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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are so happy that you can be with us tonight.

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

And I get to come over with Terasa Lott, my fellow, extension person and co-host who- Oh Terasa, we would be lost without you.

Thank you, thank you.

> You give me far too much credit.

But I am happy to be a part of the show.

And it is delightful to be out and about in the state and to have viewers like you come up and say how much you enjoy the show.

It just makes my heart smile.

And I know that the information we're providing is useful to our viewers.

Amanda> It's funny, sometimes people will recognize our voice from the radio and they go like...

I don't know what they think I look like, but apparently they don't think I look like, I look like.

(laughter) It is kind of fun, isn't it?

Terasa> It really is.

Amanda> Yeah.

Nice loyal viewers.

We appreciate that.

Rob Last, you are the Commercial Horticulture Agent for Lexington and Richland.

And...

I know that Lexington, they're just growing all these wonderful greens and everything else all the time.

But, does Richland still have farming going on?

> Absolutely, Amanda.

There's a lot of small fruit production in Richland County.

There's also quite a few pecans.

But they're often a lot smaller scale than we would find in Lexington County.

So a lot of these growers are trying to adapt into agritourism ventures.

<Oh> So that could be u-picks marketing their second fruit as jams and jellies.

<Oh> So they're trying to create revenue that way.

And create an experience for their own clients based on agriculture and food production.

So it's a really cool situation.

Amanda> 'Cause... you know, they say some kids have no idea that, you know, food comes from farms.

Rob> Absolutely.

And that's one way that agritourism can help to aid with the education as to where our food is actually coming from.

I'm sure many of our viewers may well have seen agritourism sites offering wedding venues, for example.

So there's quite a few of those around in the state now.

Amanda> I wonder if any of the people also, have, make cakes on the side.

That would be kinda fun, wouldn't it?

That's cool.

Yeah, get married- That would be a lot of fun, Yeah.

Be fruitful and multiply.

Rob> And certainly could be or very floral.

(laughter) Amanda> Oh.

Goodness gracious.

Carmen Ketron, the Horticulture Agent down in... the Urban Hort.

Agent in Darlington and Florence.

You know, I think of Florence as just being so, grown up and busy now, and I think of Darlington as being a little bit slower, maybe a tiny bit.

> Quieter, more peaceful, more relaxed.

Yeah.

Both great places to live, though.

<Yeah> Live and shop and enjoy.

So we like both of them.

Amanda> And Florence has...

I guess because of the Drs.

Bruce and Lee Foundation, gosh the... buildings and the libraries and- Carmen> Performance centers.

The symphony.

Amanda> Gorgeous.

Carmen> Oh, yeah.

And you can always find a really great, play at Francis Marion.

Amanda> Oh, I hadn't thought of that.

Really?

Carmen> Yeah.

Everything's, just bustling.

And it's a great place to live and work, and eat.

A lot of really great eateries coming up.

Amanda> Does the Pee Dee River, has it gotten any water in it this year?

I know sometimes it kinda dries up.

Carmen> No, Pee Dee's got lots of water.

Little Pee Dee's got lots of water.

We've had a very nice wet spring going into summer.

Amanda> I'm glad to hear that.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, thank you for coming and being with us.

Okay.

And Brady Badder from Forest Lake Greenhouses over in Florence on Alligator Road.

Which I just love.

(laughter) Chomp, chomp, chomp.

Are y'all open... all year round?

> Yes, ma'am.

We, close, one week out of the year, just in July.

So the first week of July, we're always closed.

But other than that, we are ready to be there all the time.

Just very fluid with the seasons.

We change what we're growing and what we're doing all the time.

Amanda> And you've got, like, Camellias and Gardenias and things like that.

And then you've got... tropicals.

Brady> Yes.

We are a full service, garden center.

So we have- Amanda> And bedding plants?

Brady> Bedding plants, veggies and herbs, fruit trees to all your regular trees.

Everything.

Yes, ma'am.

Amanda> Gosh.

And you specialize in?

Brady> And then the tropical plants.

Yes.

So the house plants are where I, my expertise come into play.

Amanda> So do you have a lot at home?

Brady> I do, yeah.

I have, a nice deep porch where I grow most of my house plants almost all year until we get into the cold.

And then one of my rooms turns into the jungle for a couple of months while it's cold outside.

Amanda> Well, I don't do house plants because we don't have central heat or air.

<Yeah> And it used to be that it would really, really, really, really get cold not quite so much anymore, Brady> Right.

Yeah, we could get you some that would work.

(laughter) I'm kind of used to this by now.

<That's right.> Well, thanks so much for being with us.

Brady> Thanks for having me back.

Amanda> We're so glad that you came.

Well, we're gonna have some fun things to show you during the show.

We are going to the Charleston Flower Show in 2024, and the theme was "Peace, Love and Flowers."

And we had a real good time.

(laughter) And everybody there did too.

It was kind of the old hippie days.

And then also, growing and picking peaches we're up at McLeod farms, and, McLeod is an underwriter for us.

But this is a great year for peaches in South Carolina.

I understand they're having just a wonderful crop.

So, you go find somebody who is growing peaches near you and get some of those wonderful South Carolina peaches.

I mean to tell you, we've got delicious peaches.

I think they are just "the bomb."

I don't peel my peaches.

Do y'all?

Terasa> Well it depends, for fresh eating or for baking.

Amanda> No, for fresh eating.

Terasa> Oh, no, I don't peel it for that.

Amanda> Some people do.

My mother used to peel figs.

Don't ask me what that was all about.

The idea that you could even get enough in the house to make a meal out of, instead of just eating right there.

Anyway, well Terasa did some of our wonderful viewers send in some pictures of things they thought other people would enjoy seeing?

Terasa> They sure did.

They came through for us, as they always do.

The "Gardens of the Week" has become sort of like a virtual field trip where you get to experience photographs from around the state.

Sometimes we venture outside the borders into North Carolina or Georgia.

And it's your time to shine because these are things that you're doing or photos you've taken at one of the many beautiful places in the state of South Carolina.

So we start with Elle Meise or "meese" I apologize, we don't always know the correct pronunciation of our submitter's names, who shared a snapshot of a landscape bed.

From Amy Collins, a bed of marigolds and the watchful eye of her feline garden helper.

<Ooh> From Ruth Reed, an enormous magenta Hibiscus flower in Conway.

Lane McLeod shared a landscape bed with a rock border in Greer.

From Tami Shealy, a pink Begonia, as part of a welcoming piece to her house.

And last but not least, Jo Counts shared a view of her yard with a birdbath and a background of sunflowers.

Always lots of diversity that we see in your photos.

Now remember, these are just a random sampling of all the submissions.

You can see the other submissions on our Facebook page where it says call for "Gardens of the Week."

You'll usually see it about twice a month or every two weeks, give or take, and I encourage you to post your photos there.

Amanda> And one thing, Terasa... A rock border can be so pretty, but often I see people, especially at fast food places where they've used gravel as mulch and the poor little plants.

I just feel so sorry for them because it gets hot.

Terasa> It sure does.

Those rocks soak in the heat all day and then they reradiate it out.

So, perhaps useful for a desert xeriscape type of landscape, but for a lot of plants you're creating very stressful conditions.

Amanda> So I would encourage people who are gardening at home who maybe haven't been down here for a long time, they may see that and think that's a good practice, but, an organic mulch I think is certainly preferable.

What do y'all think?

Brady> So we actually have learned recently that, using an uncomposted mulch can actually take nitrogen from the soil.

So we've been using, and encouraging our customers to use more of a, like a very barky compost mix.

That you lay on top, that after you water a few times, it will kind of leach down into the soil and leave the bark that has already been composted.

So no more nitrogen is taken from the ground.

Amanda> My goodness.

<Yeah> Will do you think pine straw?

Pine straw wouldn't do- Brady> Pine straw's good, but pine straw does block a little moisture going down, but not nearly as bad as, like, a weed burial.

So, yeah.

Pine straw's fine.

Amanda> I just like pine straw.

You know, it's South Carolina, we have a lot of pine trees.

Brady> It's abundant that's for sure.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, let's see.

Terasa, has somebody need some help?

Terasa> Oh, I'm sure.

We're going to try to help Sam, in Pelion.

Who said, "What is this mushroom growing on the base of my peach tree?"

And we do have photos to accompany that.

Amanda> Okay.

Rob, some people try to grow peaches at home.

I don't know why, because we've got so many farmers who do such a fabulous job.

But, you know, some people just like to do that.

What do you think is happening here?

Rob> So that's, looking at the picture, it's the fruiting body for a fungal pathogen called, Armillaria Root Rot.

Amanda> Pathogen, that sounds pretty bad.

Rob> So this is a soil borne fungus often known as oak root rot fungus.

So, yes, it's one of those who can affect both oaks and peaches.

The pathogen will grow on the roots and around about this time of year, and a nice moist environment.

You'll get the fruiting body.

The actual mushroom formed.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Rob> And what that's doing, if you look underneath, you'll see the gills of the mushroom, producing all those spores for reinfection.

Now, Armillaria root rot... particularly in peaches, will eventually kill the tree.

And we've got nothing chemically that's going to really help that out.

And it does tend to be native and around in the soils, particularly where we've had hardwoods in the past.

And these structures can- certainly the spores can last a very long time in the soil.

Amanda> So...

I mean, you can't save the tree and you shouldn't plant another peach tree right there?

Rob> In an ideal situation, Amanda, that would be the case.

Yes.

<Okay> What you can do is look at trying to alter the growing environment.

And there's some work being done at Clemson utilizing compost, compost incorporation to raise the beneficials and beneficial microbes in the soil, which seems to be having, helping somewhat.

Brady> Try to out compete.

Rob> Yeah.

Cultivar selection can also help.

<Oh> Rootstocks, different rootstocks have different susceptibility.

Unfortunately, at the moment, if the rootstock is resistant to Armillaria... it will be susceptible to nematodes.

(laughter) So there's work going on to try and improve the rootstocks as well.

But yeah, typically the best advice would be not to plant peaches.

Amanda> So our commercial growers run into this also?

Rob> Yes they do.

However, commercial growers have a few more options, in terms of chemical fumigants that aren't available to homeowners.

Amanda> Okay.

Well...

I'm sorry for this person, and, maybe they can plant a fig tree.

Rob> That would certainly work.

And be a really good replacement.

<Okay> Terasa> We know there are lots of great commercial peach producers in the state, so loads of opportunities to support local production.

Amanda> Yeah, and scattered all about too.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, Terasa?

Terasa> All right, this one hails from Rhems, South Carolina from Boyce.

"The horse flies around our house are so bad that the UPS delivery man can't even get out of the truck without being attacked.

Is there anything that can be done to get rid of them?"

Amanda> Oh, and horse flies... boy you know, they slice your skin and then lap up the blood.

I mean, which just makes it worse and worse and worse.

I mean, there's just... they're just one of the most horrendous things in the world, and they hurt.

What can we do?

Carmen> Like you said, they do require a blood meal from some type of mammal.

So they're going to be attacking humans, animals, anything you have- Amanda> "Horse" flies.

Carmen> "Horse" flies.

Also in the same family are deer flies, yellow flies.

And so one of the big things is they require a moist environment to survive and reproduce, and take their larval stage at.

So one of the best- Amanda> We've had a lot of rain this year.

Carmen> So much rain in the community.

It's been a very wet.

We're very thankful for it.

But still, a lot of people have been calling in about an increase in the horse fly populations.

So, one of the big things that around yards and things like that is if you can, redo their habitat, if you can make it so that there's not as much standing water or wet areas.

They love around pools.

They love woods, woodland areas.

So we're not getting rid of the pool.

That's not happening.

But, the nice people that- Amanda> Wait a minute, we're supposed to be- This is a gardening show.

What are we doing with a ball?

Carmen> Do you like my new exercise ball?

We're gonna exercise!

Here, this is one of the ways that you can kind of reduce the populations in small areas.

So like your yards and things.

And this is my... my beautiful blue ball.

(laughter) So, the nice people at the University of Mississippi and the University of Florida, have developed some of our trap options.

So one of the best things is horseflies, they are attracted to movement, dark colors.

So like a dark blue or a black.

<Oh> So that's why you definitely don't want to wear any of those colors when you're out and about in the garden.

If you have horse fly populations, wear nice light-colored clothing that can help.

But they are attracted to movement and you can't really just stand still in the garden.

But if you were to take a dark ball like this or something, dark blue or black and, a lot of the times people will take a, insect trap adhesive, like a Tanglefoot or any of that sticky material, that's made for insect trapping.

Amanda> Double-sided.

Carmen> Exactly.

Amanda> So you could wrap the ball with that.

Carmen> You can wrap it- A lot of people, <Some> Yeah, you can actually use it- They make a spray adhesive or a sticky liquid that comes in a can that you can schmear all over.

Amanda> And then hope you can get it off your hands.

Carmen> Yes, exactly.

Gloves are required.

And then you can actually take this and hang it from a tree so that it has movement.

Or I will attach it to the back of my husband's lawnmower.

And while he's mowing the lawn, it moves very... You want...

It's attracted to anything that's trolling around the yard.

Your horse flies will come right into contact, get stuck on it, and then you're kind of, you can either...

I throw it away and get a new one every couple of weeks.

Amanda> You could use it a couple of times?

Carmen> Oh, I use it a couple of times, oh yeah.

And luckily, the sticky adhesive will stay, and stay sticky as long as you don't get too much stuff on it or, you know, my husband complained that the grass would pop up and then it's covered in grass.

But, and in that case, you can also always attach it to the top of your head, and you can walk around the yard attracting the horse flies to it to get stuck.

This isn't going to eradicate the problem, but this is really nice if you're having a party or once a week when you're mowing the lawn, you can take out some of them.

Amanda> And I'm looking and it says "Bug Ball."

Carmen> Yes.

They'll even market it as a fly trap.

You can also get it in a tent form where you have the ball hanging from a, double insulated tent with a tunnel trap up the top.

Because what will end up happening is they will come to the ball, they'll see that it's- Amanda> But it needs to be moving?

Carmen> It needs to at least be swaying.

<Sway> So it hangs from a string.

You've got a tent option.

And about this much is covered.

And horse flies will come up, and once they see that there is not a blood meal for them, they go immediately up.

And they'll go up into the tunnel and they'll get trapped inside of the double netting.

Amanda> Did you tell me that some people walk around their yard with cups on their head or something?

Carmen> Yes, exactly.

If you wanted some fun activities, a lot of people will take a blue or black solo cup and put the adhesive... you got to have the adhesive around the cup.

<Sure> You put it right on top of your head, you walk around and it'll attract the horse flies to you.

(laughter) Amanda> And you hope that the funny farm people don't come and take you away.

Carmen> Oh, exactly.

No, I wanted to, I wanted to stick my two year old with a little hat because she's running around the yard anyway.

You know, you get phone calls from neighbors and stuff when... that happens.

Terasa> I think you could create a whole device, like put it on a headband- Carmen> I saw them once- because you are still attracting the horse flies.

It's not repelling them.

So you really want one of those helmets that they use, that the arborist use to protect them from flying debris.

So you've got a shield- (laughter) the hat... blue cup right on top, and it'll get out of your eyes.

Amanda> We don't usually have as much trouble as we've had this year, though.

This has been kind of unusual.

Carmen> A lot... it has been...

There have been a very, there's been an uptick in calls that I've never seen before.

So the wet weather and the standing water really is what is, is increasing the amount.

And more people maybe are outside.

A lot of people are coming in to Florence and they don't... and they've never seen such.

So it's, they're... learning the hard way that, with the nice warm weather comes all sorts of insects.

Amanda> Shoo-wee.

(laughter) Carmen> But it's a lot of fun.

And it's, a nice way to do, try and at least manage some of our insects.

Amanda> Well, I'd like to talk about insects and management, if that's okay.

Carmen> Yes.

What do you have?

Amanda> Well, I have something that Doug Tallamy, you know, Bringing Nature Home , who's really just trying to get us to reduce the amount of lawn and have more things for insects and, you know, pollinators.

Because, you know, we're just seeing a huge decline in the number of birds because they need to eat insects.

So this is, a way to help control mosquitoes in your yard without having those people come in and spraying everything.

My brother has had tremendous, tremendous success with this.

This is one he gave me.

And so you just have a bucket, you know, and, you know, spray it so it won't look, you know, if it were a little bit blacker I think it would fade in a little bit better.

But, so you get a bucket and you put some leaves, you know, kind of... crushed up leaves and grass in there.

And then you get a mosquito dunk and, these are just fascinating.

It has, contains... Bacillus thuringiensis, the Israeli strain.

Which is just a naturally occurring soil borne organism.

It only, this one only affects mosquitoes, nothing else in the world.

You can have it in your dog dish.

You could have it in your... you know, whatever.

And it wouldn't even hurt you.

And you can put them in bird baths and things like that.

And so you put one of those in there, the female mosquito is gonna come and lay her eggs and then the larvae cannot, live because this is going to eliminate them.

It's just the dangdest thing in the world.

Terasa> Affectionately referred to as the "bucket of doom."

(laughter) The "bucket of doom," yeah.

Amanda> Well, and I'm happy to doom'em all I can.

This is just a wonderfully environmentally sensitive way to do it I think.

Terasa> You could really camouflage that.

I mean, sitting out here on our panel table, it looks pretty obvious.

But amongst trees and shrubs, I mean, I think you could camouflage it pretty well.

Amanda> Well, and, you know, so what?

I mean, I think people would love to know about them, so even if it weren't- they could say, "What the heck is that?"

You could say, "This is gonna be your new best friend."

And, anyway... you can put these in bird baths and all kinds of things.

And I would also like to add, if you have bird baths in your yard... please- you know, that's on a pedestal, please remember that if there are young children around- I've known children who've pulled them on themselves and been seriously injured.

And so, just keep that in mind.

If you've got any children who might be coming in your yard to play, but put these in bird baths or fountains, anything you want.

It's just, you know, I mean, this even says, you know, "a hole in a tree."

So, I'm just so excited because I've just, I mean, I just, you know, I use 50 percent DEET, and I'm tired of putting it on everywhere, and I'm excited, excited to try this.

So I hope some of y'all will try it as well.

And remember to thank Doug Tallamy of Bringing Nature Home while you're shrinking the size of your lawn and planning more things for pollinators.

Okay.

So now I think you're, it's your turn to take up the desk.

Brady> Yes ma'am.

So yeah, I wanted to, I just wanted to show off some, like, colorful flowering things you could grow in the house.

<Okay> Things that you could, like, have around.

Add a little color, a little bit of happiness to the room.

Amanda> Well, and have it as a table decoration.

Brady> Exactly.

And this is one of the easiest plants ever to grow.

So this is a Bromeliad.

This is a epiphyte.

So in nature, this lives attached to a tree, this does not live down in soil.

So it is a plant that likes to go completely dry between waterings.

And he always lives in the deepest shade in nature.

So this is a plant that likes it in a medium light spot inside.

So it can be in any corner, any room, and lives for a very long time.

A lot of people throw their Bromeliads away too early.

Your bloom in the center will start to kind of die off.

And, once that happens, you kind of want to come in and cut him off, and then it'll make what's called "pups" all around the bottom.

So all the little babies that'll come up, and then they'll bloom all over again for you.

So you can have four or five- Amanda> Will this part rebloom as well?

Brady> So the main mother plant will not.

<She'll die.> Well, the leaves will stay alive.

Just the flower center will.

<Oh, okay.> But the bloom will come again from the pups that come on the side.

<Oh, Goodness.> Yeah.

So these can live for many, many years.

Amanda> And you don't have to do much to keep them?

Brady> Not at all.

Amanda> That's fun.

Brady> Yeah, they're very cool.

Amanda> Okay, okay.

And you've got another one.

Brady> Sure.

Yeah.

So this is an Anthurium.

Amanda> Ooh that's so pretty- That's.

Brady> They also call them flamingo lilies.

One of my favorite varietals of it as well.

It's just a stunning flower.

Another one that is an epiphyte in nature.

So another one that lives attached to a tree, wants to go completely dry between waterings.

Amanda> So is this like an orchid soil or something?

Brady> This is a peat soil.

But, yes, you could plant it directly into an orchid soil.

Amanda> You don't need a rich soil?

Brady> Correct.

It doesn't need any nutrients.

It doesn't need anything like that to bloom.

A couple of fertilizers a year will keep it going.

And, yeah, they're very not needy plants.

Amanda> This is just beautiful.

Brady> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda> Ooh, if I'd known you had that, I would have cut a piece to put in my hat.

I may even have to sneak it- Brady> Yeah, the Anthurium flowers do hold for quite a while as cut flowers as well.

Amanda> That's just beautiful.

Brady> Yeah.

Very easy.

Terasa> And that colorful portion that everyone is attracted to, is not technically the flower, right?

That's the spathe.

Brady> You're right.

So, "spath," a spathe.

And then the- Amanda> A modified leaf baby- Brady> Similar to it.

Yes, ma'am.

I think other places call them bracts as well.

But yes, so your pollen is produced from the, the piece that comes out of the center.

Terasa> That's the spadix.

Brady> Correct.

Amanda> Ah, good for you.

All right.

Ooh that's pretty.

Brady> I agree.

Amanda> That's just beautiful.

Oh, it's always fun to go to Charleston.

And we went down, in 2024 to the Charleston Flower Show.

What a fun time we had.

♪ ♪ Amanda> I'm in Ladson, South Carolina near Charleston, talking to Trish Bender.

And there is a flower show of great proportions going on here.

This is so exciting.

Thanks for letting us come.

Trish> I'm so glad to have you here, Amanda.

It's always a fun day with you around.

This is the Coastal Carolina Fairgrounds that we're in, and our flower show is sponsored by the Council of Garden Clubs of Greater Charleston, which are the 13 local clubs in our area.

Amanda> And you need everybody because this is such a big job.

Tell us about all the things that, there are different sections, things going on here.

Trish> This flower show is huge.

It's one of the biggest in the state of South Carolina.

So we have to co-sponsor this show by the Exchange Club, which is the group that runs the fair.

The flower show event this weekend is actually three events in one.

It is a flower show called "Peace, Love and Flower Power."

Amanda> All righty.

Trish> I know we got to love that one, right?

We're taking it all the way back to 1969.

The second show is a horticulture specialty show and that is called "Give Peace a Chance."

And there's going to be a lot of plants and fun stuff that, is involved on that side of the room.

The other event is "Can You Dig It."

And is all the local plant vendors, gardening vendors and local mom and pop kind of Etsy growers.

that are going to be out in the parking lot all weekend.

Amanda> So, if somebody sees something that they love, they can go see if they can find someone who's got it.

Trish> Absolutely.

That's the plan.

Amanda> Yeah.

Great.

Trish> Takes about a year to plan this.

We come up with a theme that we know will be fun, exciting and invigorating to the public.

Because this whole point is to educate the public on what can grow and what you can do with what you can grow.

So the flower show on the design side has a whole bunch of wacky, hippie, groovy, titles.

Amanda> Well, let's get started on some of them.

Trish> Okay, well like the first one is called "Psychedelic."

And when you think of psychedelic from a designer's perspective, you're thinking of bright colors that are going to pop and a lot of movement and a lot of in and out.

So when the designer approaches something like that, they want to use components that are going to also do that, give it depth and give it movement and lots of rhythm.

A lot of times when people design, they design really flat.

And what we're looking for is sculpture.

<Yes> Which is movement.

And you want your eye to go through something and that does it very well.

Amanda> Okay.

And then what class is next please.

Trish> "Purple Haze."

All right.

You hear Jimi Hendrix playing in your head.

Yeah, well Purple Haze is going to be all about color.

Amanda> Yes.

Trish> And contrast.

And so you're not going to just show up with purple because purple doesn't show up really well.

You've got to pop it with like that yellow that you're wearing.

Amanda> Okay.

And what's the next one?

Trish> The next one is called "Flowers On the Wall."

And this one's really hard because a designer has to use a backboard and they have to design on the backboard.

So the design that you're going to see has lots of movement, lots of movement coming off that wall and spinning around.

Amanda> And then you got a teeny tiny little fix.

Trish> I know isn't that the most fun.

<It is.> That's called a petite class or a petite section.

And those are either 5 inch, 8 inch or 12 inch designs.

So the designer has to really think in small increments and proportion and scale.

Amanda> Because you can't use a great big flower.

So they have to have access or alter a flower sometimes for that.

Trish> Exactly.

So in the first couple of designs you want to go big and bold, and then you still want that bold, but you have to do it in miniature.

(laughter) Amanda> And I'm just going to say you've had some wonderful people making submissions.

I think it's been so much fun.

And after that we have another class.

Trish> We have Botanical Arts Division, and that takes flowers in a completely different direction and uses them as artistic media.

So you use them like to make jewelry or you make a headdress or they're more practical applications.

Amanda> Part of this is, we're down near Charleston where everybody loves to eat, and you've got things that are set up to be judged for picnics and having dinners and things.

Trish> Oh that's true, our Table Class and Design Division.

Yeah.

So there's one that's called "Here Comes the Sun."

So you have to make a little breakfast tray like you're taking it to your... Amanda> Sweetheart.

Trish> Yeah, there you go.

And it has to again, be in scale and has to be able to be carried.

<Yeah> And there's a little decorative floral design in there.

Amanda> And then, I think there's some where people got to bring out some fancier China.

Trish> Absolutely.

There's a romantic table for two.

<Yeah> And that's called "Love Story," of course.

So, it's like you're going to sit down with your sweetheart and propose.

Amanda> And then you have picnics, which when the weather's perfect, everyone loves to go on a picnic.

Trish> Everyone loves to go on a picnic, but most people don't really think about how they set up a picnic.

So this gives people great ideas on what they can do on their own home.

Amanda> And it's fun to see how they come up with ideas really look like, this is might be what you would have if you went on a picnic.

Trish> Exactly.

And that class is called "Daisy Jane."

So you immediately think you're going to sit down and put daisies for your hair like you love to do.

Amanda> Then you've got an educational component, I think.

Trish> Every flower show must have educational exhibits to teach the public more about horticulture, and what they can grow.

So there's a great one back here called "Monocot Versus Dicot," which a lot of people don't know, but I'm sure you talk about on your program.

Amanda> Well, and also, when we think about Monocots, we think about grasses, <Right> Yeah and palmetto trees.

<Right> But this, there's one arrangement that is just a fabulous, wonderful arrangement.

And everything in it is a Monocot.

A great way to learn about things.

Trish> Absolutely, and that's what Flower Show is all about.

Fun and learning.

Amanda> And then even within the horticultural exhibit, you've got some things that little children did.

Trish> Youth involvement is very important to Garden Club.

And so we always try to get the kids to grow and show as much as possible.

We have some adorable fairy gardens from ages like four to twelve.

So they're beautiful.

Amanda> And then, who doesn't want a swimming pool on a hot day?

But these pools are, filled with plants.

Trish> Oh my goodness.

We had some commercial growers come in and do display gardens that are absolutely blow your socks off gorgeous.

Amanda> Well, I think this whole show has been great, great fun.

The way everybody pitched together to put it together, y'all are blessed to have such a wonderful group of volunteers.

Trish> Thank you so much.

We are truly blessed to be able to grow and show in South Carolina.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ > The Charleston Flower Show is well worth the drive to Charleston.

Hope you can make it one year.

So hats, hats.

This is Cyrilla racemiflora or I call it "titi."

And I see it sometimes in places where there's wet soil.

But then sometimes I see it in places where there's just a little bit of a wet soil.

It's a peculiar plant, a native.

And, this one, the flowers have just about all dropped off, but when it's in full bloom, just gorgeous.

And attracts so many pollinators.

A little bit hard to find, but well worth looking for and putting it in your yard.

Often multi-trunked at first, but then it makes- It's not a big tree, but, you know, 15, 20 feet tall.

Fortunately, I could reach this one when I found it on the side of the road.

And then this wonderful bluish-green thing.

I was going to visit, a friend.

And this was, it was in the sandy part of Calhoun County, and this was everywhere.

And it's called... Terasa, help me out again or Carmen, narrowleaf silk grass, right?

Terasa> You got it.

It flowers with a wonderful, little yellow flower.

And it's just so pretty to see that bluish-green, just grayish-green... Just attracts your eye.

Pityopsis graminifolia.

Isn't that fun?

Pityopsis.

I just love that.

Yeah.

Pityopsis.

Because, you should pity it because it's growing in that awful sandy soil, but seems very happy there.

Right?

Okay.

What you got for us?

Brady> Yeah.

So, I also wanted to show this flower.

So we are growers at Forest Lake Greenhouses as well.

<Okay> This is an I'conia Begonia.

So Begonias, we all know, kind of like the shade, which means they, kind of equal as being good houseplants as well.

So this is a plant that you could grow in your house in bright, indirect light, and it would bloom for you basically the whole year.

<Come on> Just some pruning now and again.

It will want to hang down real low and get a little- Amanda> So you could pick off the faded blooms?

Brady> Very much and then also the whole stem.

So as this gets too long or if it gets too long, you just kind of go in and break off a piece that you want to get rid of, and it'll grow out of that again.

So you can kind of keep it tight and keep it nice and bushy- Amanda> Oh, okay.

Okay.

Brady> It will want to split if you let it go too far.

But as long as you keep them up here, it'll look nice.

Amanda> Wow.

How much trouble is it?

Brady> Not a lot.

I mean, you're Begonias, they hold a lot of water in their like tuberous bodies.

So letting it go a touch dry is always good.

Amanda> It's got a really fleshy kind of stem.

Brady> They do.

Yes.

And, they like a good bit of fertilizer.

We feed them every other water.

So they'll get a fresh water as a flush, and then they'll get a fertilizer the next time.

Amanda> It's just making all these flowers, good heavens.

Brady> Absolutely.

And it doesn't have to be in a hanging basket.

It could just sit on a counter somewhere.

<Okay> But this one I think is stunning.

Amanda> It's really nice.

The leaf itself is just lovely.

Brady> And the foliage, if it ever stops blooming, the foliage will carry it on- Amanda> Yeah, I should think so.

Well thanks for sharing that one with us.

Okay.

Carmen, what you got?

Carmen> I want to say maybe a year and a half, two years ago, Rob and I started on a mission to, get really smart about some of the potting mixes and some of the soilless mixes that have been coming into the offices.

So one of the really great things about, more people getting in to gardening is they've started the, urban garden revolution.

With raised beds and more, container gardens and with that also came the use of more potting soils.

Soilless mixes, container bed mixes that you would buy at the store to fill into your raised bed garden, which is the goal, because it allows you to control all of your gardening needs.

It's a lot less weedy than just putting, soil or dirt that you get from the backyard into your raised bed container.

Amanda> It doesn't bring those contaminants sometimes.

Carmen> Exactly.

But one of the big things is ...all day, every day we tell people you need to get your soil tested every so often.

But with soilless mixes, that's not technically the case, because our soil tests actually only test for mineral based soils like our sandy soil or our clay soils.

If it has too much organic matter, more than what our native soils would be, because our native- Amanda> Which isn't a lot.

Carmen> Yeah.

Which isn't too much.

It can actually, throw off our standard soil test.

It comes back with results- Rob and I have seen just wack-a-doo results.

Rob> You'll have sky high levels of most nutrients that aren't actually there.

So it's not really a false result but it's not the easiest to interpret.

Now, a standard soil test works well... up until about 5 percent organic matter.

Once we start going- Amanda> In our dreams.

Rob> Yeah... Carmen> We would love that.

Rob> There are some situations that do have higher levels than that.

And what we would call a Soil Code Six would account for up to about 10 percent organic matter.

Well, a soilless media, a potting mix is often way, way higher that, somewhere 70, 80 percent organic matter.

So that's why we need the specialist, specialist test to be able to interpret it.

And what you are getting with that particular test- There are three different types of way, there are three different measures when we're looking at soil tests.

A mineral soil test will give you plant available and total amounts of nutrient in that soil.

<Okay> A soilless media test will give you plant available only.

Amanda> Oh!

Rob> And a compost test will give you absolutely everything, because it's basically total destruction of that sample, through extreme heat.

So that's why there's the differences within soil test.

Amanda> So... tell me what you got in these little containers.

Each one please.

Carmen> Sure.

So first we have some of our lovely sandy soil, some of our clay loam.

These both are good for our standard soil test.

Amanda> Okay.

Carmen> Then as we go in, we have, compost or "compast."

(laughter) Rob> Now, now.

(laughter) Carmen> I just love how you say it.

So our compost sample, and our top soil samples, and these are extreme organic matter that would actually do better if you wanted to, if you were testing, maybe your home compost or, a lot of the times it's used more for commercial applications.

<Yes> These two, for our compost samples, they actually require, like he said, a different test where we destroy pretty much the entire sample, and it requires... four cups pretty much of soil.

Now, over here... is our potting soil or our soilless mix.

And this is a lot of the times what you're going to see.

Lots of peat based soil- Rob> A lot of bark in a lot of situations, Carmen> lot of... like, almost full of bark, sometimes perlite, sometimes vermiculite.

And a lot of people will come in and we'll ask them, "What do you have?"

You'll say, "I don't remember."

Okay, so what you can do is you can kind of look and see.

And if it is more than 10 percent of a soilless media, we actually need to run a different test with more soil and a couple more dollars.

Amanda> Okay, well, that's fair enough because they're very, reasonably priced.

All righty.

Well, we're now going to go to McLeod Farms, where they, of course, grow peaches, and they are an underwriter of ours.

Amanda> I'm in McBee, South Carolina speaking with Spencer McLeod, and Spencer, I don't think anybody would take a blood donation from you because I think y'all probably bleed peach juice.

Don't you?

Spencer> That's right!

Amanda> Because it's been how many generations now?

Spencer> So, I am fifth generation, my great-great-granddad, Hector McLeod started our farm in 1916.

Amanda> Whoa, and things have changed dramatically since then, I mean, diseases and things.

And they're all kinds of new ways of doing things, and people think, Oh, the peaches are ripe, and they just go pick the peaches, But it's... there's so much work that goes on, and it starts- I mean, I guess you wake up on New Year's Day, and maybe you get to take that day off.

But after that, you're out here.

Spencer> Yes.

Right now it is our busy time, but we've been working on this crop since January.

So January, we start pruning, and we prune from January through March.

And then after pruning, we have thinning and that happens around April or May and then we start our harvest.

Amanda> And these trees are grafted onto a special rootstock.

<That's right.> That's resistant to some things that would be problematical.

Spencer> So all our trees, we get them from a nursery in Tennessee, and what's unique about a peach tree is that it actually has two different genetics.

So, you've got the rootstock that has disease resistance and nematode resistance for any soil born challenges that it's going to have.

And then what's grafted on top of that rootstock is actually the cultivar, the variety that we pick, that grows the peach that's red, big, and also the time of year that it comes off.

Amanda> Always delicious.

Spencer> That's right.

Amanda> But, um, so you prune to, I guess the trees have to get sunlight into them.

So, you have to prune for that.

And then you told me that only the new growth sets peaches, so you must prune pretty severely.

Spencer> That's right, so we're pruning just to maintain the tree.

To train the tree, we grow our peaches fairly tall.

But we have four main liters and so that helps maintain the trees health and also encourage new growth for next year.

Amanda> And then you've got to go in and start thinning because the tree would set far too many blossoms that it would be able to produce a good-sized peach from.

Spencer> That's right and our heavy crops, we can thin up to 80 percent of the peaches.

Amanda> That must be hard to look down and see all those peaches that you put in.

Spencer> That's always a challenge.

So, when you're when you're thinning a heavy crop, you don't want to look down because you're thinking, "Wow, I just destroyed my crop", but you really need to look up in the tree.

You know, you want to space your peaches out, because what we're for thinning is we're really trying to get that size, the tree is only going to take up so much nutrients and water, and so, by thinning we're getting a better sized peach.

We're getting a better tasting peach higher sugar content.

And so that's a, that's a process that we go through and it's a difficult time too.

We thin during a time where we could have a frost event, and so, you know do you take the peach off, do you not?

So there's always a big decision to do that.

So, we try to wait as long as we can and that means that we generally hand thin our tree.

Amanda> These trees are big, and you all have a high density of trees, and that there's certain that's for certain reasons.

Spencer> That's right.

So, because we have a tall tree, we have higher yields per acre.

And so, we use wind machines during frost events.

And so that helps justify that cost of having a wind machine protect more yield.

And also, that helps us with the irrigation and our infrastructure as far as placing an orchard and having more yield per acre.

Amanda> And y'all are very, very careful with water.

These trees are drip irrigated at each tree.

Spencer> That's right.

So, we've got dripper irrigation across all our peaches.

And so we, you know, that timing of watering in that final swell, we're really focused on the trees that we are picking right now.

And so, we try to manage our water as best we can.

Amanda> And interestingly, I think most of the trees bloom, kind of during the same time period, but some are early peaches, and some are later, because you want to be able to supply peaches to people for a long, long time.

Spencer> That's right, so we have about 40 to 50 different varieties of peaches on our farm, and what that allows us to do is pick peaches from the end of May, all the way to September, and so, we're picking that particular variety, over a two week period.

We'll have about six to eight different pickings over that two week period, that we generally go in the field every other day, or we may do a two day skip.

And so having those different maturity, varieties that allows us to have peaches throughout the season.

Amanda> Spencer, you have contracted people who come in, and you said that they have been here through several generations, and they are integral really to helping you have such high quality peaches.

Spencer> That's right.

We started using the H-2A program.

It's a visa program where we bring in migrant workers from Mexico, and they, we've had some of the same people since the early '80s, '90s.

And they've become a part of our family in helping our operation to be successful.

If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be here today.

Amanda> And I've learned so much about all that goes into getting a great peach and getting it off the tree, and now I want to learn some about getting these peaches to the people who want them.

Thanks for spending some time with me.

Spencer> Thank you.

♪ Amanda> I'm in the packing shed from McLeod Farm Peaches and I'm speaking with Doug McCormick.

Doug, you are a member of this family now.

Doug> Yes, ma'am.

I married the farmer's daughter, I'm in deep.

(laughs) Amanda> Well you did pretty good by yourself, As far as I'm concerned both ways.

<Yes, ma'am.> But we've these peaches that are in from the field.

But that's just the very first step because now we got to get them in the hands of the consumers, and today, I don't know about you, but I'm kind of hot, and I think the peaches are too.

So, what's the first step to try to get those peaches cooled down.

Doug> So, when the peaches come here out of the field, the first thing we're going to do is we're going to run them through the hydra cooler.

And what's happening there, we're putting the bins of peaches on a chain that takes about 45 minutes to go through this hydra cooler.

And we're dumping cold water on them think of a cold shower.

So, we'll chill this water down to about 35 degrees.

And the objective here is to get that field heat out of the peach before it comes in here into the pack shed.

And that's what we're doing.

Like you said, it's hot today.

I'm hot.

You're hot.

The peaches are hot.

We've got to remove that heat before they come to the pack shed.

Amanda> Because they got to last for a couple of days till they get to the store, and if we just shipped them like they were, they would just be burning up and turning to mush.

Doug> Yes, ma'am.

It's going to slow the ripening process.

And you know, we want to get them cold.

And the thing is, we got to get them cold before we put them in a cooler, we can't put a hot peach in a cooler and expect the cooler to pull all that heat out of them.

So that's why we really need that cold shower, like I said a 45 minutes in the hydra cooler.

And that's where it all begins right here.

Amanda> Well, maybe at the end of the day, we'll go stand there for a minute.

Doug> I don't know if I can make it 45 minutes.

Amanda> But after that happens, where are they going next?

Doug> So, when the peaches come out of the hydra cooler, we will pull them off of the chain with a fork truck and immediately put them in a cooler to keep them cold.

We've already got them cold.

We want to keep them cold.

So when we're ready to start packing, we'll pull the bin out of the bin cooler.

We'll put it on the chain and that's where it starts that bin will go through a dumper.

That dumper will dump the peaches onto the line.

At that point the peaches are moving with a conveyor.

We'll have our first check.

We'll have some people they're looking for... the obvious.

This is, this peach is soft.

Let's take it out.

This is mush.

Take it out.

We'll pull the leaves off.

After that, after that first initial check.

We'll run the peaches through a washer and what we're doing here is we're knocking the fuzz off of the peach.

We're also going to apply food grade wax, a thin coat of food grade wax to help preserve the peach health, the shelf life of a peach.

After the peach comes out of the washer.

We're going to run that peach across grade tables where we have people who are just great at grading peaches.

We have great help here at McLeod Farms and we couldn't do it without them.

What they're going to do, they're going to check that peach and say, "Is this peach soft?

"Yeah, let's take it from a number one grade, put it in a number two grade."

"Does this peach have a cosmetic defect?

Yes, it needs to come out of a number one grade, go into a number two grade."

Amanda> It's still a perfectly edible peach.

Doug> That's right.

Amanda> And these grades are set by the government, I believe.

Doug> That's correct.

We have certain specifications that we have to go by, if we're going to call our blue box, our Mac's Pride blue box a U.S. extra number one.

Amanda> All right.

Doug> So that's what we're grading out.

We're grading out, this piece doesn't belong in a in a blue box.

After it goes through these grade tables with people, we got a brand new machine last year.

And so prior to this machine, we were sorting peaches with a machine, but that was only by size.

you know, a two and three quarter or two and a half inch, big, medium, small.

Now we have the capability of sorting these peaches by grade.

So, with a machine we can also grade the peach.

Say, "This is not a number one peach."

"The machine saw soft spot.

Pull it out, put it in a green number two box."

So we're sorting it by that.

We're also sorting it by size.

And then we have all these different orders.

You might have a specialty pack for bags, for trays, You've got your volume filled blue boxes, and what we're doing there is we're sizing the peach.

We also have load sales where, we're weighing the peach.

You know, for instance, a customer might want a 30 pound tray that contains 112 pieces of fruit.

Well, what we're doing, we're weighing that peach and we're saying send me all the peaches that average this weight.

Send them to the tray so that when I put 112 peaches in this tray, it weighs 30 pounds.

Amanda> And I think again, you are using the agricultural workers who come in under a Visa.

Is that correct?

Doug> We couldn't do it without our H-2A workers.

For me they're like family, you know.

They're my friends.

They're family.

And, you know, we have people here that their experience on this farm, I mean, it far exceeds my own.

I mean, we have, we have H-2A workers that I go to and say, "What do you think about this?

What do you think about this peach?"

And so they are a vital, a vital part of McLeod Farms and Mac's Pride brand, and we couldn't do it without them.

And they're great at what they do.

Amanda> Y'all are a big family up here.

And for safety control... and, you have stamped, the boxes are stamped with different information on them, I believe.

Doug> Yes, ma'am.

Every lot and a lot means it'll contain the information of what variety is this peach?

What field did it come out of?

What day was it picked?

All that gets stamped on the box when we're packing.

So, we will know what variety, what field and we'll also know the Julian Date, what day that peach was packed, what day that peach was picked, and that also transfers over to when we load the truck with that box.

So when our produce goes on a truck, we know exactly what's on that truck, and that helps us with traceability of being able to know what we sent where.

Amanda> And then, so is the peach finally ready to go on the truck and go to the consumer?

Doug> Yes, ma'am.

After the peach is put into the box, it rides on a conveyor to the back, and that's where we will palletize basically stack the boxes up, get them ready to go on the truck.

After they're stacked up, we'll place that peach right back in a cooler.

Amanda> Of course.

And so we're back, not where we started, but we're back to keeping that peach cold.

Amanda> Quality, quality.

Doug> It'll stay in that cooler until we put it on a truck and even when the truck backs up, the truck will be cold as well.

Amanda> And then I think waste not want not even the peaches that got knocked off as not being perfect, can you send them to someone who can perhaps make a product out of them?

Doug> Oh, sure.

So, we've got our number one grade, and that's basically what we're sending out commercially what we're putting on the trucks, that's going to take the commercial loads to our buyers.

We also have a number two grade.

And I tell people all the time, there's nothing wrong with these peaches.

They're great, I mean, you might have to cut around a soft spot.

You might have to cut around you know a little cosmetic defect, but it's a great peach.

It still tastes well and you can still make a peach cobbler out of it.

You know!

That's our number two grade.

That's going to be our green box.

After everything that doesn't make the number two grade.

So everything that's not good enough to go on a number two green box, that's basically mush.

That's trash, and we also, you know, we have some people who come get those peaches and process those and make juices or smoothies or whatever you want to do with, you know process peaches, and so... Amanda> So, all the work that went into it, almost every peach finds a way to be used.

Doug> That's exactly right, and like I said, that's what's so rewarding for me, you know, this, this farm I'm an in-law.

This farm is over 100 years old.

There's a huge legacy here and when we are precise in putting the peaches where they need to go I feel like that I bring value and that I'm doing a small part in upholding that legacy of passion and I guess artistic, whatever you want to call it growing peaches and just pouring our heart into it.

So, it feels great to be able to bring something to the table.

Amanda> You know it's just so exciting to see what our family farms in South Carolina do and I thank you for being with one of them and for explaining this part of the process to us.

Doug> I thank you for all you do.

Thank you for being here today.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda> I think that South Carolina grows more peaches than anybody else.

But I know that South Carolina peaches are very, very tasty.

Thank y'all all, all, all so much.

And I hope you'll join us next week.

Night night.

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

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

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.