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

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

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

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

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

♪ opening music ♪ ♪ Amanda>> Well, good evening.

We're so glad that you can join us tonight for Making It Grow coming to you from historic downtown Sumter.

I'm Amanda McNulty, and I'm a Clemson horticulture agent, and it's just wonderful, I get to come over and be with people who know a lot more than I do.

So I'm in a continuing education frame of mind, and tonight, we've got some really fun things for you.

We're going to Boone Hall Farm.

We're going to show you about the South Carolina Certified showcase, where the food was really good, and Grassroots Yard Supply.

So a big show, and I'm glad you're with us for it.

Terasa Lott, who's in charge of the Master Gardener Program, and that's a little like herding cats, I think, Terasa>> No, not at all, but our Master Gardeners really are a wonderful help in allowing us to reach more people.

They're tasked with helping the local horticulture agent to share the same types of information we do right here on the show.

Amanda>> Well, maybe I meant working with the local horticulture agents was a little bit like herding cats.

(laughing) It is a wonderful service that they provide.

Just think about it.

I mean, sometimes people are just casually having a conversation in the garden supply place at a store, and somebody might say, "Oh, dada, dada, da..." You know?

I mean, it's just kind of expands this dramatically, I think.

Terasa>> It really does.

>> You help us so much too.

>>Well, I'm glad to be a part of the show.

Amanda>> We are too.

Adam Gore, you are the Hort agent up in Abbeville, but you're also working on a PhD project in something that just seems bizarre to me.

(laughing) Adam>> - looking into heavy metal toxicity on Bermuda grass putting green.

So there's some golf courses in the southeast that when their grasses come out dormancy, everyone wants to green grass on the golf course.

Amanda>> Oh!

>> What they're finding, there's no grass.

So what we're looking into is whether it could be from heavy metals that are in products that were used for controlling other problems and just seeing it potentially there's an overload.

Amanda>> Really?

>> Yes, ma'am.

You know, copper is necessary for plants, but in very small amounts.

We're trying to see if we can't figure out exactly why that green grass isn't there anymore.

Amanda>> Yeah, I think that would be pretty important on a golf course.

>> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda>> Well, anyway, we are so happy that you are doing that because it's a big part of the industry in South Carolina and really a driver for tourists.

Adam>> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda>> Yeah.

Okay.

I was just kind of pulling your leg a little bit about that.

Then Eric Shealy, you are one of the horticulturists at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, and you're on the garden side.

Eric>> I am.

I do.

I am the greenhouse nursery supervisor and I am helping out in the gardens this summer only because we have a good bit of work being done on our greenhouses right now.

Amanda>> Yeah.

So um, which is - if you're in the greenhouse, you're not in the blazing hot sun.

Eric>> You're in the blazing hot sun, you're just under a glass or under poly, but you're, I mean, you're still getting the UV light.

Yeah.

Amanda>> So you having to put your sunscreen on Eric>> Oh, yeah, sunscreen and hats.

Yeah, absolutely.

Amanda>> Well, anyway, we're so happy that you're here and you brought all these wonderful things, for us to talk about.

We really, really do appreciate it.

Okay well, Terasa starts us off usually with something positive before we get into heavy metal toxicity, so have you got some Gardens of the Week for us?

Terasa>> I do this has become such a fun part of the show where we ask you to show us pictures of what's going on in your yard or garden or perhaps a beautiful place that you visited.

So, we are going to start out today with Maggie Iverson.

Maggie shared a photograph of an alleyway garden created by Robert Bussa in downtown Beaufort.

She said that the neighbors are allowed to use the cut flowers, herbs and tomatoes.

So what a neat way to beautify a space and I love that it's able to serve the neighbors as well.

Gayle Pace shared a very large specimen of a potted begonia from Larry Hines, a type of cantaloupe called ambrosia.

Susan Bufano shared a window box with a hydrangea below.

From Ethan Hodge, we have a sunflower that he said is topping out just over nine feet.

Amanda>> That's a big one.

Terasa>> And last but not least, Andy Brown, an amazing shot of a hummingbird visiting a zinnia.

So, thanks to everyone who shared photos.

Please remember, these are just chosen at random, but I do encourage you to submit your photo to our Facebook page, you can just post them in the comments whenever you see us make a call.

Please do remember to hold your camera or your phone sideways like this so that the photo looks nice and big when we share it on the screen, and if you can't post it to our Facebook page, you're welcome to email me.

Do be sure to spell my name correctly, t-e-r-A-s-a@clemson.edu.

Otherwise it will go to the wrong person.

Amanda>> You know, there's so many things that always are reminding me of Tony, and Tony explained to me that when you get a cantaloupe, you want to look for a full slip.

Have y'all ever heard that?

- Well you probably heard it from Tony!

>> Yeah.

>> That means where the stem was, you know a lot of things they just have to clip it you know, in a watermelon and things like that, but on a cantaloupe.

You want it to be like somebody had a really great belly button.

It all came off at once, and he said if it's that way, it will continue to ripen and get sweeter once you bring it home.

So I was looking - I just think there's so many things that we learned from Tony.

Terasa>> We have and now every time I think of a cantaloupe, I'm going to imagine a belly button.

(laughing) Amanda>> Well, you know, some people have more attractive belly buttons than others.

Well, Terasa, let's see if we can help somebody with a problem.

Terasa>> I am sure we can.

The first one comes in from Cindy.

She didn't tell me where she was from, but she sent a photograph to our Facebook page.

She said, "What is this on my purple basil?

The dots are about the size of a pin head and are shiny."

Amanda>> My goodness.

Well, Adam, you have any ideas?

Adam>> So, those little ball points look to be the eggs of squash bugs, Amanda>> On basil?

Adam>> Yes, ma'am.

I'm on basil.

So squash bugs are very common in the garden this year.

I'm experiencing at least a dozen phone calls a week.

Just what has happened to my plants?

They're good one day and then three days later, they're all wilted.

So squash bugs are these insects that are at their top size are about no bigger than inch, and what they do is that they'll actually have mouth piercing mouth pieces that will go into the leaves and suck out the juices meaning your plants are going to look wilted?

So, what I like to do for those is that when I'm planning my garden I like to plant a trap crop of sunflowers, you know, they'll attract stink bugs and squash bugs.

So you sacrifice your sunflowers but they stay off of your more preferred plants.

Amanda>> Do they?

I mean sunflowers are just so vigorous and hardy.

Do they actually, restrict the growth of the sunflowers' sun or do they kind of just muddle through it?

Adam>> The sunflowers kind of muddle through it.

A lot of times once they post, sunflowers get to the head, the bugs stay to the seed head.

So, the seeds aren't going to be very good for use, but we're not worried about them sacrificing.

They're our sacrificial plants to these bugs.

Amanda>> Eric, they're, - downy mildew or both of y'all can talk about it as a problem for people who grow basil now and I think at the zoo y'all have some purple ones that are have some resistance?

Amanda>> Is that correct?

Eric>> Yeah, we have.

We plant several varieties of basil each year.

Now, we actually planted for ornamental purposes and for edible purposes.

We have both gardens.

We have an edible garden.

We have a farm garden down at a farmyard, and we also have the Children's Garden.

It has a really, really big vegetable garden, and then in the walled garden, we actually planted for just ornamental.

The flowers are really nice.

We have found that several varieties, one being - it's a purple variety called Amethyst Improved and it's really nice.

We also grew a green variety that is really good for cooking called Everleaf, Amanda>> but that doesn't have the resistance to the downy mildew?

>> Yeah, both of them do.

Amanda>> Both do?

Eric>> Yeah, if you'd like purple or green, the purple cooks just the same way as the green.

Amanda>> and tell me those two names again.

Eric>> It's Amethyst Improved is the purple variety and Everleaf is the Amanda>> Well I am so very glad to hear that.

Eric>> Everleaf is the one that has the very, very small internode.

So, it's very, very compact.

It grows about a foot tall, but you can harvest, harvest, harvest.

Amanda>> Really?

It is vigorous, vigorous, vigorous, vigorous, Eric>> and very nice and good for containers too.

Amanda>> Okay, fine - and but watch out for the squash bugs, right?

>> Yes.

Amanda>> So they're really that bad this year?

>> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda>> Okay, Terasa>> I'm finding them on my zucchini and squash, and if you find the eggs, if you're a very observant gardener, you can go out and you can remove the eggs.

Now they're, they're kind of glued on there pretty well.

So it can be a little tough.

I usually end up kind of breaking that piece of leaf off where I find the eggs and squish Amanda>> Are they kind of laid in a cluster generally?

Terasa>> Yes.

Amanda>> Well, that's a help, Terasa>> Usually on the underside, like, up against the leaf veins.

So sometimes they can be hard to spot you got to get out there, be a little detective, and take them off and remove them, and then when they first hatch, you'll see the newts will all be clustered there together as well.

So if you happen to see that Amanda>> - then squish them, which is very rewarding.

Terasa>> It really is.

I mean, Amanda>> Well, one thing that's pretty dramatic, and you don't have to get down and look underneath the leaf is this beautiful arrangement y'all brought.

So what all is in it, that - Eric>> I can put it up here if you want?

>> Sure.

Eric>> Yeah, it's just a collection of what's blooming in the garden right now, and actually a really neat technique that our - we have a gardener that is a former florist that does a lot of floral arranging for us, Diane, and this is - this is Diane's work, but she used a giant mop head hydrangea underneath here, and that's hydrangea invincibelle.

Yeah, I think that's invincibelle, We also have like a crinum over here and crinums bloom all summer long, and if you ever want to see the range of crinum, we have one of the biggest collections in the country.

Amanda>> I wonder why.

>> I know right.

Amanda>> Well, tell them why.

Eric>> Well, - we have - Jenks Farmer was a former director of ours and he's a wonderful crinum grower.

Still growing crinums down on his farm.

Amanda>> They're just so trouble free.

Eric>> They are.

They're wonderful plants like if you've got just a space that nothing else will grow you can plant a crinum.

Amanda>> This is a particularly pretty one.

Eric>> That is a particularly pretty one.

Amanda>> Okay.

What else have we got?

Eric>> We've got a Heliopsis Burning Hearts is the little sunflower looking thing in there.

It's a new plant for us but does fantastically.

It's this little lud in there.

Amanda>> Do we need to turn that so they can see it a little better?

Yeah, there we go.

Put your finger back on it so we can see it.

Yeah, and what's it called?

Eric>> Heliopsis Burning Hearts, and it's a good plant.

Well, I thought it honestly I thought it was going to melt, but it has performed well.

It's in the Rose Garden right now, and that's a hot box.

Yeah, I mean, it's, it's - We call it the oven, but it does perform well in there, and we have one of the best native plants, I think, the Erythrina bidwillii the Coral Bean, which you can see on the coastal plain a lot.

Especially, I was down at Botany Bay, and they have just tons of it.

Amanda>> It's just so striking.

Eric>> It's such a beautiful color.

Amanda>> The seeds are kind of interesting.

Eric>> Yeah, they are.

it's just - it's in the bean family.

Amanda>> It's a hard little round seed.

Eric>> So yeah, so you get like, little things that look like bean pods.

Amanda>> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and then I think you've got Eric>> Oh, yeah, we have some yellow "Glads", Gladiolus up there, and actually, like we have two different types of hydrangea in here.

There's a panicle hydrangea in the middle.

Amanda>> - and Gladiolus, I like the shorter ones that you can kind of let flop around too.

They're fun too.

Do y'all stake yours or do you just, do you have things packed so tightly together.

They just stand up.

Eric>> Sometimes that's the way to do it, but other - some this actually particular variety.

It doesn't need staking.

It's where it's at.

...when I wouldn't cut them.

They were standing on their own.

Amanda>> Well, there's that.

Okay.

Well, thank you so much.

Eric>> You're welcome.

Amanda>> We are so pleased to have a new SCETV Endowment sponsor for Making It Grow, and it's Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens.

We understand that plantations was a tragedy in our past, and we acknowledge that and also acknowledge where we are today, but when we went, we spoke with their farm manager, and golly pete, we sure saw some great looking vegetables.

♪ music ♪ ♪ Amanda>> We're at Boone Hall Farms and I'm speaking with the farm manager, Erik Hernandez.

Erik, you have a long association of this property.

Erik>> Yes.

I've been here for 16 years, and I've been mentored by Mr. Willie McRae, who, who was the owner of Boone Hall Plantation, and so yeah, he teaches me how to farm and now I'm doing it.

Amanda>> And so, he really wanted this to be a farm that brought the community together, not just as a place that ship stuff up to New York or anything like that.

Everything y'all do seems to be community oriented.

Erik>> Yes, we focus on locals first, and we bring kids, we invite kids to come and join our strawberry picking.

Adults to come and join our tomato picking and as the years we have a big operation, but we focus on inviting people to our farm.

We want them to see what we're doing and come in, enjoy, enjoy what we do.

Amanda>> Well, and you go throughout the year and have huge numbers of people who come for special festivals, and you said that the ladies who do the administrative work, just have the most creative ideas.

I was looking at y'alls website, I've never seen such happy looking children Erik>> They love doing it too, just as much as I love farming, they love doing that for, again for the local kids for their local families, and that's what we work for.

Amanda>> And you said Mr. McRae, too, encouraged you to do, try different things that he didn't say, oh, no, no.

Erik>> Yes, ma'am.

He, he will love to try something new.

We are always trying something new.

Like for example, last year, we try some grafted tomatoes, and we tried some regular tomatoes and we realized that our grafted tomatoes we did a lot less work, and they did a lot better.

So now we went all grafted tomatoes.

Amanda>> A lot of people have known that heirloom tomatoes are often grafted, but y'all growing just grafted standards too and getting much better results.

Erik>> Yes, ma'am.

Uh huh, and that's because Willie McRae told us try it.

We try it.

It worked for us and now we're doing it.

Amanda>> And so what are all the various crops that you do grow?

Erik>> Well, we grow from strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers.

We have big lists.

So going through Yes, everything that is possible to grow here in South Carolina, we give it a shot.

Amanda>> Even a couple of peaches, although this is the ideal.

Erik>> Yes, Mr. Willie was a peach brokered so that was as he got a peach heart.

So we got some peaches here, just a memory of him.

Amanda>> Well, he had a loving heart didn't he?

Erik>> Yes.

Amanda>> Even if people don't come specifically to the farm.

I think if they come and take the tour, at the plantation tour, they are brought through so that they can see how important this is.

Erik>> So if they're here as tourists, they get to, we have a farm tour that they can do, and a lot of them they realize that what we're doing and they stop on the way out and grab some fresh tomatoes to take home.

Amanda>> Well, when I got here this morning, I hadn't had breakfast and I went over and got an heirloom tomato.

(slurping) Oh gosh!

Erik>> Uh huh!

The next time you come we'll come and grab one from the vine.

Amanda>> And if there's any extra, you've got a relationship with one of the Erik>> - Local farmers.

Uh huh, and then we also go and visit our South Carolina farmers market up in Columbia, and yes, we are all about local.

So we like to buy and sell to local farmers.

Amanda>> You told me that you have a nice relationship with Clemson Extension that Zack Snipes who's a friend of ours?

Erik>> Yes, he is.

I work very close with Zack Snipes, and the whole Clemson Extension.

We also try a lot of different things with them, and when we have a problem here or where we need some advice.

We give them a call.

Amanda>> You said also if they want to try something out here, you will say of course.

Erik>> Yes we, open our doors to them to come in because there's not only helps them, but it will help us whatever they learn from things.

Amanda>> Well, and to me.

The fact that y'all have put the 730 acres into a conservation easement with the Low country Conservancy means that this is going to be a farm after our children are grown.

Erik>> Yes.

Amanda>> Children have children Erik>> My boy will come and be a farmer then and yes, thanks again to Mr. Willie he, for generations to come this plantation will be here or this farm will be here.

Amanda>> To have this amount of green space in this densely populated area is such a gift.

Erik>> It is.

It was a big gift to us.

Yes.

Amanda>> Well, I think that Mr. McRae knew somebody with a lot of potential when you came on as a little 16 year old.

Erik>> Yes, and I love, I think I love the farm just as much as he did, and I loved and respect the land.

Yes.

Amanda>> Well, it shows.

>> you had to do that to be able to be here farming, Amanda>> especially with Erik>> with this South Carolina heat.

Amanda>> Well thank you so much for sharing.

Erik>> Thank y'all for coming.

Thank you.

♪ >> We really had a great learning experience, and also just so enjoyed speaking with Erik, and then at the farm store, I enjoyed bringing home vegetables that we enjoyed for days and days and days, especially those early green Vidalia onions.

You know, the ones that haven't hardened yet?

Oh, they're just the best things in the world.

I declare.

Eric, I don't know what you're planning to do with that, but I wish you pointed it the other way.

Eric>> I know, right.

It seems like a weapon of war, and it kind of is for us.

It's one of our favorite tools that we've, we actually bought this during the pandemic.

And we, it's mostly because we have a lot of weed trees that pop up in beds, and I'm sure other people, everybody does, sweet gums, especially those Chinese elms, which are awful.

Amanda>> Oh, they should, Eric>> I agree.

Also, like the pears, you know, that kind of thing.

So this is actually a way to get rid of them without spraying herbicides, and I know a lot of people will just cut them and dab some roundup on the top of them, and that does get rid of them, but it we just like to remove the whole thing Amanda>> If you can.

Eric>> if you can.

So this, It's all leverage based.

So, up here is you grab the trunk of the tree, at the base with, there's a mechanism and I'll flip it around like this, and you'll put it in there.

You grab the trunk of the tree and then you just rock back and pull it right out of the ground.

Amanda>> You can put your foot on it, I guess there.

Eric>> You can.

Yeah, there's a foothold for that, but you really don't need it.

You can put your whole body weight on this.

Yeah.

So really what it is a woody plant removal system Amanda>> It gets the roots out, and everything at the same time.

So if y'all want to come in and plant something else right there, you don't have to worry Eric>> basically tills up the soil for you already, but yeah, this is from a company out of Canada.

It's called a Polar Bear.

That's what they call it, but they've been really nice to us, and like when we received our first one, they had actually welded our initials on it.

Amanda>> Come on.

Eric>> I know I thought that was like a great.

I mean, they must be like a small business.

Amanda>> Well, that's, but it must weigh, what 50?

>> I think it's at least 25 to 30 pounds.

I mean, it's got to have some leverage to it, but you could they say you can even tack on like bigger bases right here just for more stability like a wooden base or something like that, and we haven't done that yet.

We haven't had to, but yeah, I can see like, Amanda>> It's a surprise that you can go out in your garden and all of a sudden there's something especially when you like you've got sweet gums in your yard.

I bet they pop up and it's funny how big they can get before you notice them.

Adam>> You might want to check your truck before we leave.

Eric>> We do have two but we need them both.

(laughing) Amanda>> Well, that's really cool.

The Polar Bear Eric>> Polar Bear but there are other brands out there and this is the one we found right off and honestly we bought the second one because we love this thing so much.

Amanda>> It came initialed Eric>> It came initialed, yeah.

They welded initials on to it.

So that's lovely.

Amanda>> All righty.

Well, that's a lot of fun.

I think we got the garden spotlight now where somebody felt like they could do more than just show one area they'd been able to baby.

Terasa>> That's right.

Today's featured spotlight garden is from Mildred Stovall in Abbeville.

Millie said that she and her husband had been avid watchers of Making It Grow for years and their winter garden was very successful.

They had arugula, collards, carrots, and they only had to purchase lettuce twice in a six month period, and that was because they gifted some of their produce to their daughters, but she said her husband Paul really gets all the credit.

He's been busy building raised beds from heat treated palates for their vegetables.

She said when he isn't outside working, he's watching everything and anything he can on gardening.

She shared a few of her flowers as well some bright yellow Rudbeckia, some crinums as well with flowers accented with pink stripes, and then we finish with a water feature, which I imagine just has the most pleasant sound.

There's something to me that is so relaxing about the sound of dripping, dripping water.

So thanks, Millie and Paul for being such loyal viewers of the show and for sharing your garden and yard with all of us.

Amanda>> Well, that was really fun.

I enjoyed it.

Thank you so very much, and I'd like to tell people Terasa, we remind people sometimes that you don't just have to pick us up on Tuesday night, that you can go to M-I-G (.)

O-R-G, and our earlier shows are showcased there, and archived there, and so if you do something else on a Tuesday night or the electricity goes off.

It does at my house every now and then.

We've had some pretty big storms.

Terasa>> If you have DVR capabilities, then you can record it when it's on and watch it when it's more convenient.

I think there's the ETV app, the Making It Grow website, and of course our Facebook page, all the videos where we're live during the week are also there anytime for you to go back and see.

So no excuse for missing Making It Grow.

Amanda>> Yeah, yeah, I did want to remind people of that, and thank you for all that.

We were in Columbia a while back at the Columbia Convention Center for the South Carolina Certified Showcase, and that is an event put on by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, and I would like to acknowledge that they are a sponsor of Making It Grow.

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

>> Yes, ma'am.

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

This is the first time we posted it here.

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

Katie>> Sure.

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

Amanda>> And it really does make a difference.

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

Katie>> Yes, yes.

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

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

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

>> We did!

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

So that was really fun.

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

Katie>> Right.

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

Katie>> Exactly.

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

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

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

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

Amanda>> Yes, it is.

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

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

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

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

Katie>> Exactly.

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

>> Yes, ma'am.

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

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

So we're excited for that one too.

Amanda>> Well, because there is.

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

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

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

>> Yes.

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

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

>> Exactly.

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

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

>> Thank you for being here.

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

>> Yes, exactly.

♪ Amanda>> The South Carolina's Certified Showcase was a delight to get to go and visit with all of our old friends and meeting new friends, and we want to remind you what an important thing it is for South Carolina's economy if you preferentially use, choose things that says Certified South Carolina grown.

So I want to thank Eric and Diane for bringing me some things for my hat, and why don't you just identify them for me?

Eric>> Okay, so you have the spiky, thistle looking thing, is a rattlesnake master, Amanda>> which is one of my absolute favorite native plants.

Eric>> Genus is Eryngium.

I think that's the planifolium.

You also have echinacea in there.

Some of basil called Red Rubin.

The flower stems of that.

Hydrangea that is an Annabelle hydrangea native actually, a native hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens cultivar and the - I don't know what you want to call it - like a grass like foliage, that's actually a eucalyptus.

It's a willow leafed eucalyptus that we can grow here, really well, and our koalas, they are supposed to want to eat it.

Our particular ones do not.

We have tried and it's one that we can grow in the ground outside and they just don't want the local stuff.

We just have to bus it in, and they apparently they like things that have come all the way across the country, but they just don't like home grown stuff.

Amanda>> And you said this eucalyptus, which has that nice fragrance doesn't revert to a mature foliage.

Eric>> So a lot of a lot of eucalyptus or at least the silver dollar one will start out with those kind of rounded leaves that go around the stem, and they when they get really mature, they'll go to that longer leaf and the leaf forms look totally different.

So they have a maturity form in a juvenile leaf form but that one keeps its leaf form throughout its whole life.

Amanda>> Okay.

Yeah.

Well, y'all just spoiled those koala bears.

Eric>> Yeah, those - animals in general... Amanda>> - They're not going to eat their spinach, are they?

>> They're not going to eat that eucalyptus, definitely.

Amanda>> Okay.

Well, Teresa, we got another question we can help someone with.

Terasa>> Yes, we have a question from Tracy in Newberry.

It says she's having a little bit of a problem with her grass.

Tracy said we sprayed Weed Be Gone on our centipede and now the grass is dying.

Why did this happen?

Amanda>> Huh?

Adam?

Adam>> So, with Weed Be Gone Typically, it's I call it three way herbicides, you got two, 4-D, Dicamba, and Mecoprop, and it's normally very good on most of your broadleaf weeds.

Amanda>> - and it's labeled to use on Centipede.

Adam>> Yes, at certain rates.

Amanda>> Oh!

>> So that's the very first thing that I always tell people, whether they are very good with pesticides or new to it is read the label.

You know, everyone always rolls their eyes when I say the label is the law, but the label also protects you because.. Amanda>> You don't want your grass to die.

>> Right, yeah, it tells you the rate at which you're supposed to spray, the equipment you're supposed to spray, but also in this situation, what you can and can't spray it on, as well as the environmental conditions.

Amanda>> - which might mean temperatures.

>> Yes, ma'am.

So with centipede.

Centipede is particularly sensitive to 2,4-D.

So if I can spray two ounces on Bermuda grass, I may get by with an ounce on centipede, and that's in the winter when that grass is not stressed.

Right now, we're in triple digit heat.

The humidity is high.

No plant is truly very happy right now.

So whether it's labeled or not, right now, it's just not a good time to go out and just be spraying willy nilly with your herbicides.

And in this particular situation is a showcase of it.

Because if a plant is stressed, and even if it can naturally metabolize a chemical, if we're trying to add extra workload onto a plant, that's already stressed, it's going to decline.

So unfortunately, it sounds like she either sprayed too much or more likely she sprayed at the wrong time.

Amanda>> And I know with glyphosate, they tell you there's a temperature range at which it's effective even, and I imagine if you read all the way through that label, it might even tell you, I'm sure it has some warnings about that as well.

Adam>> Yes, ma'am.

These products are spent years testing their effectiveness.

You know, is it effective at this time, this time?

And for most of our herbicides, we want there to be some type of active growth occurring, whether that's in the roots, or in leaves.

So if your plants aren't actively growing, what is a herbicide actually going to do for you?

Amanda>> Well and it might kill you?

Well, you just answered that.

Do you think their grass might recover?

Adam>> With 2,4-D damage and centipede that's going to be a tough uphill climb.

Amanda>> Ew wee.

That's bad news.

>> Yes, ma'am.

>> A few weeds might have been the better choice.

Okay well, Eric, well now, what have we got?

Eric>> So I just brought some Amanda>> Well do one at a time.

Do you want to bring this?

Eric>> Yeah, that's fine.

I brought some things that normally people don't see a lot of and of course, we're like a repository for all the weird and wacky things.

So, this is a Dryopteris fern, and people usually associate Dryopteris ferns with like the autumn fern.

Yeah.

So this is a species of it from, China.

Dryopteris, sieboldii.

It's also named in Japan.

Really nice foliage, it has some crazy spores on the bottom side of the leaf, and it Amanda>> Here, let me show them the bottom of the leaf.

Eric>> It grows a lot slower.

So it's like one of those things that you put into a shade garden that really you have to devote some time to but we were out in the nursery the other day and it was like one of the more striking ferns that we saw.

It's not your run of the mill like ferny foliage, at least it's got a little bit of boldness to it.

So we like it for that, and really hardy.

It's zone six to nine.

Yeah, hardiness, so it's a good, good zone for us.

Amanda>> Well, and I was going to say before you move it away that Terasa, I don't know how many times this has happened to you, maybe you, people call and say something's horribly wrong with your fern because of the spores, Eric>> All disburse.

Amanda>> I said well actually, that probably means it's pretty happy if it has reproduced.

Eric>> Oh, yeah.

Have y'all had that happen?

Adam>> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda>> Okay.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you.

Eric>> No, you're fine.

So this is Amanda>> - Goodness, gracious.

Eric>> Everybody, you know, fountain grass or princess grass, some people call it, everybody wants to know which is the hardy variety.

Amanda>> All right?

Eric>> It's a thing that a couple of years ago everybody was running around trying to - asking it like garden centers and farm stands.

Do you have the hardy one?

And I have a cycle.

I don't think I grow an unhardy one, but there...is a more tropical one, but this one is one that we found to be reliably hardy.

This is called Pennisetum, First knight.

Amanda>> First knight?

Eric>> It's a little bit more wide of a leaf than you usually get.

Amanda>> It's handsome.

Eric>> It's a big grass.

It can get up to eight feet tall, but a beautiful like very - if you have a green plant in front of this you will definitely notice any color that you put in front of this dark background.

So we love it for the back of a border or right now if you go to the Botanical Garden, you'll see it up and down our canal in the pots So, this is the grass that is in the pots Amanda>> up and down the canal Eric>> with beautiful pink Petunia underneath it and it really it's a great, it is a great combination.

Amanda>> That sounds like a striking combination Eric>> It is a great combination.

Amanda>> Okay, and tell us the name of it again.

Eric>> It's Pennisetum First Knight.

Amanda>> First knight and the knight is K-N-I-G-H-T Amanda>> Oh and does it die back in the winter?

Eric>> It does.

It'll go down to like basically nubs, but it'll let you know where it is.

>> Yeah, it'll re-generate.

It'll make a clump.

It doesn't run so yeah, Amanda>> Okay.

Sounds like, it doesn't have anything not to like about it.

Eric>> The only thing is keep it watered.

Amanda>> Well, and put it in the canal.

>> Yeah, right.

(laughing) We want to thank Vicky Bertagnolli for telling us about a wonderful place in Aiken that we went to visit Grass Roots Yard Supply.

There's a lot more there than just yard supplies.

♪ I'm in Graniteville, South Carolina, and I'm speaking with Ryan Williams, and we are at his nursery, which is called... >> Grass Roots Yard Supply.

Amanda>> But the history of how this came about is just the most fascinating thing.

Of course, we know Aiken is well renowned for sandy soils, Ryan>> It certainly is, and that's how we got our start was from sand.

So, my father and family had been in sand mining for a good number of years, and inadvertently got into waste management.

So we started a landfill.

And we've run that for the past 22 years.

And from the landfill from all that trash, we were able to create several different businesses, all involving recycling in some form or fashion.

Amanda>> And when you say trash, let's let people know you don't take household trash or anything like that.

Describe the kinds of things that people bring to your landfill, please.

Ryan>> Right, so we're a construction and demolition landfill, so no household waste, or any hazardous waste.

So all of the wood and concrete metals, things like that come to us, and the first thing that we did was noticed that it was just a tremendous amount of wood waste coming into the landfill.

So we got the idea to grind it and turn it into either mulch, which as you know, helps landscape tremendously, and then the second and I'm most passionate about is the composting operation and breaking that material down to make a nice soil amendment that's beneficial in many different ways.

Amanda>> Especially in this area, where you have the sandy soils.

>> Right.

Amanda>> And the addition of organic matter makes all the difference in the world, And the way you go about things, everything kind of feeds back into itself.

You were explaining to me about the sand that you mine, and it's filtered and washed so that it can be used for DOT scale construction, I mean... Ryan>> In the concrete industry, so all the sand is excavated to make room for what we can't recycle, we've taken, screened and washed, and then that goes into the ready mix industry.

And then even what's leftover, when they have extra, still comes back to us, and we use it in a beneficial way such as crushing it for recycled aggregate, or we pour it into forms and make decorative concrete blocks.

Amanda>> And there are many examples of that right here, and they are truly, truly lovely.

Ryan>> They're 2.5 million pounds of example.

Amanda>> And you found a way to kind of accelerate the composting process, I believe.

Ryan>> That's right, yep, there's a company that has developed a blend of special microbes that help break down the compost much quicker, and without having to turn it near as much, giving us a finished product a lot quicker.

Amanda>> And so some people, you've got big golf courses here, and with fertilizer prices and all, I think that people are seeing that organic matter, compost, can be a great alternative to synthetic fertilizers.

Ryan>> That's right.

Yeah, you know, compost, as you well know, is just incredibly beneficial to the soil in many different ways.

And the great thing is that it has helped some see the benefit and the cost savings of going with an organic way versus using synthetic manmade fertilizers.

Amanda>> And I was fascinated to see how careful you are with water recycling at that site as well.

>> So being in Aiken County, you know, water is precious everywhere, but especially here because it's so sandy.

So we've tried to save every drop that we can and recycle all of the water we use in our operations.

And even here at the nursery, we use strictly drip irrigation to help conserve as well as help keep down on foliar issues and just be as environmentally sustainable as possible.

Amanda>> Everybody had changes that happened in their life during COVID.

I don't know anybody else who decided to start a nursery during COVID, but that's exactly what you did.

Ryan>> Yeah, and so we had a small scale little operation.

However, when COVID came about, you know, folks got out in the yard, they started gardening, they started planting, and so that really helped us gain momentum as we built this new garden center here in Aiken, and it's just, thank goodness, been steadily growing.

Amanda>> And you've been a plant nerd your whole life.

(laughs) Ryan>> I am a true plant nerd.

Yeah, ever since I was little, even though when I had to work in the garden, when I was little, you know, I don't know if I was a plant nerd then, but I grew to appreciate plants and to love them, and I'm definitely a plant nerd now.

Amanda>> And your charming wife, Ashley, goes to the market with your mother, and so inside of your building are many fascinating things.

I mean, I found bird food to keep the squirrels away.

I found nail brushes, I found soaps.

I just found all kinds of treasures in there, but, of course, the plants are the real thing, and out here you have just a lovely selection.

Ryan>> Yeah, well, thank you.

Well, it's definitely a partnership.

Like you mentioned Ashley.

I mean, she has helped build this place just as much as I have, and I certainly can't take any credit for the inside decorating which looks amazing.

That's all her.

I just help grow the plants, but yeah, we try to have a selection of unique, anywhere from woody ornamentals to orchids to house plants.

We try to have something for everyone, but we want to, you know, really provide a uniqueness in the plant world here locally.

Amanda>> And so you offer a great variety of fertilizers, organic or non organic, and people can come and arrange to have compost to take home.

And you particularly have in the greenhouses, an interest in tropicals that I think goes back a long way.

Ryan>> It does, yeah, and so tropicals, they are really near and dear to my heart.

I love them just because, well, we used to vacation, you know, every once in a while in the tropics, and I just fell in love with that environment, and that's, I guess, why I love to build greenhouses so much is trying to duplicate that tropical environment.

Amanda>> And I was walking through, and oh, the colors were just so glorious in one greenhouse and then in another, the idea that you can have so many shades and colors with green, and then the occasional flowering orchid.

There's nothing boring about any part of the plant world, is there?

Ryan>> No, there really isn't.

Especially with the orchid world and how each flower is designed to attract the specific pollinators, just really an amazing world.

Amanda>> Well, I've had a grand time here.

You have a koi pond.

You make us feel like there's water flowing in so many places.

The pollinators are busy.

And if people want to know more about your nursery and how to get there, what's the best way to find out?

>>Well, sure, we'd love for them to go to either GrassRootsYardSupply.com or find us, Grass Roots Yard Supply, on Facebook.

>> Well, I want to thank you so much for letting us come and have this wonderful day.

>>Yes, ma'am, I thank you for coming and hope you come back.

Amanda>> You can bet I will.

♪ >> We've so enjoyed our visit at Grass Roots Yard Supply.

They gave us a wonderful lunch.

The whole family was involved.

It was just a warm feeling.

We are so excited that they made such a happy event out of the pandemic.

Adam, you've got an event coming up, where people who want to learn about turf grass will have an opportunity and they get to come to Clemson as well, I think.

Adam>> Yes, ma'am.

So each year, Clemson University has our annual turf field day and this year, it'll be on August 16, from 8:45 to three o'clock, and some things that we'll be discussing will be some of the newer varieties of Zoysia grasses and Bermuda grasses, both for home lawns and for golf courses that we're trying to breed some resistance to certain pests.

So yes, ma'am.

So we'll be talking about that.

Also some pest control, whether it's fungal or nematode related, We've got different professors we've got agronomist, we've got entomologist, we have pathologists that are all there to expand on some of the research they'll be doing, as well as some research that we grad students, us lowly grad students are going to be working on as well.

So it's open to the public.

There is no charge, and it's for both the general public and for the people that may be involved commercially as well.

Amanda>> So you feel like if somebody like me came I would pick up some tips, too?

>> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda>> Well, I think that's exciting that they're ...who's doing this breeding work with grassed?

Lots of places?

Adam>> A lot of our breeding work for turf grasses come out of Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State.

Amanda>> They just have kind of decided to specialize in that?

Adam>> Yes, man, but also the climate there is a little bit more hospitable for breeding and also for some of this stringent testing because for a turf grass to come to commercial or to a residential area.

It goes through years of testing to make sure that it has the right heat tolerance, the right cold tolerance, and specifically right now, with a lot of people worrying about water conservation, now they're doing a lot of drought tolerance.

Amanda>> Really.

>> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda>> Isn't that nice to hear that.

somebody's paying attention to that?

I'm delighted.

That's wonderful.

Well, this is something that's not drought tolerant.

Eric>> No, it is not.

(laughing) I hate to say it, but it's not.

This is a new hydrangea to us.

Yeah, we can sit it here.

We can do that.

So we are wonderful friends with the people up at Mr.

Maple.

Amanda>> - Mr.

Maple.

Eric>> Yes.

They also run there.

It's a specialty nursery.

That is just I tell you if you have a option to go up there, do it.

It'll blow your mind.

Amanda>> Where is it?

Eric>> It's in Flat Rock North Carolina.

It's right across the lawn.

Their nursery is Amanda>> Barbara talks about it.

Barbara Smith.

Eric>> Barbara Smith and I have conversations about Mr.

Maple a lot, (Amanda laughs) Eric>> This is a hydrangea called Miss Saori, and the bloom Amanda>> Miss what?

Eric>> Miss Saori.

It is edged in pink, beautiful, compact.

Amanda>> It's got a little darker - Eric>> It is just so beautiful, and I've seen larger specimens of it, but they actually gave us this one the last time we saw them, and they they've always been just great friends of ours and they give us so many things.

We buy a lot from them as well, but all of their stuff is just so unique.

So if you're looking for Japanese maple or you know even hydrangeas, now, they're doing hydrangeas.

Amanda>> Well, that's fun.

There's such nice people, right.

across the border.

Eric>> Yep.

Amanda>> Okay, well, I want to thank everyone.

I can't see.

Eric>> You're fine.

(laughing) Amanda>> Thank everyone for being here.

Adam, thank you for coming down, and making that trip and thank you for coming from Columbia.

Eric>> You're very welcome Amanda>> - and Terasa always.

So we will say good night and we'll see you right here next Tuesday.

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

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

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

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

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