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

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

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina.

Family owned and operated since 1916.

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

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

♪♪ Amanda: Good evening, and welcome to Making it Grow.

We're glad you can be with us tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty.

I'm a Clemson Extension agent.

And I get to come and be here with my co-host Terasa Lott.

And Terasa you are trying to keep the Master Gardener program kind of corralled up and all going in the right direction.

Terasa: Trying to make it the best that it can be.

Amanda: Yes, yes and it really is such a wonderful service to some of the extension agents and to the public as well.

Terasa: That is right, both in South Carolina and throughout the United States, a large corps of volunteers that help provide that research based horticulture information to the people who are seeking it out.

Amanda: Yep.

And Rob Last you are the commercial Hort agent over in Lexington.

And um, I guess there's been enough frost on the collards?

<Rob>: Yes, there certainly should be by now.

Amanda: Because they always say they're sweeter but um, but I don't know what all goes into that but they sure are good.

<Rob>: Nothing better than South Carolina collards.

Amanda: Yeah, it is and um, a lot of them come from over in that area.

<Yes, absolutely.> Wonderful brassicas.

Okay.

Well, It's and so what are some of the problems that you gotta try to help the people with this time of year?

<Rob>: That's a really good question Amanda.

A really good question, Amanda.

I mean, any time of year, we get issues with pests, weeds and diseases.

They can vary depending on weather and climate and weather conditions, particularly at this point in the year.

So yeah, nematode activity, fertilization, irrigation strategies, all those sorts of things can can come into the room.

Amanda: Are nematodes more problematic in sandier soils.

I've heard that in the past.

<Rob>: Typically, yes, yes.

It's much easier for them to move around through the water that through free space through pore spaces, and it isn't a heavier soil.

You will still find nematodes and I have used in a heavier soil type as well.

So typically root not root knot nematode would be the big one for us.

Amanda: Okay.

Well, and so there are actually some things they can do to help control that.

<Rob>: Absolutely.

There are things we can do with managing a lot of our brassicas will act as a bio fumigants type effect.

So the good bits, the nutritional benefits that we have a brassicas to us, that are anti carcinogenic, are actually when they break down in the soil, those chemicals will actually release cyanide, very low concentrations.

Yeah, but enough to really start to reduce that population pressure of nematodes.

Amanda: How about that, how fascinating Goodness gracious, the world of nature.

Jackie Jordan, you're the urban hort agent over in Fairfield Kershaw and Richland and um, I think you've do Master Gardener programs in Fairfield and Richland, <Richland and Kershaw.> Oh Richland and Kershaw.

Okay.

And um, do you get pretty good response to people?

Jackie Jordan: Yeah and we just finished up two classes.

Had 33 In my Richland County class and 14 in my Kershaw County class of really great volunteers, okay.

and they all pass they all did well.

Amanda: So they're full of knowledge and help people.

That's terrific.

Okay.

And Mary Vargo, you are, I think, maybe I can say it.

You are the at the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

You do extension outreach and garden manager?

Mary>: Yes thats correct.

I know it sounds so whatever back and basically, I just take care of certain garden sections and then do outreach events kind of like this and Oh, talk to some garden clubs and do programs at the garden as well.

Amanda: So what are some of the gardens that you specifically try to keep up to date?

Mary>: So my sections, I'm over the children's garden and the butterfly garden, and then near the Hanover House, and then the Hayden Conference Canter.

So we have lots of little gardens sort of pocketed around there.

<Gosh, It's a lot.> A lot.

Yeah, I get to have fun though.

Each spot is a little bit different.

And then theme behind it and the plant material that we're using.

So I'm really getting, I don't know, a lot of experience just working with different plants that maybe I hadn't worked before, but also getting to put in some plants that I think would appeal to some of our visitors that come there quite a bit.

Amanda: What are some of the things you that you've been wanting to add?

Mary>: Well, I'd love to add some more perennials.

We have a lot of annuals we have we have a bunch of trees and shrubs and stuff too.

But you know, I love our salvias.

I think they last and they bloom for such a long period more ornamental grasses and those sorts of things.

Amanda: The ornamental grasses can be so beautiful.

Mary>: Yes, I think so as well and great for birds too.

They use it as nesting materials and their seed heads are really valuable to them as well in the winter.

Amanda: Well, thanks for telling us and thanks for trying to make that wonderful garden even better.

Yeah, It's a great place to visit if people go.

And I'm open I think just about all the time.

Mary>: Year round, year round from the gate opens at sunrise and then it closes at sunset usually so anyone can come there and I love that about our public gardens anyone can visit.

Amanda: And It's not.

It's the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

It's not just It's not the Clemson Botanical Gardens, it's the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

Okay.

Well, that all sounds good.

And then later in the show, you get to see, we went to see somebody who has really super Hardy Citrus.

I'm not talking about Satsuma or, I mean, he has really hardy Citrus.

And he wants more people to know about that and to grow it.

And then I did some stuff with apple trees.

And that was interesting, with my husband had to come over and help me.

It was so time consuming.

But it'll be fun for you to see.

I hope.

Well, Terasa, are you going to start us off in a very happy and cheerful way?

Terasa: I am but It's going to be just a But little bit different today.

You know, certain plants are associated with the holidays, and I'm particularly fond of the holiday cactus.

And so I asked our viewers if they had a favorite plant and it appears they're very fond too.

We had such a tremendous response that we tried to include as many photos as we could.

So we've put it into what we call a montage.

Let's take a look now.

♪♪ It was absolutely delightful to see all of those photos come in and to be able to share them.

We appreciate all year when you share your photos of what you're doing in your yard garden or of course even inside with your indoor plants and arrangements.

Keep the photos coming in the new year.

Amanda: That was a lot of fun, Terasa thank you and thank everybody who sent them in that really was a lot of fun.

Get you in the spirit.

Okay, well, let's get down to something more serious.

Is there something we might be able to help someone with?

Terasa: We are going to try to help Milton in Moncks Corner who's trying to get a head start on the spring garden.

He said Would it be best to start May peas Wando or Lincoln varieties inside and plant them outside.

I live in the coastal growing zone and we'd like to start them as suggested by Clemson.

Amanda: Goodness.

Well, and even our suggestions with Clemson and everything's kind of changing these days because we do see real changes in the weather patterns.

What advice do you have for them?

<Rob>: So garden peas root in in the Moncks Corner area.

We're in the coastal zone so It's going to be a bit warmer.

Last frost is going to be a little bit earlier.

So if you look at the English Pea fact sheet on the HGIC web site, planting date runs from about February 15 through March 30, okay for that particular region, so that will be for outdoor sewing.

I've never had any good success starting peas inside.

And they all seem to perform better for me planting outside.

<Where they're going to be.> Right.

Okay.

So think about the row spacing, think about the soil pH and make sure that that's correct before you start planting.

And just keep an eye on the weather forecast.

If it looks like It's gonna be very cold mid February, then delay planting a little bit.

You know, the planting guide is really a suggestion.

And it is it is a range.

So if it looks like It's gonna be very cold, just delay planting because the quicker we get that emergence and germination, the better results you're gonna get.

Amanda: Okay so you don't want them just sitting out there shivering in the soil, <Rob>: While the foliage of English peas right?

is actually quite cold tolerant and quite hardy.

the flowers most certainly are not, and they're also very susceptible to heat as well, which is why the whole balancing, and juggling act.

Amanda: It is a lot easier with Southern Peas.

I think.

<Rob>: At least you know where to start with those.

Amanda: Thank you, I hope you'll have some success.

Well Terasa whom else can be try and to help?

Terasa: Danielle in Camden has asked us for some help.

She said a sweet friend gave me an amaryllis, but I've never had a green thumb.

Can you help me keep this plant alive?

Amanda: Oh, so this is one that has got to bloom in the wintertime whereas in the garden, they come out.

You could have them in a garden is out here.

But so what do you suggest that she tried that she tried to do?

Jackie Jordan: Well, one of my favorite holiday plants is to see the amaryllis has so many beautiful colors and shapes with them, she just needs to plant it in a bright, indirect light.

So usually like a south facing window is good.

And one of the best tricks I ever got heard was to use your hand because when you look at houseplants they always tuck in foot candles and and that is just something I was never able to wrap my head around.

So if you take your hand and you hold it in front of the window, and if you get a clear, distinct outline of your hand, the shadow that is bright, indirect light, if you get a fuzzy shadow that is medium, level light.

And if you don't get a shadow, or the barest , you know, shimmer of, of a shadow, that's low light.

So that's where you could figure out where to place your plants in the room.

So it would like bright, indirect light.

Okay, she should put it up there <You want to distinct shadow.> You want a distinct shadow it, don't put it up against the window, because with our colder weather, you can certainly suffer from some cold damage.

I would just let it keep it averagely moist.

It doesn't don't allow it to dry out completely.

But you don't need to keep it sopping wet.

So It's not one of those plants that likes a whole lot of water and bulbs could rot right.

So average water needs, and then it will grow.

And she does not need to fertilize it, it will do all It's got everything it needs right in that bulb.

So she should just enjoy it.

The biggest thing is some quarter turns because if she doesn't turn, the plant will, the oxens will build up on one side and it'll start to lean Oh, she just turn it a little bit.

And then from there, she can either plant it outside or if she wants to try to force it to bloom for next Christmas.

That that you just have to force it into a period of rest.

And that's typically about the beginning of September.

Amanda: It sounds like it'd be easier to go ahead and plant it outside.

Jackie Jordan: Plant it outside because It's completely Hardy and enjoy it outside.

Amanda: Do you want to wait until the weather outside to we're not gonna have any more frost before you put it out in the garden?

<Right.> Jackie Jordan: I would wait until we get into warmer weather sometime in April.

Amanda: And then with a lot of bulbs we you know we plant them like if the bulbs this big you plant it that far into the soil.

I think amaryllis, is somewhat different.

Jackie Jordan: You want the neck to show Okay, not too deep.

Amanda: Okay.

Okay.

Well, that's wonderful.

I wonder if she knows what color is going to be or she just be surprised.

They do come in beautiful colors.

Jackie Jordan: They do.

All right.

Amanda: Well, Terasa?

Terasa: We're going back to vegetables or things that we grow in our veggie garden.

Lee in Darlington wrote in and said I'd like to try growing Irish potatoes this year.

Is it possible to grow them in a large container?

And if so, what varieties do you suggest?

Amanda: Okay, so she wants to grow them in a container.

And it was funny because when we were at the state fair, we talked about where potatoes came from, and they came from here, then the you know, we call them Irish potatoes because they did so well over there.

Is this one that's pretty easy to go in a container?

Can you give us some tips?

Mary>: You know, most vegetables I have found in that case, you can grow almost anything.

If you have a larger if you have a large container, you don't want to choose something small.

I think then there are a couple things you need to get right.

I think sun exposure is really, really important.

So six to eight hours of sun is a must.

<So you're gonna have a lot of sun?> Yes.

So make sure that tools like those Amaryllis Yeah, exactly.

So yeah, if you're putting them outside, which you will with start tomatoes or potatoes, you can't do the hand trick, you know, probably not.

So make sure you're choosing a spot that's well lit throughout the day, not just at one portion of the day, not just like the morning Yes, exactly.

So if this person has a balcony or something, there might be areas where you know, It's sunnier at some point.

So try to maximize sunshine.

And then your container size, it needs to be quite large for potatoes because they formed those tubers and they want to expand in the container.

I've grown sweet potatoes and containers.

I've never grown potatoes in containers.

But I've done about a 15 gallon cloth bag.

It's not easy to find at retail centers, but I found them really, really easily online.

<Cloth bag.> Cloth bag.

So It's really really flexible, not as rigid, and I felt like the tubers were able to form a little bit better.

<Great idea.> So and then I made sure that my potting mix was a mix of compost and potting media so it wasn't too heavy.

If you use just garden soil that compact really easily and those tubers aren't going to be able to... Amanda: So how much some people think you should use half compost or something.

Mary>: That's usually the ratio I use is about 50% compost 50% potting soil.

You're doing so Okay, I think that gives it a nice reservoir of nutrients within the compost, but also that potting mix keeps things draining quite freely.

Okay, so mix of that.

and then you might have to add some fertilizer in every now and then just to supplement its growth because if It's in a container, you know, opposed to grown in the soil, those nutrients aren't recycling and you have to be the one adding those nutrients back in.

Okay, so I think our HGIC web site has a really good fact sheet on growing potatoes.

and I think there's some good recommendations for fertilizers on there, as well as varieties.

I'm going to phone a friend though and ask Rob about what he thinks about other varieties that they could possibly grow.

<Rob>: Red kennebec works really well as sorry, kennebec works really well as one variety.

If you want to red skin variety, red, Pontiac tends to fit in quite nicely into that situation.

What I would also recommend is just always use certified seed.

Unfortunately, if you try to use a potatoes that were bought from a store, they may well have been treated with sprout suppressants to increase the shelf life, so you're not going to get that germination and emergence.

So always, always use certified seed that's going to give you a really good start.

Amanda: Okay, well, that's really fun.

That cloth bag idea is just the bomb, it's just really the use them as well.

Mary>: So I'm planting Oh, it Amanda: wouldn't be so heavy and be so much exactly the got handles, you Mary>: can move them around.

and that's terrific.

Very nice.

Okay, Terasa: How do you know that the tubers are forming?

Right?

You can't see them since they're in the soil.

So what kind of clues?

Do you have visually?

Mary>: So I mean, there usually is a harvest date.

So there's a range when you purchase one.

Um, so they'll say about 80 or 90 days to harvest, I kind of keep track of it that way.

But there are visual cues with those vines.

Usually they look pretty tired.

Or maybe they'll start yelling at some flowering, right?

Is that <Rob>: going to be committed to this, the initial, this the outward sign the tuber initiation is on its way or is actually underway.

So maintaining water at that point will really have a big impact on tuber development.

Amanda: As you see it flowering be sure that you're giving an adequate water?

Absolutely, yeah.

Then It's gonna go past that.

<Rob>: Yep, one trick that I tend to use.

You've got your fingers just scratched out and see if you can find the roots and tubers.

You can harvest the potato early as green top and the skin is going to be really soft, It's not going to have set yet.

So all you need to do is just rinse for under the under the tap and you can have a really soft skin potato as a new potato.

Once the tue... once the foliage starts to yellow and die down, that's telling you that the tubers are actually starting to cure the skin and the skin will actually set so it'd be much more like the potato you used to finding in the grocery store bags.

Amanda: Goodness gracious potatoes in a bag and then soft skin and hard skin gracious goodness.

Plain old potatoes.

<Rob>: It is really a good combination and a little bit with a little butter.

Amanda: Alrighty, well, we had a wonderful time visiting with Steve Katzberg over in Orangeburg, who's really kind of made it a passion of finding Hardy citrus.

I mean, super Hardy, because he wants people to be able to go out and get tangerines and things off their trees.

And I think you can be fascinated by what we've learned.

♪♪ I'm in Orangeburg, South Carolina speaking with Steve Katzberg.

and Steve, you spent 40 years up in Virginia, as a research engineering engineer for NASA.

<I did.> And now here we are sitting at a citrus grove.

And I think one of the interesting ways that you discovered your curiosity about citrus was that you and Walter Edgar, so well known to South Carolinians, were in high school together and military school and have a little bit of a friendly rivalry about Charleston and Mobile.

Steve: We did that.

Yeah.

And so like, that got me to reading about a lot of history of South Carolina and how was Charleston really a great place?

What were characteristics of it, and that kind of led into looking into what unique we could do in South Carolina and one of those is citrus.

Amanda: And because they had a stat tried to establish the citrus industry in South Carolina, but they just the trees would live for a certain number of years and then something cold would happen and that would be the end of them.

Steve: You know, what we consider the the commercial citrus, lemons, limes, grapefruit, oranges, they're not very cold hardy.

And even though they would go for a while and in Charleston go for a few years Cold snap would come and destroy whatever commercial grows you had.

So as a commercial investment, after you put all this time and effort on them, they'd be destroyed.

Amanda: And you being a researcher started looking and looking and looking and found out that sometimes you could get seeds but you found some true Hardy citrus and I believe in your yard here.

You have kind of the mother of those.

Let's talk about that.

Citrus.

Steve: They're kind of like two branches.

One of them is some just some native citrus that are hardy, and there are others that are hybrids.

The USDA tried to make a bunch of hybrids back in the 1880s.

Some were successful, most are not and but if you look into the into the actual citrus industry you find out there was one citrus which is considered the mother of a lot of the hybrids, and It's the most cold hardy evergreen citrus that exists is called the ichang papeda.

And so from that one I think many of those slightly acidic was derived.

That's correct.

Well, even though the citrus ichang inses the ichang papeda is to be inedible and smells like a goat and then the juice is even worse.

If you cross it with say a pummelo you will get ichang lemon.

It's still sour, tastes great.

You cross it with a tangerine and you get yuzu citrus Junos which is you which is used in Asian cooking, the ichang lemon, again crossed between Ichang papeda and citrus maximuma pummelo.

It can also be used in in Mediterranean cooking, if you get the fruit a huge fruit, one fruit will make enough lemonade for lunch.

It's like if you take it and cut it up and put it in a glass jar, put salt on it, put another layer and then keep doing that to you fill it up and leave that alone for about six to eight weeks.

It will last for months and is used in Mediterranean cooking tie gene chicken and stuff like that.

Amanda: Goodness and then also I believe that there are some that you take to local Asian themed restaurants because they like to make a certain sauce of them.

Steve: That's right that's the the yuzu citrus Junos that plant is highly highly valued by Thai people, Japanese people and Vietnamese and their use it met to make their ponzu dipping sauce.

There are no real sources of yuzu in the United States.

So It's a potential door yard industry for South Carolina to provide that to have your own yuzues provided to your own Asian restaurant.

Amanda: And so some of these plants that would not be a particularly good just let's have a wonderful orange the way your mother and my mother would get an orange for Christmas one a year.

But some of these now that we have specialty restaurants and and we want to promote South Carolina agriculture, "Certified South Carolina Grown" I believe that you and Zach Snipes and Phillip Carnley from Clemson are working to try to come up with some some ways that these trees can be reproduced.

And that chefs in Charleston in some of these cities, with these wonderful restaurants can offer from the farm to the plate.

Steve: Absolutely.

That's something I think is the objective of the Clemson research is being done.

I gave them some plants with that they're evaluating down in Charleston.

But yeah, that would be the objective of this is to be able to provide citrus for the local, local restaurants and local industry.

Amanda: So then there's some that are just sweet.

And let's talk about the two favorites that you have that are fun just to eat out of hand.

Steve: Well, there's three because we can start with a kumquat these are meiwa kumquats people know about kumquats lot of them draw your mouth up as soon as you chew it sweet, sweet rine, but sour in the middle.

Amanda: Well, when you eat those, and I love them, you just need to bite down on the whole thing.

<Exactly.> Just you have one very different.

Steve: It's called meiwa.

Well, It's a there are several kumquat varieties and meiwa is sweet all the way through.

So that's one of them.

Then the two tangerines, Karachi, Chang Shah, and also have a USDA plant that was developed that was successful, called Thomasville Citrangequat.

Make some of the best Scottish or English marmalade you ever ate.

Amanda: These tangerines aren't like the little cuties and things that we get in that they have a few seeds in them, but not particularly that many and the flavors perfectly delicious.

Steve: They're sweet and flavorful.

And you can take them off the tree when you want them not when It's too early.

And they're still a little bit tart.

So yeah, absolutely.

They're very, very sweet.

And they are incredibly flavorful.

Amanda: And I believe you can keep them in the refrigerator for weeks is that yeah, Steve: I mean kumquat you can keep them there a couple months for the tangerines, maybe a month or so long as you keep them cool.

And that they're they'll last a long time take them off the tree when they're ripe.

Put them in the vegetable keeper and they will still be there.

So several weeks from then.

Amanda: When I look around, I see trees that look two different ways.

Some of them are just great big full trees and are covered a fruit right now.

And then some of them are kind of scrawny looking, and they're just maybe one stem coming up.

What's going on there?

Steve: Well as the there are two guys have been experimenting with this down in Texas that I knew and one have a student angle and the other was William Chapman and Stew Nagel came up with a theory that if you if you graft on to trifoliate, orange or some other rootstock, that's hardy very hardy, you can graft on them, the higher up, the hardier they are.

So I've done that as an experiment down here with this group we have here.

Amanda: Now, the disadvantage of that is if we get a freeze that kills the root stock, you don't have the wonderful fruit that you go into a lot of trouble to get.

Steve: Or if you're the or you kill the top?

Yeah, nothing's gonna come back out except the rootstock.

But that's inedible generally.

Amanda: But with these, if they if some rare event comes and you killed the ground, It's probably gonna re sprout with things.

Steve: Yeah, If it's...

If they're grown on their own.

See, from non rootstock, It's the actual plant all the way down in the ground.

You wait for a while and out will come green, little sprouts and you tend those and back will come the tree.

There's one other thing too is that if you take the seed like this, we're talking about the Chang shas, or even the ones that are frozen back in the ground.

The one good thing about the citrus, it doesn't take forever for them to start fruiting again.

Amanda: Oh, all right and some of them actually come true from seed.

I think that was how you told me that you got some.

Steve: New seedlings come from and the most seedlings that you get out are actually identical to the parent.

There are very few sexual reproduction seeds that come from that.

Amanda: Isn't that something and then I'm not accusing you of being lazy but honestly it doesn't look like there's been a lot of time thinning these trees are so that light can get to them and all kinds of stuff.

It looks like you've just planted them and here they are.

Steve: Well that was the objective both cold hearty enough to fruit comes soon enough so it doesn't get frozen and they take care of themselves in the yard.

Heroic methods you want to build your greenhouse, then you're welcome to do that.

But if you just want to have one out back that in October, you can walk out like we're doing now take you some tangerines in squeeze them in the morning, make lemonade that's available to you without heroic efforts.

Amanda: And you're not having to spray for pests or diseases.

I don't even think deer bother them.

Steve: No deer don't bother them and there's no animal that bothers them.

The only thing that we get is when they dry up when the citrus has finished if I haven't eaten them, the squirrels that come out and take the dried up ones and eat the seeds out of them.

So I say that more power to you get those off the tree take them somewhere else and eat the seeds.

Don't bring them back.

Amanda: And then also, when they come into flower, is it kind of like peaches?

If you if the, if the blooms are harmed by late frost, can that affect the crop?

Steve: Yes.

In fact, they tend to bloom peaches a little bit earlier.

But this is these bloom in April.

But same with peaches.

and same with these about the same time.

If we get a late frost, It's going to destroy not only for the flowers, like for peaches, but it'll also damage the the limbs and stuff branches on the tree.

Amanda: So you won't have any won't have any fruit the next year.

<Right.> Steve: You'll see you'll see some here, well, you won't have them that year, right.

And if you see notice some of these round here, they have been damaged in the past, we've been through put 15 degrees about eight, nine years ago, 10 years ago.

and we just went through 14 degrees now.

And you take a look and see you can see the residue of the damage just sitting there.

But the trees are perfectly flushed out and look great.

Amanda: Well I just think this would be the ideal backyard fruit, they're not enormous.

They don't take a great deal of care.

And they'd be a wonderful source for vitamins and to encourage everyone in your family to eat in a more healthy way.

I just hope that there will be a way that you can take your success and we can find people to make this more available.

Steve: Well we know now which plants will do it.

We know that this far south into South Carolina you can go at least 15 years without any damage to a commercial crop, whether it was ichang lemons, or the Changuaz Thomasvilles.

So that tells us that there's an opportunity here to expand where this is not just in Orangeburg, but all the rest of the gateway and into the Low country.

Amanda: Gosh I want to thank you so much for all the years of effort that you've spent studying this and establishing this wonderful grove that I think It's going to lead to making this more widely available.

Thank you so much Steve <My pleasure.> ♪♪ The Lemonade was quite delicious.

And interestingly, the lighter skinned tangerine was sweeter to me than the one that was more of an orange color.

But it was just amazing.

We had such a remarkable time.

And he said they tend to come through from seeds.

I've got a couple of them growing and little cups in the house.

Can't wait to have them out in the yard.

All righty.

Well, hats, hats, hats.

I had to ask what this berry was, and you're telling me that it was?

<Hypericum.> And then you told me that you can actually order flats of it and have in the garden.

Jackie Jordan: Yeah you can.

<That's really cool.> And it comes in lots of different colors.

You can get burgundy, pink, Rose Red.

Amanda: I only seen the red and the white.

<You can get a variety of colors.> And then I've got a lot of smelling going on up here.

I've got eucalyptus, I love that little leaf, eucalyptus.

And then I'm always at my friend Mary Desport and she's got a planted 10,000 of those little tiny cedar trees you get from the forestry department or wherever.

And they all grew.

It's just beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

and they are covered with fruits and, and you know It's you're not really supposed to call it fruits but anyway, that's well the berries and um, and we save the berries and chop them up and put them in hamburgers and all they really are quite tasty if you had never done that.

Have a little idea.

Yeah, they do.

They really do.

And Terasa I was reading that there's you know, we have now distilleries in South Carolina that can produce liquors, not just wines, and I'm this one in Charleston, and they were making a cedar flavored one and had to get 30 pounds of these little tiny Blue seeds.

Terasa: That would take a lot.

Amanda: But if I went to Mary Desports, I could probably just take the bucket got a real quickly because her trees are covered with them.

And a lot of people cedars are kind of fun, because in the spring when the male trees are putting on pollen, they're male trees and female trees, they look so completely different.

They're real yellowish and orange looking.

And people say well, that's not the same.

They're two different species.

You know, they're different.

And they're not.

They're the same.

And then the females come.

And they really are quite what's supposed to be one of the very best trees for wildlife.

Terasa: Which is crazy enough.

It's not really a cedar right, eastern red cedar is technically a juniper.

I miss Tony's wisdom and tid bits.

Amanda: I know.

Yeah.

Yeah.

and of course for a long time, that was what we use for Christmas trees too.

And now people want fancier trees, but I like these.

They're beautiful.

Yeah.

Tony used to call to talk about going to find a ditch bank cedar for the Christmas tree.

Because on a ditch bank, it'd be the sun would have come to it He was sure was wonderful to us wasn't all the way around.

So it wouldn't just be one sided like it would if it were growing in the woods.

So he'd say that they would go out and look for a ditch bank cedar and I'm sure they had a wonderful time.

he.

Ah, anyway, well I bet there's somebody else we can try to help Terasa?

Terasa: Always.

This comes to us from our neighboring state of Georgia, Bob wrote in and said, I've heard that ashes from your fireplace are a good addition to your garden to help nurture your plants.

Is this an old wives tale?

Amanda: Okay.

gosh Rob my house was built, when people had coal fireplaces that I imagined this person is talking about wood fires, what what do you suggest?

<Rob>: So yes, wood ash has been used as a soil amendment for generations.

It's a really good source of calcium, potassium, and oftentimes magnesium with a little bit of phosphorus.

Now, the one thing we have to be really careful about with wood ash is that it is a liming material.

So It's very, very alkaline.

So strongly.

So if we think about like, if we think about calcium carbonate limestone, that's got a CC or calcium carbonate equivalent of about 98%.

As you'd expect for calcium carbonate, yes, wood ash can be anywhere from 28 to 58%.

<Oh, my goodness.> That will have a very rapid impact on soil pH because It's much more soluble.

So if we're going to use it, a soil test is absolutely critical.

Because we could quickly end up over applying liming materials and get our soil to alkaline, which is not going to help our plants.

but that being said, it does have a role to play in terms of nutrient cycling as well.

The other thing to be very cautious of if you are using wood ash never ever apply ammonium based fertilizers.

So that could be ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate.

And the reason for that is because It's so basic and also alkaline, it will react and produce ammonia gas.

So you're going to lose the benefit of that fertilizer.

Amanda: Good heavens.

So do you reckon I mean?

Since it could vary?

So in it's liming ability?

Do you?

Is there any way to find out to test it as it is?

Before you put it out?

<Rob>: That will be very difficult to to access.

Amanda?

Yes, you probably could send somebody into an ag lab and get it get it tested that way.

Amanda: So you think you might want to apply some and then send the soil in to be tested?

<Yes.> Mary>: I've heard that It's best apply that when your plants are actively growing so they can access it?

<Rob>: Yes.

and basically use it as a calcium source.

Yeah.

Amanda: Okay.

Oh, well, it sounds like it could be beneficial, but a little bit problematic, and how much to use <Rob>: As as with all these things.

You know, a lot of soil amendments have some really big benefits.

but we've just got to be careful how we use them.

Okay.

Amanda: Well, thank you for that tip.

We appreciate it.

Terasa, I think you'd have been getting in the spirit.

Terasa: I have every now and then I feel a little bit crafty.

Let's see if I can put this up here without dropping anything.

So funny enough that you had eastern red cedar in your hat because I used to to kind of adorn my candle.

But I wanted to show that you can customize any pillar candle as long as you have an image.

So this could be a photograph, or it could be you know, some other graphic image.

And what you do first is print that on tissue paper.

Now how are you going to print on tissue paper, you think it would just rip up?

All you have to do is fold it over a sheet of card stock.

and then you can print it through your printer like you would anything else?

<Come on?> Yes.

So I just used a program on the computer, I found a wreath that I liked.

And then inside I put Happy Holidays.

So printed it on there and then cut around.

So you've got your image on the tissue paper, place it where you'd like it.

Amanda: And you'd had the printer in the color mode.

Terasa: For this Yes, yes.

And then I wrapped it with parchment paper held onto it and then just use a hairdryer and so the hairdryer melts that layer of wax.

So it just imprints that that whole tissue paper right in there.

But It's fantastic because you can customize it however you want.

So it could be a memorial of a loved one.

If you want it.

It could be something special to give to a friend if you found a nice saying about friends.

It could be something to remember a beloved pet by the anything that you can create an image you can customize it.

Unfortunately, you really have to use a white or just cream colored candle.

It won't show up really well on any of the other colors.

But I mean really quick and easy.

And then I just thought you could this would be a way that you could display it.

I've got it on a tree slicer, I call it a tree cookie.

I just went out and grabbed some little cuttings of some eastern red cedar and put it around the bottom.

Amanda: There you go.

That's so much fun.

And I guess if you wanted to could get a candle that had a flavor.

I mean a fragrance of pine or something like that to add to the Christmas tree?

Terasa: It's hard to find.

So if I made my own candles, but It's really difficult to find white candles that most of the white ones are unscented, typically the scents come in in colors, but that would be wonderful.

Amanda: Well, you could always get those things that you know, you have off to the side that are scented and nobody needs to know where the scent's coming from.

Yeah, well, that's too cool.

Terasa: I had a lot of fun.

Amanda: I bet you did.

You just had to have some tissue paper.

Terasa: And it doesn't have to be like for the holidays, right?

This could be for any, any time of the year.

Amanda: Well, that's a lot of fun.

Thank you.

I sure appreciate you sharing that.

Terasa: You are welcome.

Amanda: Well, as you leave that where it is, we'll ask you if you got a question for us that we can try to help someone with.

Terasa: I am sure we have a question.

Let's actually, you know, since I did a little demonstration, Jackie, I think has been working on propagating some Rex begonias, and maybe she'd share that with us.

Amanda: Well give us some more tips, please.

Jackie Jordan: So you know, this colder weather all the gardening tends to go inside.

So one of the neat things you can do is you can actually propagate your Rex begonias from leaf cuttings.

So this is one that I did successfully a couple of weeks ago.

Amanda: Hold it real still okay, just a couple of weeks ago.

Jackie Jordan: No months ago, again, It's been a few minutes on this one, but It's been growing really well.

And so all you need is a few things.

I get your Rex begonia.

So you just cut the leaf off.

Snip, and the nice thing is, is you've got all these very prominent veins.

So you can take just a razor knife and slit the veins all around, they just lightly cut it slit it.

So oh, just across like that.

Okay, so you can do it all across.

Amanda: Can you do it several places?

Jackie Jordan: Multiple places, wherever you make the cut, you're actually going to get some new growth and the new leaf will come up.

That's where all these little leaves have come from.

They're all from one leaf to all these new little growths came up.

And then what you do is once you take all the little cuttings, make all the little slits in the veins, put it down in potting soil press it down.

And then I have safety pins to hold it in place to keep it in contact with the moist soil.

So just little push pins work great.

There are the little T pins that you can also easily fine online and you just keep the plant in place.

And then I like these food covers.

Amanda: Did you are you going to do that and... Jackie Jordan: I would do multiple places to to anchor the leaf.

So I would not covering it with soil at all.

No, you're not covering the soil, you're just anchoring it in place keeping the leaf in contact with the moist potting medium, okay.

and then I like these food preserve food preparation trays because they act as little mini greenhouses.

So and you just keep the lid on it and put it in a not in bright light.

I kept it in very low light and... Amanda: So not much of a shadow, Jackie Jordan: Not much of a shadow.

Check it every now and then check it every now and then make sure that it stays moist, but that's where the lid really helps because it keeps the moisture in.

And then you'll have babies in a couple of weeks.

It took me about five weeks to get leaves showing up little babies but then these have been growing for quite a while.

A couple months now in my office.

Amanda: Now and then how big are you going to let them get in?

I guess you can separate them and put them in different containers?

Jackie Jordan: Let them get a little bit bigger.

Probably later on in the spring.

I'll separate them and put them in their own containers.

Yes.

and then go from there and make more.

Gosh, Terasa: Only work with you mentioned specifically Rex begonias will it work for other begonias?

Jackie Jordan: It will work for plants that have prominent veins on the underside so you could do it with some different leaves just make sure it has this very prominent veins on the underside.

But It's a fun way to propagate your house plants.

Again, make sure you're not using any that are patented.

That's a nice way to share your plants with friends.

Amanda: Remarkable and It's just It's so clever and charming as they come up is really sweet and fun.

Well thank you so much for telling us that.

Golly Pete.

Well we talk about Apple Trees and, which is when you look at Colonial Williamsburg and things like that you think of apple trees and all that.

And um, so I decided that there might be different ways of doing apple trees.

and so actually Edward, my husband who can do anything, he's very, very talented had to come over and help me out because I got way over my head.

But we did have a good time.

And I hope you'll enjoy seeing what we did.

♪♪ Well, It's almost Christmas time.

And I was doing some reading and found out that the wonderful displays of citrus and all that they use at Colonial Williamsburg are the only adjustment they've made to people's sentiments at the holidays, because back when Colonial Williamsburg, and people were still there doing all those early colonists things, they didn't celebrate Christmas, like we did, and they certainly did not have citrus and things like that they would have been far far too prohibitive.

But you know, it is fun to see those decorations.

And so we're one of the things we're used to seeing when we look at traditional kind of old fashioned Colonial Williamsburg style decorations is an apple tree.

And I have this form that someone made for me, and It's a piece of wood in the middle and wood on the bottom, and It's got all these nails stuck in it.

And that works perfectly fine, but you have to get somebody to make it for you.

And um, you know, and It's, you know, kind of close.

I mean, I don't know if Santa's elves would have time to do that.

And so I was thinking, well, what could you do instead of that, and I thought, well, if you wanted to, you could go to the craft store.

And they have floral foams, It's just Styrofoam.

And I was thinking, well, this is the same size, but It's so skimpy so skinny, and all.

And so I found this one, it was a lot taller.

But I just cut the top off and sprayed, I had sprayed the whole earth, everything was spray paint, because all these things came white, and you can't have white just and you don't want to spray and green.

Black is the color if you want things to disappear.

So I have this.

And I'm gonna set it up here.

And I've also got a lot of picks.

And these picks have wire on them and you can get them at different lengths.

And so first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to take a couple of these and drive them down in here.

Like so I'm going to impale this and pin it.

Okay, so now It's gonna hold still, and I don't have to worry about it moving around.

And so now I've got to decide, well, what am I going to do so I thought I would start one with non traditional fruit, I thought it might just be kind of fun.

And I don't know if you've ever had these Asian non astringent persimmons, but they are just like eating an apple.

Wonderful and so I got some of these, which I thought were beautiful and a kind of a nice small size, which I thought would be nice instead of apples.

So I'll put that right over here.

So I'm gonna start by putting these on, I have these picks that have wire on them.

And I'm going to cut the wire off and when I'm cutting wire off, I use a pair of not expensive pruners, because if you use your good pruners, it has a place to cut wire takes forever.

So I'm going to use these non expensive ones and I'm going to make and put those on, I guess that maybe could make a little less stick out.

Now, that happens sometimes.

Okay, so I've got this on there and I'm going to push it in.

And we'll start from there.

So we'll keep on doing that.

We'll do it with a lemon.

So if the lemon I'm going to put the pokey side in this that side that is sharp first and then I'm gonna turn it around.

So because I need the sharp part to go in here.

I'm gonna poke that in and I guess I could maybe put that in first and push it as far as I want and then the lime on it.

So I'm just going to continue doing that filling this in.

And then I'm going to come back later with greenery and all kinds of stuff and we'll see how it goes.

♪♪ Okay, I like that.

All righty, greenery greenery greenery.

♪♪ Okay, let's see if we can get this fella in here okay.

All right.

Got that in.

Yeah, we're almost at the end and I'm gonna finish this up, bring it back and show you to show you the completed one and then we've got a special surprise for you a different version of this.

Whenever I get in a bind, poor Edward has to come and get me out of the out of trouble.

Edward, thank you so much for coming today.

Really appreciate it.

Because it was these things take a long, long time.

<They do take a good long time.>, A long time and everything has to be put in one at a time and wired.

The traditional way of doing it when you just stick the apple on the nail is faster.

But this is this is fuller and I have to say I really think It's It's more beautiful.

And I liked the material.

I used to just use boxwood but I think this seeded eucalyptus and the little leaf Eucalyptus and they smell good.

Yeah.

Yes.

Anyway.

and so you want to so this is once again my dear friend Anne Nulty.

Comes through on everything.

She loaned us this and even polished and tell them what it says.

Edward: Well, it's a field trial first place trophy award trophy for Iodine-Pip.

A dog.

Amanda: So I guess that was Hanks grandfather's dog.

Edward: I guess it was Hi, dad.

That's yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Mr. Henry's dog.

Amanda: And anyway, and then Edward, you finished this.

This one and it was a labor of love.

Because that's artificial.

This one isn't gonna last all that long.

You know, because It's got holes in it.

Edward: Yeah.

Yeah, that's that's the problem.

They you have to stick holes in the fruit and then they rot.

Amanda: Yeah, even if you use the old traditional window.

Yeah, but this one?

We, we just had wire everything you said here all day worked on it and um, I think It's been I have to say, I think It's quite beautiful.

Edward: Well, I know you don't like the top.

Well, it looks a little tall to me.

But you thought that birds needed a little treat.

To sit up there.

Amanda: That's, you know what?

With all the help you gave me, I'm happy for the birds to sit in the shade and enjoy.

Enjoy the berrys.

So, Edward, Merry Christmas.

Edward: Merry Christmas to you.

Amanda: Thanks for helping me.

<You're welcome.> You're a good Santa Claus.

♪[Laughter]♪ Well, I hope maybe you got some ideas, and it would certainly be a good time to sit down with somebody you enjoyed being with because this took a lot of time.

But we really enjoyed doing it.

It was fun.

It really was.

All righty well, Terasa, we got another question?

Terasa: We do we have one from Gary in Clemson who appears to be a curious individual.

He says Why have some trees dropped all their leaves and others are holding on to them longer.

Amanda: Oh, goodness gracious.

Well, we do see that sometimes as we ride down the road.

You'll see one two other trees is still has it's leaves.

What can you tell us?

Mary>: Yeah so this phenomenon is called marcesscence.

Sort of like senescence but marcescens Okay, and It's prevalent in certain species of plants.

So beaches do that quite a bit.

So if you're walking through the forest and you see this beautiful tan color, still leaves clinging on to the plant that's most likely a beach but oaks do this too.

And the the why behind it isn't very clear.

Some people have had theories that It's to protect the buds against predators or browsing, because It's sort of annoying to have to go in and eat the buds if there's lots of layers in your face.

Amanda: Yeah, because it's not tender and green.

Mary>: Some folks think that It's once they drop their leaves in the spring, what's new growth flushes out It's to further insulate the soil below it add more nutrients.

There's tons of theories about why but It's really beautiful to see if you're walking out in the in the forest at the botanical garden.

We have lots of oaks and beaches that still cling on to their leaves.

Amanda: And I didn't know I knew about the beaches It's a wonderful way to find to spot which you think are probably lower areas because I can know that they beach trees like to be in the lower areas where there's some water but um I didn't know that oaks did it as well.

Mary>: Yeah certain species of oaks definitely do it swamp white oak does it so I've seen some and it's usually on younger trees as they age, sometimes they'll drop.

Amanda: Thanks it was really fun to learn about, with that.

Thank you.

I hope you enjoyed learning about things tonight and get up with us next time.

Bye-bye.

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

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

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina.

Family owned and operated since 1916.

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

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