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

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

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

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

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

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

♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda> ♪ Deck the halls with boughs of holly ♪ All> ♪ Fa, la, la, la, la la, la, la, la ♪ Amanda> Welcome to, our "Holiday Show."

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

And I'm here with my friend and co-host Terasa Lott, who also happens to be working with Clemson.

Terasa, thanks so much for being here.

> It is my pleasure.

I think this might be my favorite show of the year.

Although, a little bittersweet because, it means the holiday season is here, but it's the last season of the calendar year.

Amanda> Yeah, well... flipping that, turning that page.

Yeah, yeah.

And I think that you have a Christmas tree that has a, a story behind it, maybe.

Terasa> I do.

You're right.

I have a ceramic Christmas tree that I think have, have recently become more popular.

But mine was made by my grandmother, many years ago.

I remember it, you know, as long as my memory goes back that we would put up this tree every year.

Three pieces and it lights up and it's mother of pearl.

So instead of being green, it's kind of that white with an iridescent look.

Came all the way from upstate New York down to South Carolina.

And it had, does have a little bit of a chip around the top, but I just put a little garland at the top where the star goes in and cover it up.

Amanda> There you go.

Yeah.

Like, if you have a Christmas tree that you get, and bring it home, you can go back to the place and sometimes they'll give you an extra limb that they cut off, and you just stick it in.

Terasa> You can fill it in.

But, you know, I have to say that, the holiday spirit award at my house goes to my husband.

We have a light extravaganza outside that we joke, "We need to turn up the power grid every year for."

He's been repurposing what I call tree cookies or tree slices and putting, like, winter scenes on them.

<Ooh!> We have two Christmas villages.

Yes, it is a lot, but he does most of the work.

Amanda> Gosh.

Well, that's just terrific.

And it's fun now because it used to be, when you put the Christmas tree lights on, if you had a bulb that was burned out the whole thing would go "kablooey."

Terasa> Usually that doesn't happen.

But I did hear that he had put, lights up on the dormer and they were working when he was up there, and he came down and one strand blew out.

[laughter] So, I think there was a little frustration.

Amanda> Get out the ladder again.

[laughter continues] Zack Snipes, you're the Commercial Hort.

Agent down at the Coastal REC.

Zack> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda> Yeah.

And, so... and I think you just got some kind of award for doing wonderful research.

You were, like, 40 people from around the country selected.

> Yeah.

So, I'm still under 40.

So it was, The Fruit and Vegetable Growers 40 under 40.

<Okay> So it's a great honor to receive that award and, real happy that I've been able to serve people and help people along the way.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

You do a lot down there.

Zack> Oh, yeah.

Amanda> I think you're going to talk later, obviously, about some of the things that you have in front of you.

Which now are things that we might be able to grow.

Zack> Absolutely.

Amanda> Yeah.

And, we don't, this... is an interesting outfit.

We were supposed to dress festively, and I think you- Meow, meow, meow, meow.

Zack> Yeah, so my brother gives me the "purr-fect" outfit.

[laughter] But, every year he gives us some, just really funny Christmas sweaters or, this is a onesie.

So I got some weird looks at the gas station this morning, but, Amanda> Oh, you had to stop?

Zack> Oh, yeah, didn't think that one through.

[laughter] Amanda> Whew!

Well, I think it's really great fun.

Thank you.

Yeah, yeah.

Carmen Ketron, you're an Extension, Urban Horticulture Agent over in, not too far from here.

And, you... you have a little girl, and I bet y'all are getting pretty excited about Christmas.

> Yes, we love Christmas, where I'm at.

So we, deck all the halls.

It's, it's fun.

This is going to be her first Christmas where she starts to really get it.

She got to decorate the tree.

<Oh> She's recognizing Santa.

All the things.

So, we're excited.

Amanda> Wonderful.

That's fun.

Okay.

And Dr.

Emily Belser.

Good gracious, you, studied Wildlife Science, <I did> and, I'm glad to meet you, because I know your dad.

He and I are old, old friends.

Dr.

Belser> It's so, great to meet you.

And, you're going to talk about things... how people can manage their forest and things like that.

Dr.

Belser> That's right.

Yeah.

Yes, my background is in wildlife.

And I'm from South Carolina, so.

And I, moved away for a couple of years, and now I'm back, back working here.

Amanda> And where, whom do you work for?

Dr.

Belser> So I work with American Forest Management.

I have my real estate license with them, so I specialize in land sales.

I also do a little bit of conservation easement work.

So working with landowners who want to put an easement on their property.

And then also a little bit of wildlife management.

<Gracious> A little bit of everything.

Amanda> And, you know, I want to give a shout out to our Governor, Henry McMaster, because he's been very interested in the conservation land bank.

Trying to protect more of South Carolina's land.

How does that work, exactly?

Dr.

Belser> So you can put an easement on your property.

Which there's, of course... each easement might be different, but it essentially means that there's not going to be any large development on the property.

And then maybe some other, maybe forestry practices, restrictions there just depends on the easement.

Amanda> Okay, yeah.

But anyway... there are a lot of people moving here, we're happy to have new neighbors, but, we do want to protect as much of our open spaces as we can.

Yeah.

And he's been very interested in doing that.

And we do thank him for that.

And we have a real treat for you, Lin Ko.

Our Ikebana specialist is coming on and, you'll see her doing a holiday arrangement.

It was great fun.

Okay.

Terasa, is there somebody at Christmas time who's thinking about doing something outside, even though we're all so... we are all so full of other things to do.

Presents to wrap and presents to mail.

Terasa> Well, you know, we do receive a lot of questions, but with all of that wonderful citrus there on the table, I thought we might start off learning about some of those varieties and what Zack's doing at... with his research.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, Zack it's all yours.

Zack> Yeah.

So, I brought a bunch of citrus, from some of our research plots at the Coastal Research and Education Center in Charleston.

We've been looking at cold tolerance in citrus.

There's, a disease in Florida called, "citrus greening" that's killing a lot of trees.

And because of that, a lot of citrus production has moved into South Georgia.

And I got to thinking about it.

You know, we're in the same, along the coast, we're in the same growing regions as South Georgia.

So why can't we grow citrus?

So we wrote some grants and we've been looking at, different citrus varieties for the last eight to ten years.

And there's some varieties that we really can grow in coastal South Carolina, I think in some of the Midlands areas.

In the Upstate, we can grow them too but we're just going to have to protect them, and keep them warm, during cold events.

But a lot of the varieties that I have, I leave out, I don't protect them.

And we just want to see what they do.

And so, a lot of the varieties that have done well are what I call, like, the Cutie types, that you'll see in the store.

The Cuties, the Halos that are, really easy to peel.

<Yeah> That, that are, you know, not super sour and whatnot.

So, if y'all don't mind, I'm probably just going to cut a few open and maybe talk about them a little bit.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Zack> So, this first variety, that I'm really interested in- Amanda> Carmen, are you going to be the surgeon?

<Oh, Yes!> Zack> Yeah, she's going to cut them open for me here.

These are really tiny.

They're probably, maybe a 50 cent piece size.

But this is called Kishu.

Amanda> Say it again.

Zack> Kishu.

K-I-S-H-U.

It's kind of got a cool little name.

<Yeah> But they're super easy to peel.

Amanda> Oh!

Zack> And they're great.

My kids love them.

But they're really low acid, and they're very, very sweet.

And they're really- Amanda> Do they have just a few seeds?

Zack> These have no seeds at all.

Amanda> Dang, come on.

Zack> And they're very cold hardy.

They do really well.

And a tree, a mature tree will have thousands of fruit, on each tree.

So it's worth the investment even if you have one or two to keep it warm.

Amanda> How big can you keep the trees... a size that you could cover if you needed to?

Zack> Yes, you can, always prune them, to... keep the size down.

I always tell people to plant them on the south side of a house.

<Okay> because of the heat sink, and, you know, you can wrap them with blankets and old Christmas lights and shop lights.

And the best thing I found... is to take a 55 gallon drum, and fill it with water a few days before a really cold event.

And the water serves as like a heat sink.

<Okay> And kind of keeps it warm.

So you'd be surprised how just a little bit of temperature modification can keep these things alive.

Amanda> All right, well you've got some more that are good.

Zack> Yeah.

So that's Kishu.

This next variety is Tango.

If you've ever, you know, had Cuties or Halos in the store, this is probably one of the varieties that they put in those bags.

They're easy peel.

The acid in them is a little, higher.

But the sugars are really high, and we test the sugars weekly when we're harvesting these.

With this right here, this is a refractometer.

So what we'll do, if Carmen will help me here, we're probably gonna make a mess, get it all sticky.

But we're going to do it here.

What we do is we squeeze the orange juice on- Amanda> Oh, on the glass.

Zack> On the glass.

Yeah.

And then we close it.

And then you put the eyepiece up to your eye, and there will be a distinct line, that tells you how sweet the citrus is.

And each week- Amanda> So you hold it up to your eye and look in the- Zack> Yep.

You hold it up to the light and there'll be a distinct line.

Amanda> Aren't you gonna do that for us?

Zack> You want me to do that?

Amanda> Yeah, of course.

Carmen> Arr matey.

Zack> So this one is... 11.0 Brix.

So that's very, very sweet.

So that one is dead ripe.

And as you'll notice on this variety here, it's not perfectly orange.

<No> And so, that's one thing we're going to have to do with our consumers is they're going to have to realize that that a lot of varieties we're growing, they're not that perfect orange look, they still have a little green to them.

Amanda> Even when they're real sweet?

Zack> Even when they're dead ripe.

<Okay> And so... that's something we're going to have to educate folks, because a lot of growers along the coast are putting in citrus.

So I think you're going to see a lot more citrus being put in.

Carmen> That's the last one I would have picked.

<Yes> So that's, that's good to know.

Zack> Exactly.

This next cultivar is called Sugar Belle.

It is a very hardy, cold hardy tree.

It grows really fast.

And they're really great to eat, but they're also really, great for orange juice.

They use them in Florida, for a lot of the orange juices.

<All right> So, great variety.

Couple other ones I want to talk about is a Owari and Brown Select.

These are... if I had to grow one variety in South Carolina, it would be these two.

One of these two.

They're very easy to grow.

The tree is more of a dwarf tree as opposed to some of the other ones we've talked about.

They have no, to relatively few seeds.

And they're great for kids again, because they're easy peel.

And their, their acids are low and they're very sweet.

Amanda> Now, there are prohibitions about taking... citrus trees that you brought out of certain areas.

I think Charleston's in a quarantine zone.

How do we go about getting these if I want to have some in Saint Matthews.

Zack> Yeah.

So the trees themselves, if you buy them from a certified source, you can take them to your county and plant them, and it's fine.

<Okay> But, if I were to take a tree and take it to Charleston County, once it goes in to Charleston County or Beaufort County or Colleton County, it cannot leave that county.

So once you plant it, it's there.

And then any fruit that you harvest can be sold or given away anywhere, as long as it doesn't have any, green material on it.

Amanda> All right.

Okay.

Zack> And then the last one I want to talk about or the last two... Cara Cara.

And it's, looks ugly on the outside, but it's one of- Amanda> Ooh!

[All exclaiming] Oh, gosh, how exciting.

Carmen> Look at that.

Zack> It's actually, a navel orange.

It's not a true blood orange.

<Uh-huh> But it's one of the only, cultivars that we can actually grow here that actually, will get some color on it, like a blood orange, so.

Great for juice, great for eating ripe.

And this next one, Carmen's cutting, is our grapefruit.

Carmen> Gorgeous.

Zack> And that is a Flame Grapefruit.

Carmen> Look at that.

Terasa> I wouldn't have expected it to- It doesn't look ripe on the outside.

Zack> Right.

And again, I've been monitoring these for about six weeks now.

I've been looking at the sugars and all these are dead ripe right now.

Amanda> So, is the instrument real expensive?

Could a home person, a home owner afford one?

Zack> You can get cheaper models.

This model here is probably 150 dollars or so.

Amanda> Okay.

It's not the end of the world.

Zack> It's not super expensive.

Amanda> Okay, okay.

Well, I like kumquats.

<Yes> You know, and the secret with a kumquat is you have to bite down on it real fast because the inside is sour, but the peel is sweet.

Zack> You eat the whole thing.

Yeah.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

And I think, they're extremely hardy, aren't they?

Zack> Yes, they are.

And, in our own studies, they're one of the most cold hardy citrus that we have.

But I guess the problem with kumquat, to me, it's... they're fun to eat five or six of them, but when you got a tree that's got 3,000 on it, one gets old real quick.

Amanda> Well, I don't know.

They're wonderful to decorate too around the table because they're so small.

But that little small one that you have would be just as perfect to use in decorations on the table.

That was so exciting.

<Yeah!> Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And we'll just leave these there and, we'll all taste them at some point.

Terasa, have we got somebody we can help?

Terasa> I think it's evident from Zack's description here, why he's, he won that prestigious national award.

He's doing a lot of work to help our growers here.

This question comes in from David in Loris.

It's a two part question.

How do we keep Christmas trees and fresh greens safe from fire in the house during the holiday season?

And what should I do with them after the season ends?

<Okay> Both, great questions.

Amanda> Carmen?

Carmen> Yes.

So a lot of people are getting into the cost savings and the gorgeousness of creating those fresh greens and just grabbing fresh greens instead of the artificial plastic ones.

And so with that comes a lot of concerns, because you have all of these sometimes drying materials.

Real live tree, any of your garland, your wreaths.

And if they dry out, they actually become a fire hazard.

So it's always important to make sure that they are hydrated even after they are cut.

Your Christmas tree, very simple.

But a lot of people who are just starting out in the Christmas decorating forget, you got to keep that watered like a cut flower.

And so a lot of people need to make sure that they, are checking their Christmas tree holder to make sure that it is constantly wet.

Amanda> And also, I think, if you go and get one when you get home, you're supposed to recut it because, it would have sealed off, kind of.

And wouldn't take up water through the stump.

Is that correct?

Carmen> That is exactly right.

And if you get a really nice Christmas tree, seller, they'll even offer to do a cut for you in the store.

And that's, that's always nice as well.

Additionally, one of the big things is if you have garland or if you have like a live wreath, you want to make sure that, before you take it into the house, soak it for about 24 hours.

That helps to rehydrate it also.

Additionally, you can do things like Wilt-Pruf or an anti-transpirant spray if you wanted to.

But the easiest thing, just take a little, hairspray spritzer <Yeah> and spritz it every so often throughout the season.

Amanda> And that'll help it?

Carmen> That'll help a lot more.

Also, easy things don't get near open flames.

Don't put- A lot of people are like, "Oh, I want the garland over the mantel and I want to start a fire."

Don't do that.

And no real candles.

<Okay> Real easy.

And keep it out of sunlight.

That's going to be the best way to keep it, hydrated, is to keep it in the shade or away from direct sunlight.

Amanda> All right, well... and I do think that it's wonderful to have, a fresh tree in the- Booth Chilcutt, who was a forester here developed the Carolina Sapphire.

And doesn't it smell wonderful?

Carmen> It smells amazing.

It almost smells like these oranges, I'm smelling right now.

It is wonderful to have.

Not great for holding the ornaments because, it doesn't have quite the branch structure.

But it is so pretty.

Amanda> Yeah.

And it does smell wonderful.

Well, I'm so glad to get those tips.

Thank you very, very much.

Carmen> You're welcome.

Amanda> I went to the Governor's Mansion, and, the public was invited to see the decorations that the Columbia Garden Club had done, and they were lovely, lovely, lovely, with fresh greenery and, bet they'd like to know those tips.

I think that's grand that you're telling those.

Carmen> Thank you.

Amanda> Okay.

Okay, Terasa?

Terasa> Well, I know that Emily has a background in wildlife, and I believe she brought, maybe we'll call it an artifact that we could learn about, that has a connection to other wildlife.

Dr.

Belser> Yeah, we could call it an artifact.

I was actually out with a landowner the other week.

And he pulled this up off the ground and handed it to me.

And it's a young buck, or was.

<Yeah> And it was kind of interesting to me, because you can think about the circle of life and how even in death there can be value there.

So, if you look really closely, there have been some rodents that have been chewing on this skull.

Amanda> Okay, let me, let me, well here.

Is that okay?

If I just... Dr.

Belser> Yeah, of course.

Amanda> So... Oh, I see so, right here, somebody's been gnawing on it to get the calcium.

Dr.

Belser> That's right.

Yeah.

So rodents, like squirrels or even mice- Amanda> And to also keep their teeth sharp.

Dr.

Belser> Yep.

So they'll chew on hard things such as bone to help wear their teeth down so they don't become overgrown.

And then they'll also chew on it for the calcium.

But also if the bones are fresher, they can actually get some fat from the bones as well.

Amanda> Oh, from the marrow.

How fascinating.

Dr.

Belser> And actually, deer will also chew on bones and antlers, which is- Amanda> Isn't that amazing?

Dr.

Belser> Yeah, because you think about deer being strict herbivores, but they'll actually chew on antlers for some of that calcium, as well.

Amanda> Yeah.

Well, that's just fascinating.

And I think it's wonderful that somebody had such a sharp eye and noticed that.

And that you shared that information with us.

Thank you, thank you.

Dr.

Belser> Of course.

Amanda> Okay.

All right, Terasa?

Terasa> It's time for "Gardens of the Week."

So our viewers might have noticed that we did things a little bit differently today.

We didn't start with "Gardens of the Week."

And with it being a holiday theme, you certainly came through.

I asked you to share your holiday plants, some holiday greenery, and we have put together a montage for you so you can look at all of them instead of, you know, limiting to just five or six.

So, I hope you enjoy.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Magnificent is the word that comes to mind after seeing all of those amazing photos.

You know, holiday cactus have a special place in my heart because it brings back memories.

And I might need to find a new color.

Someone had a yellow one, that is not part of my current collection.

So thank you for sharing a little bit of your homes with us.

We appreciate it.

And of course, you can see them on our Facebook page as well.

Amanda> Goodness, they were so much fun to see, thank you.

Thanks to everybody.

Well, Carmen... gosh, looks like you're making a mess today.

What are we going to do?

Carmen> Emily and I brought the whole farm to the, the property.

I wanted to decorate!

Amanda> Of course!

Carmen> One of the big things that, comes to mind when you're decorating is, like we talked about earlier, decorating with live greenery.

And so I thought we could make a garland.

Because it is actually very, very easy.

And as I said, at the top, very cost-conscious because Emily and I, and her dad basically just ran around the forest and found some stuff.

<Sure> But, if you're not living in the forest, you can also go and get greenery from your local Christmas tree operation.

Some of the stuff that I bought is just the trimmings.

<Yes> And they let me just fill up trash can, trash bags.

Amanda> They're always very, very gracious about letting you do things.

Carmen> So kind.

So, I got some from, Booth's Christmas Tree Farm in Conway, South Carolina.

And the rest I found, we found in the ditches.

So, the easiest way to do garland is to start by kind of measuring and having a little measuring stick.

<Yes> So you can do that with, your string and we can say, "I don't know, about yay long."

A nice little approximate.

Let me see how long we're working with, here.

Amanda> And we want it to... Carmen> I think we'll just lay it... I'm going to make this pretty big.

So we'll make it- Amanda> So we can let it swoop a little bit.

Carmen> We'll see how we can do with that.

Yeah.

All right.

Excellent.

So that's going to be the best option for you to start is to just take it and cut it.

And then with your greenery a lot of the times we have like big branches.

Amanda> Yeah.

Carmen> I don't need all of this.

<No> What I want to do, is I want to just start cutting in little sections, having... extra of the, branch stem, because you can cut it later.

Amanda> Yeah, but you can't glue it back.

Carmen> But you can't glue it back, that's right.

And so I like to take big sections with a long, bare stem, and I like to put them in little, organized piles of chaos.

[laughter] Terasa> I didn't realize chaos and organization went in the same- Carmen> Yeah.

Amanda> It's Carmen!

Carmen> Very true.

So you can just pop them in and we have a lot of different selections.

Some pine.

We have Magnolia and we have the spruce, and then we have a little bit of our cedar, our eastern red cedar.

And so luckily, Emily, if you wanted to talk about how important it is to get all of these.

I'll just start collecting my chaos piles.

Dr.

Belser> Yeah, of course.

So I don't know much about decorating, but I do know wildlife and so all of these plants up here have value to our native wildlife.

So, for starters, our eastern red cedar, those berries that are on there are really valuable to cedar waxwings.

So some of our bird species will eat those.

Amanda> Well, and also, they're used to flavor gin.

And eastern red cedars, you may have one that's not a, that doesn't have berries because they're male and female.

But, at my house we collect them and we, keep them throughout the year and chop them up to flavor things like hamburgers.

They're really quite tasty, to me at least.

Maybe that's, maybe I was raised on gin, like Eliza Doolittle's mother was.

[laughter] Dr.

Belser> And then we also have Magnolia, so we have two, actually have two different kinds of Magnolia up here.

So, this one in front of me is southern magnolia.

So Magnolia grandiflora.

And then we also have sweetbay magnolia which is Magnolia virginiana.

Amanda> Which is very small and just magnificently fragrant, I think maybe even more so, than the regular one.

And of course- Carmen> This looks a lot prettier... Amanda> Yeah... and also- Carmen> I'm gonna steal this.

Dr.

Belser> Yeah, go for it.

Amanda> You can get... there are all these cultivars of Magnolia grandiflora.

And you can get some with brown on the back like Bracken's Brown Beauty.

And I believe there's some that are even, that are called... not dwarf but they're, not going to be 100 feet tall.

But they're still going to be I mean, they might be 25 feet tall, right?

Dr.

Belser> Right.

Carmen> They still get pretty big.

Amanda> Yeah.

So don't think that, yeah, that you can just put it under the window.

Yeah, yeah.

Dr.

Belser> Yeah, and those red berries that come on the cones of Magnolias can be also great food for a variety of songbirds and squirrels and possums and raccoons.

<Okay> So a lot of food value there.

Amanda> And then sadly... Terasa, I love to make Magnolia wreaths and things like that, but my Magnolia gets these little white spots on the leaves that, keep it from being good for that.

And I think it's, it's got, some weird thing.

Terasa> There's an apple leaf spot that affects Magnolia, It affects a number of other species as well.

Generally, it's not terribly harmful, although it can potentially be.

And, from what I understand, if colonized, there's a potential for a lichen to colonize.

Which, that particular lichen is parasitic.

But I don't want our viewers to get, worried because, you know, lots of times people call and they say, "There is lichen on my tree, it's killing the tree."

And in general, that's not the case.

So, this is a very unusual circumstance.

Amanda> It ruins it for me because I can't make, do all these wonderful things with my Magnolia anymore.

Oh, dagnabbit.

Carmen> And if it is the white spots that might be like a Camellia scale as well.

Which is also, can be very ugly on the leaves.

Amanda> But Magnolias, they don't mind being cut back to the trunk and even making short.

So, you can if you have one in your yard, you can just cut it back and the new growth probably wouldn't have it.

So I would have some I could use and get one of the beautiful brown backs on it.

Yeah.

Carmen> You know, nobody likes to hear me tell them this, but if it is... if they have a lot of elder leaf spot or Camellia scale, false Camellia scale, it is probably because the tree is stressed in some way.

And so a healthy Magnolia tree is the best, is the best option to fight a lot of those.

So making sure it's watered, you're not parking the car under it.

Just... big, little things that make a big difference.

Terasa> I think the elder leaf scale is prevalent in shady, very shady conditions, right?

Carmen> Yes.

Very shady conditions.

But if you, if it's healthy, a lot of the times it can fight that back.

Amanda> Carmen, you got these things assembled, they look beautiful.

But, to put it together in a garland, how are you going to do that so it will hold up?

Carmen> Exactly.

Great question.

So, what I did is I took our individual piles of all the different greenery.

I like three to five different types of greenery to kind of mix up the texture.

<Yes> And then I just started creating small bundles.

I wanted to make sure that all of the bundles are about the same size.

That's going to be the key to having an even garland across whatever your mantel or whatever you have.

And then I just start taking them, and then I'm going to take our flat wire, our floral wires, this is the key right here.

A lot of people think that you want to wrap it inside of your, that measuring tape.

Amanda> That wouldn't be attractive.

Carmen> That's right.

Unless of course, you could if you wanted to go and spray paint it, that's too much trouble.

But luckily, what we'll do is we'll have it thick enough that you can, we start wrapping it up.

You want to tie it off and start wrapping, and you just take one of these little bundles.

Amanda> Now, are you using the... cord, as well.

Carmen> Yep.

I have the, I have the spool at the back so that I can keep kind of, it all together in case it starts to come apart, but you don't have to.

Amanda> And the florist wire comes in different strengths and thicknesses.

So you'll need one that's relatively, strong for this, you know.

So you can go to the craft store and figure out which one you want to get.

Carmen> That's right.

A nice tensile strength.

And what I'm doing is I'm just taking it and I'm wrapping that florist wire and I'm giving it a nice tug across.

And we're doing a couple nice little tugs all the way pretty much to the, end of the stems.

And here you can see why I was so vigilant about have a nice long stem.

<Yes> Because we are going to connect the next one.

Would you mind holding that?

<No> Amanda> And it will cover up those stems.

Carmen> That's right.

Amanda> Wonderful.

Okay.

Carmen> And so you want to make sure that the next one sits right on top.

And a lot of the times people, the best way to do it, especially if it is laying flat, is you go left and then the next one right, and the next one left.

So it's all even as opposed to one giant little hill.

So I'm going to go left and then wrap it and let me see if we can get this all done.

I'm going to make them help me.

Amanda> Gosh, you have the best tips that you give us.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Well, while all that's going on, we're going to go see Lin Ko make her holiday arrangement for us.

♪ I'm so glad that my friend Lin Ko has come back to be with us today.

And you are an Ikebana... expert, a teacher.

But when you first came to the United States from Taiwan, I think you worked at the Richland County Public Library for a long time.

> That's right, 23 years.

Amanda> And then you started studying Ikebana.

And what is the meaning of Ikebana?

Lin> Ikebana literally means to make flowers alive.

Amanda> All right.

Lin> So that's why we only use the real flowers with life.

Amanda> And one thing that's interesting, we're not going to have some of this material in water because Ikebana is the progression of life.

is that kind of correct?

Lin Ko> That's true.

We want to show the lifecycle.

<All right> From the very beginning to the very end.

<All right> So if a flower or a leaf, dry out... gracefully, we keep it.

Amanda> All right.

Lin> Only when it's gracefully.

Okay.

Amanda> Okay.

And, this is, we're going to show this during our Christmas program.

But Christmas is not a big holiday, it's more like, Valentine's, perhaps?

Lin> Yeah.

I think in Japan, there are only one percent of population are Christian.

So they don't make it into, a national holiday.

So people treat that as a Valentine's Day.

<Okay> Candlelight dinner.

<Aw> And then, of course, still giving present to each other.

Amanda> Okay.

Well... tell us what we're going to do today, and let's get started.

Lin> Yes, we are going to do, arrangement for holiday.

And holiday arrangement, typically include at least three kinds of material.

Green, white and then red.

Amanda> All right.

Lin> So, the... green one, lots of time we use pine or we can use this kind of- Amanda> Cryptomeria.

Lin> Cryptomeria.

I have a hard time saying this.

Or you can use a cedar tree.

Amanda> Yes, of course.

Lin> Anything can do.

And the meaning of this is evergreen.

So it is, everlasting.

<Yes> Forever.

So that's a very, a symbol for life.

<Yes> For life.

So this is very important.

<All right> Then, the red one, of course, just add that kind of a Christmas feeling, yes.

And then the white one to go with that.

We call it together a must, <Yes> in holiday arrangement.

Amanda> All right.

<Yes> Well, you've already done some work with this one using a piece of lead to hold it and get it anchored very well down in your beautiful container.

Lin> Yes.

Let me turn it over, you can see.

I have the lead wire, very thick wire and very soft.

<Yes> Already, secured this branch and I want them to go, slant, slanting style.

Not... level.

Amanda> Yes.

All right.

Lin> So, it's a little harder, so I did it before the program.

Okay.

And now I'm going to add the greenery.

<Yes> The evergreen.

So what I have in my mind is, tie this to the end of this.

So it will add to this.

So I may have to wire it, before it falls apart.

Okay.

So let's... let me turn it to myself.

Amanda> A lazy Susan is a wonderful Ikebana prop to use.

Yes.

So, many teachers they are able to do it from the back side.

But I prefer to do it from the front side because I can see better.

Okay?

So after I practice thirty years, maybe I will do it on the back side.

Amanda> Well, we like the way you do it.

Because, although we won't be experts, some of us like to try things at home, after you come and give us some tips.

Lin> Yeah.

So I used the, the wire wrapped in green paper.

So it won't show that much, <Yes> of the metal thing.

But the good thing is, they don't have to go to water... they still stay for weeks.

Amanda> Oh, they will?

Yeah.

Lin> Yes.

So that's why I can do it this way.

If this is a mum, then I cannot do it this way.

Because, they need water.

Amanda> Of course.

And the evergreen, of course, will be perfectly fine.

Lin> So this is the evergreen.

<All right> Okay, now I'm going to put in the big flower.

Amanda> All right.

Lin> Cutting from here there is a technique we have to follow.

You cut it, then immediately merge into the water.

Then cut again under the water.

<Yes> Then dip into the solution.

This solution, the chemical is really powerful.

You dip it into it and count to five.

<Yes> Then that's it.

<Okay> Then it can last a whole week.

And you have a little bit, here.

I put it over a little bit- Amanda> Because, of course poinsettias are filled with latex and they will bleed.

So we're going to, manage to stop that bleeding process so that the flower will last.

Lin> That's true.

And you can also do the burning, but burning is much more trouble.

<Yes> So I decide to use the chemical.

Amanda> I'm glad you taught us that.

All right.

Lin> So let's remove it.

[snipping sound] And I cut it again, inside the water.

<Mhm> Then I dip it into this and count to five.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Okay.

Amanda> All right.

Lin> Then I'm going to insert into the container.

Amanda> And it is going into water?

Lin> Into water.

So that's why, the water has to be quite full.

Okay.

This is after I put in the flower.

Amanda> Oh, it's already lovely.

Lin> It's already lovely.

Okay.

<It is> And now we want to add some white.

<Yes> To be, a contrast of the red.

So I used a mum.

I was able to find this beautiful mum.

Amanda> It is beautiful.

Lin> Such a long stem.

You can cut and then the very last cut has to be under the water.

Of course, if you dip it, it will last longer.

Amanda> All right.

Lin> No hurt.

Always dip the flower into, the fresh cut flower into the chemical.

And this chemical is available online.

Amanda> And, of course we're looking, at the, we've got to move it and see how it looks from the other side too.

Hence the lazy Susan.

Lin> Thank you, for the lazy Susan.

Amanda> I know.

Lin> So convenient, so handy.

Amanda> And, can I hand you something else?

Lin> Yes.

Would you please?

The bleached palm leaf.

Amanda> Oh, what a fascinating item.

Lin> The bleached palm leaf.

This is the only one I have.

I could never find anymore.

So we are going to put it, into the back of this, arrangement.

Amanda> Oh.

All right.

Lin> With the help of the bamboo stick.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin> It's much- Amanda> More secure.

Lin> Easier.

Yes, okay.

And now, I'm going to make adjustment.

Okay.

But not... yes.

The sun rise knotting.

This is the sun.

<Yes> This is all of the rays.

<Oh> And I'm going to put it in front of the palm leaf.

See if they can stay together.

Amanda> Oh, because that makes a background for it.

And we can see it so well.

Fascinating.

Oh!

Lin> Okay.

So it's like the sun ray and this is the sun rising.

It has a... meaning of good luck.

Okay.

And the life.

<Ah> Yeah.

The life.

And now, basically, this is already done, if you look from one side.

I'm going to make it into more like a 360 degree.

Amanda> So people could, you could have it on a table in the middle of the room.

And this time, I'm thinking of introducing the cotton.

It's our favorite plant in South Carolina.

Amanda> Well, and this is from a farmer who allowed me to collect something from his field.

Lin> How wonderful.

I'm so lucky to use it.

Amanda> Calhoun County cotton.

Lin> Actually, on that side... it's hard to see.

I will see on this side.

Amanda> Ah!

Oh, yes.

Lin> Because the white background it was hard to see.

On this side, we add a little bit of cotton to represent our state.

I think, I love that idea.

So now we are able to put them together.

Three is a good number, <Yes> in Ikebana arrangement.

Four is a bad number.

Amanda> Yeah, threes and fives- Lin> One, three, five, seven- Amanda> Far more balanced.

Lin> Are all good.

Yes, okay.

Amanda> All right.

Lin> Okay.

So now we have all of this.

And then, let's see.

♪ Okay, let's see.

♪ Okay.

Amanda> Lovely.

Lin> I don't want to touch it too much.

<No> [laughter] Lin> Okay, this is the back side, also have the, the knotting.

<Yes> But not, the same size as the small one.

I think, the small one looks better in this way.

<Yes> ♪ Amanda> Lin, this is delightful to learn from you, as always.

And then you've added some fun little details down front.

Lin> That's some of the traditional decoration items.

They are cute.

And the color also matches, this arrangement.

So that's why I use it, yes.

Amanda> Well, again, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and bringing your joy to all of our viewers.

♪ ♪ Lin has become a good friend, and we sure enjoy it when she comes down.

And she shows us such different ways of looking at using plant material.

It's lots and lots of fun.

Well, Carmen, this is, this is really, actually very, very beautiful.

I just think it's wonderful.

And why would anybody want artificial stuff?

But that's just me.

And you... but it does take a good while to put these together.

Carmen> Mhm.

It can take a good couple of hours to get something like this done.

Amanda> You can also have somebody come and help you.

And that's fun.

Carmen> That's also fun.

Amanda> You know, to work together.

Carmen> It's a fun group activity.

Amanda> Yeah, and have some eggnog perhaps.

Carmen> Exactly.

Amanda> And what have you done with that little deer?

Carmen> Look at our little deer.

He's got... [laughter] one of Zack's citrus on top.

We actually decorated- We ended up, Zack was able to get me, some of his punklin?

Zack> Ponkan.

Carmen> Ponkan citrus, and we were able to dry it.

We also have some of Emily's longleaf pine cones.

And some okra, that I grew this summer that we then, spray painted.

<Fun, fun> So, we brought all, all the nature in, but I think the, the deer, he really makes it.

It's Rudolph.

Amanda> I think, yeah- And the sweetbay, I love the sweetbay.

I hadn't thought about that because the backs of the leaves are white, and it keeps this from being so dense.

I think it really adds great, three dimension, dimensionality to it, don't you?

Carmen> Yes.

And like you were saying, the sweetbay magnolia does not get very tall.

So it makes a really nice specimen piece to have in a tree line or somewhere, on your property that you can just go and grab from.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

This is just wonderful.

Wonderful, wonderful.

Oh, goodness.

Terasa> It reminds me of what you would see if you were to visit Kalmia Gardens.

They have a holiday open house every year, and the staff and volunteers work hard to decorate in period style decor.

So I've had a chance to visit a few times.

And, I don't know, there's just something that says holidays when you see all of the natural materials used.

Amanda> And Kalmia Gardens in Hartsville does not charge you to come in.

Terasa> That's right.

They're a public garden.

Amanda> It's beautiful.

And the house is fun, the way they fix it up.

Yeah, yeah.

Terasa> They've been very active on Facebook lately with their horticultural minutes or "Thereabouts," they say.

So, little quick snippets where you can tune in and listen.

Just like you can learn from your Making It Grow "Minutes" on the radio.

Amanda> Oh, well, thank you so much, I appreciate it.

Well, this is just lovely.

Where are you going to put it when you carry it home?

Carmen> Oh, I don't know.

We'll find someplace.

The whole- I'll just drape it across the bed, probably.

[laughter] Zack> Bet your daughter will find something to do with it.

Carmen> Yeah.

She had a whole lot of fun just like, taking things from the pile on the porch.

But, she really did, she helped with the citrus though, which was very nice, because that can be a six, eight hour process to dry the citrus.

You want to cut them in about a quarter inch thick pieces, then go in and put them in the oven at low temperature.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Carmen> Like, 150.

And then every hour just flip them, so they don't get too terribly burned.

But ones like this, some of the bigger ones, one of the tricks that we did is put confectioners' sugar on top, dip it in confectioners' sugar, and then put it in.

It has a slightly nicer gleam to it.

Amanda> Gosh.

Carmen> Just don't store it anywhere.

I stored this and some salt dough ornaments in the barn and that's how I got all the rats, so.

Zack> Bet your house smelled great.

Carmen> The house smelled great.

[laughter] Terasa> That's not something you probably keep from year to year.

We'll make fresh ones.

Carmen> Yes.

It's a every year kind of a deal.

Zack> I know where you can get some.

Carmen> Yeah, exactly.

Shout out to Zack.

And then I did want to hit up the, the pine cones.

You got to do your longleaf pine.

The loblolly just doesn't do it for you, am I right.

Dr.

Belser> Yeah.

Yeah.

So the longleaf are obviously bigger and they just look so great in your garland.

Carmen> Thank you so much for going and foraging.

Amanda> And I think, your father who's an old friend of mine, Harvey Belser, who was the Superintendent, in charge of Manchester State Forest.

We were friends a long time ago.

And he got those pine cones for you.

Dr.

Belser> He did, Yes.

He went out and grabbed about a bag full of them for us.

Amanda> Yeah.

Aren't they fun, yeah.

Oh, gracious goodness.

All kinds of fun things going on.

Well, Terasa, I think actually we might be able to help somebody with a question.

Terasa> Well, let's see what we have waiting in the queue.

This question comes in from Vince in John's Island, who sent some photos and said, "I have leafy greens and the leaves are all droopy and sad looking.

What happened?"

Amanda> Ugh.

Aww, well Zack, I think y'all do a lot.

I've been down to your place and y'all have talked a lot about greens.

Zack> Well, Vince needs to get it together for New Year's because... we got a few more weeks, and he needs those greens to be ready.

What happened recently, we had a very warm fall.

We had temperatures in the mid 70s, 80 degrees.

I mean, it was great growing conditions if you're a plant.

And then I've seen this happen a few times in my career.

You get a nor'easter or a Arctic clipper or whatever you want to call it.

We went from 75 degrees to 28 in just a few hours.

And, what happens is those plants are succulent, they're growing, their tissues are full of water, and then you get these really cold winds and really cold temperatures.

And it just burst the cells, essentially.

And so his, droopy collards are probably a result of that.

Typically what we saw, we saw this in all the commercial farms.

It's typically the outside leaves that are more exposed to the wind, and the cold.

But the inside, the new growing- Amanda> Hopefully, yeah.

Zack> They look fine.

And we've had great weather since.

<Okay> And things are growing well and should make enough foliage to get some greens for New Year's.

Amanda> Yeah, you need greens so you'll have some money in the new year.

Zack> Gotta have greens.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Isn't that fun?

Yeah.

And, I like artichoke pickle with my greens.

Zack> Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Amanda> It's just, which is- And people don't know that, you know, most people think of the artichokes that you pull between your teeth.

But we have, these are Jerusalem artichokes, Zack> That's right.

Amanda> are down in the ground.

Zack> And they're hard to find but easy to grow.

Amanda> Easy to grow.

Zack> You plant them once I've been told.

Amanda> And also, they're beautiful flowers.

Look like a sunflower.

Just like a sunflower.

Yeah, oh.

Okay, Terasa.

Terasa> What have we got next?

This comes in from Matt in Clarendon County.

Matt apparently just purchased some land, 100 acres in Clarendon County, and he would like to manage it for wildlife and is asking, you know, "Where do I start?"

Because that can be pretty overwhelming.

Amanda> Well, good for him because as we talked earlier, there's so much land that's being taken out of availability.

So, what would be some good tips for him Emily?

Dr.

Belser> Well, first of all, congratulations on, <Yes> you know, getting 100 acres because land, especially in Clarendon County can be hard to come by.

Amanda> It's good farmland.

Dr.

Belser> It is.

Yes, very good.

So I would say the first thing would be deciding what your goals are.

Obviously, if wildlife is your goal, is there a specific species of wildlife?

So if you were wanting to manage more for deer, more for quail or turkeys, are you wanting to manage for, you know, a good variety of both?

So your management strategies might look different, depending.

So you'd want to decide which wildlife you would want to manage for the most.

And then your next would be, you know, maybe decide on a budget.

So any kind of management activities, some are more costly than others.

And then I would want to get a bird's eye view.

So boots on the ground, looking at what plants you have, that's super valuable.

And then look at maybe a map of your property.

Look to see where your cover is, where your food is, and then maybe what some of your neighbors are doing.

So if you're in amongst a quite a bit of agriculture, you know, there might be plenty of food there.

So what is your property providing that would attract more wildlife?

Amanda> Can you pick one... animal and talk a little bit about it, for example?

Dr.

Belser> Yeah.

So let's say you were wanting to manage more for deer.

<Okay> Amanda> So you can hunt.

Dr.

Belser> Yes, that's right.

So you might want to make sure that you have plenty of cover and bedding areas.

So those are going to be your thicker areas.

And so you might- Amanda> So like wild... plots between the trees I mean, let those come and grow up and all.

Dr.

Belser> Yes.

And so you would probably want to treat that almost like a sanctuary.

So if that's where they're bedding down, you want to try to avoid those areas.

Amanda> I see.

Dr.

Belser> Yeah.

And then you're burning, frequency.

So maybe for deer you would burn less frequently then if you're managing for quail.

So quail are more of an early successional species.

<Okay> Deer are as well, but quail need a burn at least every other year... Amanda> And this is a prescribed burn, <Yes> that is done under certain conditions.

And it lets the forest kind of recycle.

<Correct> And so that you've got, you know, wildflowers and things coming up.

And then it turns on.

And so each one supports a different species like first, would be insects and things that go to the flowers.

And then as it matures, you have other things coming in.

Dr.

Belser> That's right.

Amanda> Okay.

Wonderful.

And I think it's important, Terasa a lot of people move down here and they worry when they see these fires.

But they're extremely important and they really are for the health of the forest.

And by doing that, I think you will move too much of a fuel load sometimes too.

Is that correct?

Dr.

Belser> Yeah, so in the southeast, we've done a really good job of keeping our forests burned and you know, that's good.

But for nutrient cycling, but also a lot of our wildlife species are early successional species.

And they rely on that fire to stimulate new plant growth and those kinds of things.

Amanda> Okay.

Well thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

And thank him for... wanting to make a place for wildlife.

I think that's wonderful in these days, don't you?

Terasa> Absolutely.

Yeah.

Amanda> Well, what else can we talk about, Terasa?

Terasa> How about if we help Scott from Effingham who said, "I want to start a Christmas tree farm in the Midlands.

Is this possible?

And what kind of trees could I grow?"

Amanda> All righty.

Well, Carmen?

Carmen> A lot of people really like, very similar to a, making their space more applicable for wildlife but a long term, piece of property that maybe isn't under constant rotation of crops.

Something that's a little bit more long term.

And a lot of people are like, "well, I don't want to do pine," but they start thinking about Christmas trees.

But the Midlands and the coast are kind of hard for Christmas trees.

<Yeah> However, there are a lot of really good species that you still can grow.

Like you said, the Carolina Sapphire, the eastern red cedar, these are all really great.

That can be shaped and trained like Christmas trees.

That you can cut.

We actually at Clemson, have a really great Christmas tree farm guide for those who are getting excited.

<Do you?> Carmen> Yes.

It's kind of brand new.

And so it works really well to help guide people.

There's also Christmas- Amanda> So how do we find this guide?

Carmen> You can go online to Clemson and we... Amanda> Christmas trees?

Carmen> You can look right up at the HGIC at Christmas trees for the link.

Or just, look up Clemson tree guide and, it'll pop up for us.

You can probably put the, link at the bottom.

And one of the cool things that you can also do in addition to reading your literature, is join the Christmas Tree Farm Associations.

Amanda> And at the State Fair, they're always there, and it's so grand to see them.

We have 11, almost 12 foot ceilings downstairs, and we had a bamboo pole that we would take to the cedar tree farm so that we could get one that was big enough to reach the ceiling, and that was a big tree, let me tell you.

Terasa> The transportation seems like it would be an undertaking.

Amanda> Well, well, we managed to get home with it.

[laughter] Carmen> But that's wonderful.

And we have a lot of really great trees that make wonderful Christmas trees that you can put inside and outside.

So it was fun.

Yeah.

Amanda> Oh, this has just been such a delight.

Thank you all, all so much for being with us.

And to all of you at home, gosh Pete, have the happiest of holidays.

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

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

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

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

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

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