mowing works really well.

The shorter we can often
keep the cover crops,

the easier they are to work
in later in the fall.

So, as a general rule
of thumb,

we would be looking at
mowing or cutting them down,

when they're about a foot
to two feet tall.

They're going
to come back,

and continue to produce
that biomass,

with any material
that we cut,

we can also
use as a mulch.

which is going to go to
improving our soil structures,

and our organic matters
within the topsoil.

Now, prior to planting,
ideally we would want

to try and till it and
incorporate it into the soil,

but they're are ways
and means through crimping

or through chemical
application,

if that's what
you want to do

to kill those
crops out right.

And then we can plant directly
back into the stubble

of the
cover crops,

reducing the need to
apply for the mulchers

and keep those
organic matter levels

in the top soil really,
really high.

>> And, David Coyle has
published several places

where you can read about

the safety of glyphosate
when used

according to the label,

and so I try to remind
people that

he's, of course, one of our
wonderful professors

and so if people are concerned
about using a herbicide

I would encourage them
to try to find his

writings on glyphosate.

Again, you always have to
follow the directions

and read the label, but he does
give good information

on how to use it effectively
and safely.

And you just - one of
the things you said just

really caught me, Rob,

because I hadn't thought of it,

but in the summer
it'll be hotter than blue blazes

and we won't
have had new rain,

but sometimes we'll just
get this huge damp deluge,

and so you're right,

any of the fertilizers would
have been washed

and kind of lost to us

and possibly taken
off site,

but if we have
a cover crop,

they will take them up,

and store them and then
can be returned naturally.

That's just to me such
a good

environmental decision,
it sounds like.

>> Absolutely it's a
really good way of recycling

our nutrients,

which is not only good
for our environment,

be that surface or ground
water, for that matter,

but it's also going
to save us money

in the longer term, as well.

>> Okay, now when we take
up the old crop residue,

because you said it can harbor
some insects or disease,

do we need to take
some of it off site

or just far away from the - ?

What would you recommend?

>> I recommend taking it
off site and potentially

composting if
you got a compost area.

That works really well.

Or it's going to be just
disposing of it.

I wouldn't leave it close
to the vegetable garden,

because you can pathogenic
transfer for things like

powdery mildews,
downy mildews.

Those spores will
still be around,

anytime you disturb them,

they're going
to be moving around,

essentially with the plants.

>> So, really don't just
pile it up

at the edge of the road.

If you've got a large
enough yard,

take it as far away
as you can,

or find another
disposal method that's

allowed in your community.

>> Absolutely.

>> Okay, well that's
just wonderful.

And the buck wheat's
good for pollinators.

That's always fun for us,
because we can go out there

and have something
to look at them on a day

when maybe something
else isn't as exciting,

we can see a fun
insect, can't we?

>> Absolutely.

>> Okay. Thanks so much.

Terasa, who else has

a question that we hope
we can help them

with the guests we have tonight?

>> Suzanne in North
Charleston has a question.

She asks, "What is the
best way to find a

"professional in my area
to assess the health

"of a tree on my property?"

>> Well, with
hurricane season,

I think a lot of us
in South Carolina should

keep an eye on those sorts
of things,

and I don't think there's
anybody better than

going to Cory for this,
because I know he's

has a lot of experience in that.

>> Hey Amanda. Yeah I mean,
that's a great question.

Trees are wonderful.
I love trees,

but they're
very large organisms,

and unfortunately sometimes

they fail and fall,
and when they do

they have the potential
to do a lot of damage,

and so there's a couple
of definitions we use

for a hazard tree,
or there's a definition

we use for a hazard tree.

Number one, it has to be a
tree with a defect or some

type of issue that
could cause it to fail,

but it also must
have a target,

something that it
could hit and damage.

So a target.
The target's the easy part,

that could be a
house or a car,

or if it's somewhere
that could hit a person.

The defect, however can be
quite tricky with a tree.

Some of them are obvious,
when you have a dead limb

or a broken limb
or something that could fall

from a tree, but a lot of
times with large older trees,

we have internal
decay or rot inside the tree,

that's not visible
from the outside.

Occasionally you might see
a mushroom growing

off the tree or something
like that.

And so that could be an
indication that there's

something going on,
and so if you've got a tree,

a large tree, it's older,

and it's near your house
or near your car

where your children play,
or something like that

and you're
concerned about it,

we would recommend hiring
or consulting

with a certified arborist,

an arborist or tree care
professional certified

by the International Society
of Arboriculture.

You can find an
arborist in your area,

by going to their website

www.treesaregood.org,

trees are good.org,

is the International Society
for Arborticulture's

consumer website
where you can find

arborists in your area,
or if you're having difficulty

there you could call
your local Extension office

and often
times we can help you

provide a list
of local arborists

who can come and help,

but arborists are trained
to assess the health

and well being of trees,
and so that's something that

sometimes takes
specialized tools

to determine basically how sound
the trunk of the tree is,

and whether it will
support the tree through

a storm or whatever.

So anytime that you're concerned
about the overall health

of a tree,
or perhaps you've done

construction in the area,
maybe you've paved

the driveway or done other work,
installed irrigation,

where it might have
severed some roots

of that tree, and you're
concerned about the long

term health and
survival of that tree,

that would be another time
to call an arborist

to come in and look.

So, we work with arborists
in Extension quite a bit,

because again they
have specialized tools

and skills

to assess trees that we often
don't have in Extension.

So I would encourage
people to use

those professionals
when needed.

>> Okay, and if you have a large
yard or acreage,

you can leave trees if
they die, if they're not

as you say, if they're not going
to harm anything,

because they're useful
for wildlife.

>> Right. If they don't have,
if they're out in the forest

or on the back of the
property and there's not

a very obvious target, where
if it falls it's going

to destroy damage or
hurt something,

then yeah we would
encourage you to leave those,

and let
nature do its thing.

<Amanda> Okay,
thank you so much.

Ben Powell is our
apiculturist

and bee - a pollinator
specialist,

I guess is another
way to say it,

and there is a very
interesting interaction

between bees and an evasive
species tree,

the tallow tree.

And so let's
learn about that,

by having a
conversation with Ben.

I'm speaking
with Ben Powell,

and Ben is our
apiculture specialist,

and that means he knows
a lot about bees

and pollinators, in case you
don't know what apiculture is,

and Ben, we're going
to talk about a topic

that seems completely
unrelated to that.

We're going to talk about
an invasive species tree,

the Chinese tallow tree.

So, I'm just going to take
a second to say

that this tree was real
important

in China for thousands of
years because the seeds

have a waxy coating on
them that you could make

fats and cooking oils
and fats and all from,

and even in the U. S. government
in the 1900s

was looking for new ways
to make money

and they brought and tried
to establish this in Florida,

as a way to make soap,

and then that didn't work out,

but let's talk about

I'll let you say the
scientific name,

and what happened to that tree
when you plant it

in certain parts of the
southeast United States,

how it behaves.

<Ben> Sure. So the plant is
Triadica sebifera,

or the Chinese tallow
or sometimes called

the popcorn tree, because
the little white seed things

that look a
little bit like popcorn,

and it is all the buzz in
beekeeping circles right now.

>> Oh, oh!

I say that
tongue in cheek,

because this particular
plant has long been known

as being a very good
nectar source for honey bees

all across the
Southeastern United States

<Amanda> Wow!

>> - but it's also an extremely
invasive plant,

and we have learned that
after decades

of having this plant around

expanding and displacing
native species,

that maybe the benefits
that it provides

to honey bees

is not quite enough to overcome
the negative affects

it has
on ecosystems.

>> You say that
it is good for the beekeepers

that it blooms at a time

when other things
are kind of

dwindling a little bit,

but if we could have

more natural vegetation,
are there other plants

that potentially would
be pollen producing

or have nectar that the
bees could use instead?

>> Oh yeah. So, the beekeeping
community is a little

concerned about
control efforts,

because for a long time
it's been understood that

the Chinese tallow tree
was an important nectar source

late in the spring,

and that large volumes
of honey could be developed

off of stands
of Chinese tallow.

So we actually have a
number of migratory beekeepers

inside and
outside of the state

that move to the tallow stands
when they're in bloom,

and they're able to produce
surplus honey,

which obviously is
important for them

maintaining their bee
keeping operations.

The problem is though, is
the bees have to have a

diversity of food sources.

They not only need nectar,
but they need pollen,

and they need it early
in the season

to build up their bee colonies,

so that they're ready when
the nectar flow happens

and the problem with a plant
like this is,

if it displaces those
other plant species,

which are important during
that build up phase,

then it doesn't matter if
it's a good honey source,

if you can't get your bee
colonies ready for it.

>> Aha! So it would be like if
we only had barbecue to eat

our whole life and never got any
vegetables, or what -

>> What are you talking about?
I'd be good with that -

<Amanda> But what
you're saying is,

just nectar isn't,
it takes more than just

nectar to have
healthy bee colonies,

and so if there's
nothing else available,

except just this
one month of nectar,

that's not really the best

ecological environment
for our bees.

>> That's right honey bees
are adapted

to be generalists and they are
able to derive food

from a variety of food sources,

and they need that food
over a long period of time.

The problem was something
like Chinese tallow,

is it only blooms for two,
three, maybe four weeks,

whereas it may be
displacing plants

that provide food for two,
three or four months,

and not to overlook
the native pollinators, too

that need that
diversity of plants.

You know many of our
native pollinators

are specialists on one
group of plants,

and if that group of
plants is eliminated

from an ecosystem,
then that pollinator

is eliminated from
that ecosystem.

>> Oh! And we know

from what you've told us
and other people in the past

that those native pollinators
are really important,

although we talk so much about
the European honey bee,

but those other guys

they are major work
horses within

the whole agricultural system,
aren't they?

>> That is true. Yes.

>> Have y'all been doing
some research on perhaps

biological control, and is
that something that

is now a source
of conversation

and perhaps some confusion
and some worry?

and can you shed some light
on that for us, please?

>> Sure. So, the US Department
of Agriculture

has a program to research
control methods

for a variety
of invasive exotic species,

and that includes researching
physical controls

like mowing
and cultural controls

like burning and
chemical controls

like herbicides, but also
biological controls.

Going to the native range
of that species

and looking to see what pests,
insects or diseases

actually affect
the growth,

and through that
investigation they determine,

are any of these pests,
insects of that species,

the invasive plant,
are they specialists?

Do they specialize
on just that plant

and could they be used and
introduced to help slow

the growth of the plant
in other locations?

And they have through
their research identified

two species, one
that's Lepidopteron

or caterpillar,
one leaf beetle

that feed exclusively
on the Chinese tallow

and they have determined that it
is not a threat to other

plant species in our
native ecosystem,

so they are considering
a release program,

right now.

>> If that happened, how
effective do you think

it would be?

Do you think it will get
rid of every

all the Chinese tallow trees?

>> Think about it. If I'm a
specialist and the only thing

I feed on is that one plant
would I ever want

to completely kill that plant?

Cause if I did,
I'd kill myself, right.

Yeah.

So, typically the
specialist pests

or biological control agents

don't eliminate
their hosts.

They reduce its ability
to reproduce,

or they reduce
it's growth rate,

so that it can't
expand as quickly,

just kind of like
in their home range,

they're just a natural
native pest that pressures

that plant and sort of
keeps it under control,

but doesn't eliminate it.

>> We hope that
it won't impact

the beekeepers,
that it actually

might end up by helping the
overall health

of a colony be better fed
or more balanced.

>> Right, well I always
like in the terms

ecology and economy
to each other,

when you're talking with
your financial advisor,

what did they tell you to
do with your portfolio?

Diversify. Diversify.
Diversify.

Right?
>> You're right. Yeah.

>> If something bad happens
on one side,

the rest of your portfolio is
able to take care of it

and you don't lose
a lot of money,

same thing with the ecology.

Diversify the ecology.
Diversify the landscape

and individual species
will not suffer

near as much if there's
an adverse event.

>> Okay.

Well I want to thank you
for what you're doing

to help our beekeepers
in the state.

We know that the bees

have a lot of things
that are giving them,

that are difficult
for them

and we want them to be
as healthy as possible

everybody on a cool day,
enjoys

a cup of tea with honey
and then there's nothing

better in the summer when
we're having some biscuits

than to put some
honey on them too.

Thank you, Ben for the work

you're doing for the beekeepers
and the people who enjoy

honey in South Carolina.

>> Well, you're
quite welcome

and I hope everybody gets out
to your local farmers market

and supports your
local beekeepers.

>> We'll do it.

>> Okay. Thanks.

>> Well isn't it something
when you have

an invasive species
that has a purpose,

but we do not want
this tree to spread,

because it is really
problematic when it does.

I want to thank y'all for being
with us tonight

and I sure hope that
we'll see you next week,

next time.

Good night from
Making It Grow.

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Making it Grow is brought
to you in part by

the South Carolina Department
of Agriculture

Certified South Carolina Grown
helps consumers

identify, find, and buy
South Carolina products,

Mcleod Farms in Mcbee,
South Carolina.

This family farm offers seasonal
produce including

over 22 varieties of peaches,

additional funding provided by

International Paper and the
South Carolina

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