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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And I'm here with my friend and co-host Terasa Lott, who's a District Director now for Clemson.

Terasa, I always say this is continuing education because there's new stuff to learn and then I've forgotten a lot of stuff.

(laughter) You're so young that hasn't happened to you.

Terasa> Oh, I wouldn't say that.

Sometimes I go to the refrigerator, open the door, and I can't remember what I'm looking for.

(laughter) But absolutely, and there's always new information coming out.

And so it is great to be here and to hear, what's kind of new and emerging in the world of horticulture and agriculture and to share it with our viewers.

Amanda> Yeah.

And the state's changing a lot.

You know, it used to be that, farmers just grew row crops, and now a lot of them are growing cucumbers for the pickling industry.

Everybody's kind of diversifying.

<Mhm> Amanda> It's fun.

Yeah.

Terasa> It really is.

Amanda> All righty.

Jackie Jordan, the Urban Horticulture Agent for Fairfield, Kershaw and Richland County.

And, that's a pretty big swath.

And, I think you have to wear a lot of hats depending upon whom you're going to see.

Jackie> Oh, definitely, definitely.

So, work with nursery growers, golf courses, sports fields, homeowners, garden clubs, master gardeners.

Amanda> So even though you're, not a commercial agent, you go to golf courses and things like that.

Jackie> I have before, but turfgrass is my background, so.

Amanda> Oh, of course.

Yeah, yeah.

I think you like to play golf, don't you?

Jackie> I love to play golf.

I broke a hundred last week.

<Congratulations!> I had a par and a birdie.

Amanda> Dang, how 'bout that gal?

Jackie> Yes.

Yes.

Amanda> Good for you.

Okay.

All righty.

Brittney King, we're so glad to have you again with us.

And you are the Commercial Hort.

Agent in about a million counties.

I will read them because you may not remember.

Chesterfield, Darlington, Florence, Lancaster, Lee, and Marlboro.

And people in those places are growing a lot of different things.

You've got fruit growers and then you've got, vegetable growers, green growers.

You've got...

I bet you're learning a lot from the people you go to see too.

Brittney> I am, yeah.

I consider myself a lifelong learner.

So being an Extension Agent is the perfect job to have when you want to learn your whole life, so.

Amanda> Yeah.

Yeah.

And, I guess you're seeing people even developing different practices, in the way they manage their crops to some extent.

Brittney> That's right.

That's right.

A lot of people are shifting more towards more sustainable practices instead of just, "Oh, I have a bug, let me just spray this blindly without thinking about it."

Amanda> Integrated pest managers.

Brittney> Yeah.

Integrated pest management, that's what we're all about.

Amanda> Yeah.

Which helps protect a lot of different, species that might have been effected.

<Exactly> That you didn't mean to affect, including human beings.

Brittney> That's true.

Very true.

Amanda> And Doctor John Nelson, the retired curator of the, University of South Carolina Herbarium.

And, Doctor John, when I took botany with you it was fun because we lugged these big things around all the time.

And put things in them, and we tightened up the belt and stood on them and all kinds of things.

I've still got mine.

Dr. Nelson> And they were called plant presses.

Amanda> And I've got mine.

I need to get it out, start doing stuff again.

Dr. Nelson> You sure do.

Everybody needs to have a plant press in the back of their vehicle.

Amanda> And you don't have to just have new stuff that nobody's ever found, thank goodness.

Dr. Nelson> No, no.

Of course, we want to keep up with what's in a given county for one thing.

<Ah> And many times there is new stuff always coming in.

And for instance, I'm starting up a new project right here in Sumter County.

Amanda> In Sumter?

Dr. Nelson> Yeah.

Amanda> What you doing?

Dr. Nelson> I kind of made friends with the nice people at Manchester State Forest.

<Ah> And they're going to let me go over and do a little survey of the plant life that they've got.

Amanda> Cool.

That's wonderful.

Dr. Nelson> I hope I don't get lost.

Amanda> It's big.

It's pretty big... to me.

Dr. Nelson> It's pretty big.

It's got a lot of trees and bushes and things.

Amanda> You'll have a great time.

Yeah, yeah.

Got some, good many dry places too.

Dr. Nelson> Oh yeah.

<Yeah> Dry is good.

Amanda> Yeah for certain things it is.

Dr. Nelson> The wet is good too.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

That was the first place I saw Yucca filamentosa.

Dr. Nelson> Oh it's beautiful.

Amanda> It is beautiful too.

I do love it.

All righty.

Well, and then we're going to have a lot of fun.

We had a man come with snakes, and, you know, my brother and I had snakes as a kid, so, I had a good time with the snakes with, Tony Mills of Coastal Kingdom .

I think you'll have a good time with that, too.

Terasa, do we have some "Gardens of the Week" to share?

Terasa> We absolutely do.

"Gardens of the Week" is sort of like a field trip across the state, where you get to show off what you're doing in your yard, your garden, or maybe you've captured a beautiful place in South Carolina.

We begin with an absolutely magnificent orchid from Jennifer Amsden.

Mike Ely shared lettuce that's gone to flower, so still appreciating it, for its benefit to pollinators.

Not necessarily for its edibility anymore.

From Marie Johnston, she shared the most dainty... it's false garlic.

And, it looks like it's in a container.

So in the lawn, sometimes people might consider a weed.

But, it looks very cute potted up, there.

From Cheryl Rourke, we have pansies on a step, and I just love the container that they're in.

And then last but not least, Jared Magun shared daffodils that are soon to be flowering.

It's always so exciting to go out and see, and then you just wait with anticipation.

When are the flowers going to open?

Thank you everyone who shared your photographs.

It is so much fun to review them on the Facebook page.

And I hope all of our viewers visit that page frequently.

Don't be shy when you see us make a call for "Gardens of the Week," just post your photos in the comments.

The only catcher is, it really is best if you can turn that camera sideways so that the pictures take up most of the screen.

Otherwise they appear very tiny.

Amanda> Yes, we do not want any teeny tiny pictures.

We want big, vigorous pictures.

Terasa> That's right.

Amanda> That've been well fertilized and watered.

Right?

Okay.

(laughter) Let's see if there are people we can help.

Terasa> Well, Violet wrote in from Florence with an excellent question that I would like to shout from the mountaintops.

"When should I fertilize my centipede grass?"

Amanda> Ah.

You know, those people just want to get started so early.

But, Jackie, I think early is not always better.

Jackie> No, no.

You want to wait for the grass to totally green up.

So, it starts to come out of dormancy, but turf grass roots shrink and grow throughout the season, so they're at their longest as we go into fall.

And they feed on all those stored carbohydrates through the winter, and they take the last little bit of it to emerge.

So those roots are really fairly shallow, and your centipede roots are short anyway.

So if you come in early, as soon as they green up with fertilizer, with a lot of nitrogen, you'll push the blades at the expense of root development.

And then we find, <Oh> the turf grass is suffering from more heat stress later in the summer.

So it's better, to wait a few weeks, let it green up, let it start growing.

And I always tell people the best thing, wait until the nighttime temperatures are consistently close to 70 degrees at night.

So upper 60s.

Amanda> At night.

Not daytime- Jackie> Not at day, at night.

So that will put us really around the first second week of May.

Amanda> Okay.

And fertilizers have become more expensive.

And you want to be sure that they don't run off into places we don't want them.

You want them contained and affecting the plants that we want it to affect.

Jackie> Absolutely, absolutely.

And centipede truly does not do well with a lot of phosphorus.

And phosphorus is the one that can run off and get into our water and cause water quality issues.

So do a soil sample, use a fertilizer that's low in phosphorus.

And you can also recycle your grass clippings and that can reduce your fertilizer- Amanda> Catch them when you mow?

Jackie> Not catch them when you mow, just let them disintegrate.

They are 70 percent water, about 30 percent nitrogen.

Amanda> That's alot of nitrogen.

Jackie> It is, it is.

So you can reduce your need by 25 percent, for a fertilizer just by recycling your grass clippings.

Amanda> And you know, and not send them to the landfill or whatever.

Jackie> And it's free.

It's there, just use it.

<Yeah> Terasa> There's a lot of you know, misconceptions I think people will feel like it's going to contribute to thatch build up.

Jackie> And it doesn't.

Terasa> Now you do need to be mowing at the right height and frequency, so, right?

If you've got a hayfield in your yard, you may need to do something with the clippings.

<Right> Jackie> So as long as you're mowing at the right height.

Which we have fact sheets on HGIC that will give you the specific ranges for your turfgrass.

Amanda> Okay, well, thank you for all that.

And you know, don't want to, you know, get out there and just throw it out indiscriminately.

Appreciate it.

<Yeah> Okay.

All righty, Terasa?

Terasa> Next on our list is... we're going to go to Chesterfield.

Dale wrote in and said "I found several of these insects on my strawberry plants.

Will they cause any damage to my plants or are they one of the good insects?"

Well, kudos to Dale for asking.

Amanda> Yes.

Terasa> And we do have a picture, so we can, we can identify the insect.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, how did you ID this guy?

Brittney> So, this is actually something I had to identify last year when I was in a strawberry field, and I saw them everywhere.

And I said, is this something I need to be concerned about to tell the farmer?

So I ID it on a plant app and then went to University of Florida, they have some good fact sheets on insect identification.

So I went there and I found out that it is actually the larvae of a ladybug.

<Whoa> So, yeah- Amanda> They look like little alligators.

Brittney> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And a lot of people, whenever they see the larvae because it looks so different from its adult form.

Amanda> Boy it sure does, yeah.

Brittney> We swat them off.

We, we kill them, we spray.

But they're actually really good bugs.

You know, they love to feed on the pests that we struggle with all the time.

So, spider mites, aphids, mealybugs, scale, that's what they feed on.

They're not actually going to feed on the plant parts.

They might feed on pollen if their food source is low, but this again, is why we don't want to be blindly going out and spraying things without identifying, because the bad bugs are a food source for the good bugs.

Amanda> And I think they have a more robust appetite than when they're adults.

Is that correct?

Brittney> Right.

Yeah.

Amanda> Because they're growing.

Brittney> That's right.

Amanda> They're teenagers.

Brittney> That's true.

Amanda> Two hamburgers and... (laughter) And some French fries too.

Brittney> That's right.

Amanda> Isn't that wonderful.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay.

Thank you so much for reminding us of that.

Brittney> Yeah, of course.

Amanda> Okay.

Terasa> Well, before the show, Doctor John and I were talking, and I understand that he had a recent field trip experiment, or experience where he was botanizing with some wetland ecologist.

So I thought, we might like to hear a little bit about that.

Dr. Gibson> Yes.

Amanda> Tell us what been doing.

Dr. Gibson> Well, sure enough, I was invited by, some nice people that I know, and they work for an outfit called Three Oaks Engineering.

Amanda> All righty.

Dr. Gibson> One of the things that they're, that they do, in their job is wetland delineation.

And, they invited me to go with them to, check out a portion of the land... wetlands in Allendale County.

<Mhm> I got to go, and it was really fantastic.

We went to a Carolina bay.

<Wow> Zach Biltoft here, and also Pam Ferral who were showing me around.

And I found a plant that they didn't know.

And I was kind of surprised to find it myself.

And, it's this.

And, it's a beautiful tree, a small tree that makes these real pretty little flowers.

<Mhm> They sort of dangle, each flower will have five white petals, and, the leaves are just- Amanda> Hold it still.

Dr. Nelson> They're wiggling now.

<Okay> (laughter) And the leaves unfold and they're very pretty and sort of, shiny... green.

But this is Serviceberry, and, this particular species grows in the mountains as well as the coastal plain.

Amanda> I call it Serviceberry.

Dr. Nelson> Serviceberry.

I remember that, Doctor Fairey at Clemson used to tell us it's called Serviceberry because it blooms when the ground was warm enough for them to have a burial service.

Amanda> And also for the, circuit preacher to get around and marry people too is what I've heard... <Yeah> in the mountains.

Dr. Nelson> So, it's a plant for... it has many signs or something, but it's a very pretty plant.

Not many people that I know of are aware of it.

And the name of it, of course, is Amelanchier.

It's a real pretty thing.

And I just wonder if, some of our hort.

agents know of this as a plant that's suitable for, you know, growing in yards and stuff.

And following the flowers, it makes attractive... fruits that the birds love to eat.

And sometimes they're very sweet to munch on by humans.

Amanda> And it blooms when the shad are... when you can get shad roe.

I was recently, able to get some, which is a once in a year delicacy.

And it happens... you can, it happens when this is in bloom.

It's lovely.

Terasa> That's another common name is shadbush.

(all agreeing) Yeah.

Yeah.

I have one in my yard.

I believe mine is a hybrid...

But so, that term "service," I was always told because of the ecosystem services it provides, because it is good for wildlife.

In fact, kind of, one of the sort of, I believe, keystone species in terms of what it provides.

Was at a native plant symposium at one time and somebody was saying, they would recommend "If you were going to plant a tree for a wildlife."

I mean, there are lots, but not everyone can plant an oak tree.

(all agreeing) Amanda> But also, some people just want something that's real pretty at the same time.

Dr. Nelson> And in the spring right after winter.

<Yeah> It's in the Rose family.

Amanda> My goodness gracious.

Jackie> And I would say it also has another season of interest.

You may not think about fall leaf color, but it has really pretty fall leaf color with some peachies and yellows- Amanda> Ooh, that sounds lovely.

Yeah, yeah.

All righty.

Terasa> That's a really good point.

I don't know people... if they really think about they think about what the flowers look like usually, and not about the rest of the seasons interest.

(laughter) Amanda> All righty, enough.

(laughter continues) Those flowers are hanging on tight.

Dr. Nelson> Oh, yeah.

Amanda> Alright.

Dr. Nelson> Drooping.

Amanda> So there'll be a fruit where each flower is.

Dr. Nelson> Oh yeah.

If all goes well.

Amanda> Yeah.

If all goes well.

Yeah, it's just lovely.

Thank you.

All righty.

And, I'm glad you're getting to putz around with your friends.

I bet you going- Dr. Nelson> Yeah, as long as my right knee holds out.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, he can always... (laughter) I know, not much fun to have to get new knees.

All righty.

Okay.

Well, hats, hats, hats.

So, this one has, two kinds of yellow flowers in it, Terasa.

One, is yellow jessamine.

Gelsemium sempervirens.

Is that right?

<Yes> And then, it also has Forsythia.

And so, I will show you this is the Forsythia, and it's a woody plant that, you know, that's deciduous but comes out so early, and then this is the yellow jessamine, okay.

And then I have some rosemary, and this is... the creeping, weeping form of rosemary.

It's just great.

You know, you don't have to prune it so much.

And I have it on, by the curb, and it's just beautiful.

And the bees just love it this time of year because it's blooming early.

But, yellow jessamine, interestingly, if there's too much of this, it can, and there's nothing else for the European or Western honeybee to feed on... this is toxic because it did not co-evolve with it.

And so you want to remind that, be aware of that.

But it sure is pretty.

And it's, but it can be a little aggressive in your yard.

It can come up between your bushes and things like that, but it really is pretty.

But, Forsythia, Oh, Terasa, I've been so sad this time of year.

I see these poor little things that have been cut into balls.

A little ball of Forsythia.

When it's just the most elegant, you know, it's like a ballet dancer with these long extended, arching... You know, as many of our spring flowering shrubs are.

Spiraeas and things like that.

So, please learn what you have.

And, and, you know... learn how to control it.

Yeah.

And, and so, you know... you really don't want to just, because it's so lovely.

And you could bring in a vase of it and it will just be graceful and all over instead of just these little, constipated things that they're trying to stick up.

So, anyway... (laughter) learn how to prune correctly.

Terasa> It's an art.

It's an art, for sure.

You need to know a lot about the plants and have a vision in mind of what the end product will look like.

And then what cuts you need to make, in order to get that desired result.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Anyway, but I do love, I do love Forsythia.

It's just lovely.

Dr. Nelson> Yellow bells.

Amanda> All righty.

Yeah, yellow bell.

Terasa?

Terasa> We're back to questions.

Let's take a look.

This one comes from Tommy in Chapin.

Ooh.

Who has a problem.

"My new arborvitae trees are turning brown.

What is going on?"

And we have a photo to accompany.

And it's not just one that's turning brown.

Amanda> Yeah.

I wish that we could run to all the nurseries and say, "Please don't buy this plant."

Because it is, susceptible to problems.

Well, who wants to tackle this one?

Jackie> I will, so, I actually went on a site visit and saw these trees and looked at them in person.

And, these are large trees.

These were six to seven feet tall, and they have a fairly large caliper.

So, that's the diameter of the trunk measured up about six to eight inches.

They were planted in May.

Amanda> In May?

Jackie> In May.

So several things... Amanda> A great big tree like that was planted in May?

Jackie> Yes, so if you are going to plant trees, the ideal time is in the fall, through the winter months because it's less stressful.

It's easier for them to become established.

Amanda> And down here, if I'm not mistaken, the roots can grow all winter because our ground doesn't freeze or anything.

And that just gives it a great head start of coming out of a container, doesn't it?

Jackie> It does, it does.

And these trees were also on drip irrigation, but the drip irrigation was turned off in November.

And we've had a very dry fall and winter.

And so, I just want to stress the importance of how long it takes a larger tree to become established.

So we're looking at at least a year, year and a half to two years for a larger tree.

So a lot of times people will plant a tree and think, that they water it for a couple of weeks and that, that is sufficient.

Where we're looking at, you know, a good 12, 24 months.

So, this was, nothing more than lack of water, unfortunately.

And when you looked at the rows, it was a lot of windburn coming off the lake.

<Ahh> So, another thing to keep in mind is your evergreens do need moisture throughout the entire winter as well, because those winds can dry them as it whips across those leaves and needles.

So, water is really critical and we think sometimes, "Oh, it's winter, we need to cut it off and we don't need to water our landscape."

But, when we're dry, if we've gone two weeks without water, even our established plants will need some supplemental water through the fall and winter.

Amanda> But this plant is not one that we often... it has a lot of problems.

It doesn't do well here anyway, so I really wish that people would learn that.

Jackie> Oh, yeah.

There would be some better choices, certainly.

There are some, narrow evergreens.

These are, these were Emerald Green Arborvitae.

And truly, I think they're rated to zone seven.

So we're a little too hot for them.

So they are going to, they are going to show stress.

There are some native plants that would work a lot better in these situations that would be evergreen and provide that... Terasa> Like a screening effect, right?

Jackie> A screening effect that you wanted.

Amanda> And that way if you use a variety of things, if, all of them, of one species decides to die, you're kind of left hanging.

Jackie> Oh yeah, Mixed planting is very pretty.

And you can have a beautiful mixed planting in there.

And like you said, it's going to be healthier.

Amanda> Yeah.

And stagger it, you know, not in a straight line.

And that way if something happens it won't be quite so noticeable too.

Jackie> So, unfortunately lots of examples of what not to do.

Amanda> And also, you know, since they do need extra irrigation, you can get tree bags and shrub bags.

I mean, you see the tree bags in the city where they plant big trees.

But shrub bags, if you plant a smaller, specimen plant or, you know, even a small tree, you can put those shrub bags around them and it will water them slowly.

Not keep it too wet.

And you don't have to worry about, you know, going out there every week and giving it, its own drink of extra water that it needs.

Jackie> Right, right.

And so, a good point for this spring coming up most people, you know, as you look at these plants that you're buying, you know, typical one gallon takes six to eight weeks.

So six to eight weeks for each size that you're going.

So a three gallon shrub would be 18 to 24.

So, bigger trees that you might plant.

That's where the timeframe really increases.

Amanda> And also be sure to space them correctly because they don't want to be all crowded together because that increases the chance of disease, doesn't it?

Jackie> It does.

Amanda> Okay.

Well I'm sorry that this person had that loss.

But I bet you gave him some good advice.

Jackie> Oh, yeah.

Amanda> Of waiting till the fall to try to do new things.

Okay.

Thanks a lot.

Alright, Terasa?

Terasa> It's time for another question.

How about we, we're going to go back to Chesterfield, Todd wrote in and said, "Last summer, my tomatoes had a virus and they were covered with light-colored spots.

Is there anything I could do this year to prevent that from happening again?"

(Amanda singing) Tomato disease, tomato disease, tomato disease... we should make a song about it.

(laughter) So what can this person do to maybe not have the same situation?

Brittney> Yeah.

So it kind of sounds like, tomato spotted wilt virus, which in the name, it does produce the spots on the tomatoes which they're still safe to eat, but farmers that sell them commercially, it messes with the marketability, right?

So definitely I would start off by recommending they look into varieties that have the, virus resistance built in.

So some of that would be, varieties like Amelia, Bella Rosa, and also Mountain Majesty.

Those seem to yield really well and they taste good.

Amanda> They taste good?

Brittney> Yeah.

That's the big thing, right?

Everyone wants a nice, big, red juicy tomato.

Those are some really good varieties for that.

The virus is actually transmitted by an insect called thrips, and they're pretty hard to see.

They're super, super tiny.

And tomato flowers are already tiny.

So usually you don't really notice the damage is done until the fruit comes and you see all the spots, so.

Yeah.

Amanda> I just tell people, you know, cherry tomatoes are easy.

<Yeah> It's gotten hard to grow tomatoes.

Brittney> It has.

With the heat and insects.

It's, it's getting hard.

Amanda> John, when I was little, a million, million years ago, Daddy would just plant some tomato plants out among the boxwoods and the camellias and things.

And we'd have tomatoes all summer, but it's not like that anymore.

Dr. Nelson> Well, you know, I'm not a gardener, but I, even Doctor John has been able to grow cherry tomatoes.

And I thought it was pretty darn easy.

(all agreeing) Brittney> Just pop them right off the vine and eat them.

Amanda> I mean, it's a little hard to make a BLT, but you actually can.

Dr. Nelson> Just make a little teeny one.

(laughter) Brittney> With Ritz crackers.

Amanda> It's a little messier, when you're eating it because it's going to drip- Dr. Nelson> Plus there's different varieties... <Yeah> of cherry tomatoes.

Terasa> Yeah, you can get like Sungold.

Brittney> The Sungold, right off the vine.

Ooh, they're so good.

Amanda> They're tasty.

Brittney> They're delicious.

Amanda> Yeah.

So, just saying that is an alternative if you want a lot of tomatoes.

Brittney> Exactly.

Amanda> Well, thank you for telling us that.

Brittney> Yeah, of course.

Amanda> Terasa?

Terasa> I believe, Doctor John has a book that he would like to talk about.

Dr. Nelson> If I can say a few things about a book that was given to me.

You know, I am an herbarium guy.

<Yes> And I talk a lot about the herbarium and what a big deal it is for, botanists.

And, the reason that this one was written by a very excellent botanist named Maura Flannery was to let the world know, all about herbaria.

And, I mean, you don't see too many books about what an herbarium is for.

Amanda> Can you say herbaria or herbarium?

Dr. Nelson> You can say it any way you want to.

Amanda> Thank you.

Dr. Nelson> Herbaria or herbarium, it don't matter.

As long as you're happy with talking about one of these places.

<Okay> A collection of dried and pressed specimens.

Amanda> Now, is she someone who has an association with South Carolina?

Dr. Nelson> She does now.

Maura is a... was a professor at Saint John's University.

Amanda> Whoo.

Dr. Nelson> Wow, indeed.

And she, sometime ago got very interested in the process of, the science of, of, making specimens and what they're useful for, not just for, systematic botanist.

But, for one thing that she's very interested in is the artistic part of, what botanist do.

A lot of time botanist don't realize what wonderful stuff they're doing when they're making plant specimens that serve an artistic purpose rather than just, plant systematics.

So anyway, Maura, who lives in Aiken, became a fan of the herbarium in Columbia.

<Yes> And she still travels back and forth, during the week to come and do her thing at, the University of South Carolina's herbarium.

And we're so happy that, she's been doing this.

So, this is sort of a shout out to Maura Flannery.

Amanda> And if you'll let me hold this just for a second, Doctor John has an entry very early...

Hold on, hold on.

(laughter) Dr. Nelson> Maura very kindly included in her, in her treatment- Terasa> Is that your Stachys find?

Dr. Nelson> No, it's not, it's not a hedge-nettle.

Amanda> He did Pityopsis graminifolia.

But he said- Dr. Nelson> A photograph of the specimen.

Amanda> And then he goes, he was in Orangeburg, a bright yellow plant, silvery, offering a vaguely cheerful aspect to an otherwise sad landscape, weedy and pathetic, with hogweed and rabbit tobacco, other the scratchy things.

I mean, this is a scientific write up, and scattered in a cobbled woodlot recovering field near an old shack site.

John?

(laughter) I said there is an artistic side, even to the narrative, that usually is kind of dry.

Dr. Nelson> It doesn't always have to be dry, you know, stultifying prose, the words that end up on an herbarium label.

And I think that's one of the reasons- Amanda> Hats off to her for being a volunteer.

Some people poo poo volunteers and say if it's worthwhile, they'd pay you.

It's just not true.

So many things are dependent on volunteers, and it gives them such joy.

They meet different people.

I would encourage anybody to think about finding something that you're interested in, and seeing if they could use someone to come and help them.

You would be... And you'd make new friends and learn a lot while you're doing it.

Dr. Nelson> And if anyone's interested in getting this book, it's available to the Yale University Press.

Amanda> Wow.

Pretty fancy.

Dr. Nelson> Oh, yeah.

Amanda> Well, thank you so much.

Okay.

All righty, Terasa?

Terasa> Oh my goodness.

More questions.

We don't ever seem to have a shortage.

Let's see.

Donald, Donald sent in a picture of some sad looking lavender.

And he didn't tell us where he was from, but his question was, "Will the lavender recover?"

Amanda> Mmm.

Huh.

Well, it used to be we just said, you know, "You can't grow it down here."

And then there's a wonderful lavender farm that we went to visit.

Jackie?

Jackie> Well, based on the picture, it looks like it's pretty dead.

(laughter) Cut it back for the most part, it does not like a whole lot of water.

They like a drainage.

They don't like to sit in heavy soils.

So... Amanda> Is it a Mediterranean plant?

Jackie> It is Mediterranean plant.

So, you know, amending your soil, making sure that you have excellent drainage in there.

Also that lavender doesn't tend to put up with our heat and humidity very well.

So the Spanish lavender is the best variety for us.

And then there is a cultivar "Phenomenal," that will work well because typically most of the English and French lavenders just melt out with our heat.

So, he might have lost it due to our extended heat because we were warm through November.

Also the rain events that we've had, where we're getting, you know, heavy several inches where the ground would stay wet for an extended period.

That doesn't work as well.

So if you are in an area with some heavy soil, I would suggest growing it in some containers.

Amanda> I was going to ask you, does it stay a manageable size and you could grow it in a container?

Jackie> Oh yeah.

Amanda> Okay.

And would you... so you wouldn't want to fill, You wouldn't want to heavily amend the soil with compost or anything like that because you want it to be fast draining.

Is that correct?

<Mhm> Okay.

Alright.

Do they have to be pruned frequently?

Jackie> No.

I mean, you can cut it back to maintain the size that you want.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, thank you for telling us that.

I'm sorry that, that person lost theirs though.

Jackie> Yeah.

Amanda> Yeah.

Okay, well, live and learn.

Yeah.

All righty.

We had the most exciting and happy day here, filming in the studio recently.

Tony Mills from Coastal Kingdom , which is a, which is a show that's on SCETV.

And gosh, it is so much fun to watch.

I really encourage you.

It's just a great way to learn about the diversity of the ecosystems down there.

The water ones, the ones on the land.

And Tony is just he's a wonderful explainer, and he gets real excited about things.

And he brought with him a lot of, what we used to, would have been pillowcases, and they were full of things that were, often kept in pillowcases.

Now they have a slightly different container for them.

Snakes...

I think you're going to have fun.

Amanda> We have a very exciting guest today.

I'm just thrilled beyond belief.

Tony Mills, you are a naturalist with the Spring Island Trust, and you also have a terrific show that people can watch on SCETV.

Tony> Yeah.

Coastal Kingdom .

Amanda> Yeah.

Yeah.

And what's a more fascinating ecosystem than our marshes and our oceans?

And all the interactions between them.

Tony> The Lowcountry of South Carolina is awesome.

Amanda> It sure is.

Tony> It really is.

Amanda> Yeah.

We just live in a great state.

And then if you're not, if you're not interested in that, you can just go to the mountains.

Tony> That's right.

Amanda> So much variety.

And so at the Spring Island Trust, y'all have, do a lot of research, I believe.

Tony> So we do a lot of education, but we also do some research as well.

And so what we want people to realize is where they live is really special.

So we figure if people understand where they are and understand how special it is, they're going to take better care of it.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

And, not react with horror and think everything needs to be killed when you run into it.

Tony> Snakes, like we were talking about today.

Amanda> Yeah.

Well, let's talk some about snakes.

And, they're venomous.

You don't say poisonous, right?

Tony> Right, and very few of them are venomous.

So out of the 38 species we have in South Carolina, only six are venomous.

Amanda> And a couple of those are all rattlesnakes.

Tony> Right.

Three rattlesnake species.

Amanda> Yeah.

Tony> But, but yeah.

So most of the snakes you run into are completely harmless.

Amanda> And they are doing a wonderful job.

A lot of them eat rats and I mean some of them eat small toads and things like that.

But I mean, they're just, you know, finding their food in the environment.

Tony> Exactly.

And they're and they're good indicators of environmental health.

So if the snakes all went away, that'd be horrible.

It would mean that really bad things are happening.

Amanda> Yeah.

Well, let's hope that, there are a lot of snakes in people's backyards, and they just leave them alone.

Well, who should we start with?

Tony> So let's start with this one.

I kind of have to feel the bag to tell- Amanda> -which Tony>I think I know what this is (laughing) But this is one that might surprise you.

And this is one that, I'll bet you recognize is not even a snake.

Amanda> Yeah.

Yeah I do.

Yeah.

Tony> So glass lizard or legless lizard, and it's a lizard.

It's a lizard.

I mean, it just doesn't have legs, so it really confuses people.

But the way, you know, it's a lizard.

It has external ear openings, little holes right there.

<Oh> And also it has eyelids so it can shut its eyes.

Amanda> Oh, wow!

Tony> And that'll, That's a giveaway for sure.

The other thing is the tail starts right here.

And this is missing a big portion of the tail.

Amanda> Sometimes, they really do lose their tail.

Tony> They do.

And then they can regenerate it.

So, you know, that's a dead give away too- Amanda> So, if it gets somebody tries to catch him, the tail can snap off and then it doesn't get it eaten.

Tony> Right.

Exactly.

Yeah, the front half the lizard can crawl away.

A predator can eat the tail.

And, but, you don't, they don't want to lose a tail.

I mean, the tail- Amanda> Well, that's a lot of work to grow all...

So what does this one eat?

Tony> So they eat mostly insects, so they're going to eat things like crickets and grasshoppers and things like that.

But not a snake.

But boy, do an awful lot of people think it is a snake.

So when they see this, you know- Amanda> -They should go (gasps) Tony> Unfortunately they, you know, people kill these and that's a real shame.

We talk about doing good things in the garden.

Right?

Or in your yard?

Amanda> Beautiful coloration on its head too isn't it?

Tony> They look they've got a very interesting sheen to them.

They look like they're plastic or something.

Yeah, they don't they don't look real in a lot of ways.

Amanda> They're truly lovely.

And, so where do they lay their eggs and things like that?

Tony> So they'll lay their eggs underground kind of in a rodent burrow or they love sandy areas.

So they're going to kind of go underground, lay the eggs.

And of course the little lizard babies are only about this long and it may take them, you know, a couple of years to reach adult size.

Amanda> This is a nice one.

Tony> This particular one's called an eastern glass lizard.

We actually have several species in our state.

So not a snake, but close.

All snakes have to protect themselves.

And this is a good example of that.

This is one called a hognose snake.

And it's got that wonderful upturned nose.

And... did you remember what these do to protect themselves?

Amanda> Yeah.

They play dead.

So if you if you catch a hognose snake.

Or if you see a hognose snake and encounter it, first thing it may do... Let me see if this one will do this.

Amanda> You said he's real used to people.

Tony> Yeah, this one has been in captivity for a long time.

Now, some of these snakes I caught.

This one has been...

There we go.

It's kind of spreading its head like a cobra.

Amanda> Yeah.

Trying to look... Tony> Obviously it's not trying to look like a cobra.

We don't have cobras here, but it may make it look bigger.

Amanda> Yeah.

Tony> But, but what you were referring to is if you continue to bother it, the next thing it would do throw up a toad if it's- Amanda> Ohhh!

Nobody wants to have vomit, snake vomit all over them.

Tony> Right, throws up, and then it will turn over, hang its tongue out and end up upside down and it looks dead.

Amanda> But if you go and try to turn it over again, it's just going to turn dead.

Tony>...and if you try to make it look alive again, it's going to flip over and play dead again.

Amanda> They are really, really fun, and I think do they have some tiny bit of venom in back- Tony> They do.

Yeah.

So the back teeth are enlarged and they use that for two things.

One is to pop toads, you know, toads, when toads get you know, when they get attacked they'll puff their bodies up with air.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah!

Tony> So this is an animal that can actually punch a hole in the toad and let the air out.

And then it can swallow it.

Otherwise, it's too big to swallow.

But the other thing is those same teeth have some a toxin to them.

And it's, it's not really dangerous to people but it, it probably- Amanda>-helps it.

Tony> Yeah, it probably helps it in some way.

But it is potentially if you got bit by one of these and these typically don't bite at all.

But if they did it probably would cause a reaction, a mild reaction.

So, but I this is one of my absolute favorites.

Amanda> And I don't think I mean I've heard of people catching snakes and they've never had any trouble with it.

Tony> Oh yeah.

And like I said they almost never bite.

Amanda> Yeah.

Tony> The other thing that's interesting about this species is they can be solid jet black, melanistic like this, or they can have these real bright, vivid oranges and yellows and blacks.

So they, they, they vary depending on where you find them.

So this is another really common one.

This is called a rat snake.

And talk about can you smell that?

Amanda> Hmmm.

Tony> Yeah.

It's, it's got a rather pungent odor.

(laughing) Tony> It's got a... so a lot of snakes will exude kind of a musky scent.

And these actually have scent glands.

And so what they... Oh look at that.

Amanda> Oh, dang.

That's wonderful.

Tony> So, try to get bit by this one but obviously non-venomous.

But anyway if they get, get kind of mad what they'll do is exude that musk.

Amanda> Yeah!

Tony> It's really pungent.

Probably deters all kinds of predators.

And then it's important to realize that even non-venomous snakes like this rat snake will bite sometimes.

Amanda> Sure.

Tony> And they look fierce, but that doesn't mean they're dangerous.

And it doesn't mean they should be killed.

Amanda> It'd be nice to have them in your attic.

Tony> Oh, yeah.

They're great climbers.

And this is.

Amanda> I've seen them just go up a concrete wall.

Tony> Unbelievable athletes.

Amanda> I don't know how they do it.

Tony> And the other thing is they eat mice and rats.

So.

And in some cases, the really big ones, because these get six feet, six feet long or so, can eat squirrels.

Amanda> Wow!

Tony>...and squirrels can be kind of pesky too.

Amanda> They're pesky in the attic too.

But I mean, they're good to have in the attic- Tony> They are, and one of the things that's interesting about this, like where we are on the coast... <Yes> They're striped and greenish or yellowish, but if you go in the upstate, they're black.

Same snake.

Amanda> You think... Tony> Black rat snake... Amanda> because the ecology up there that it's easier to blend- Tony> I don't think we really know.

But if you move from the coast up towards the mountains... Yeah, they start to get darker.

So they're grayish in certain parts of the state.

And then like I said, on the coast, this one is being amazingly good.

Amanda> Where did you find him?

Tony> This is one I caught, underneath a piece... so it's part of my research underneath the piece of tin, Amanda> Yeah.

Tony> Under a covered board object that we use for our research.

And this is.... one of the things we do with these snakes is we inject a P.I.T.

tag, a passive integrated transponder, which is like what you put in your dog and so... Amanda> You can put it in the snake?

Tony> You can put it in the snake, insert it in the body, and then you know who that snake is.

Rat snake is very common.

This one may be even more common.

And I think this one's probably going to come right out of the bag.

And so this is... that was interesting the way it came out of the bag.

Amanda> Isn't that something.

Tony> That's what they do.

So if you see one of these in your yard, it may well move around with its head up.

Almost like it's, see how it's got it's head up a little bit?

Amanda> Look at that.

It gets a better view.

Tony> Yeah.

They're very visual predators.

So this is one that's going to eat small mammals.

It's going to eat a lot of lizards.

And it's going to just patrol around with its head up.

It's called a black racer.

And this is, as I said, super common.

Now they're feisty.

So if you pick up a black racer, I can't believe how nice this one is Amanda> It's behaving right now.

but...now is he used to you?

Tony> No.

This one, I caught it yesterday.

Amanda> Oh.

Whoa.

He's a new one.

Tony> So this is one that was- Amanda> My goodness.

Tony> This is another one, I checked to see if it had a P.I.T.

tag in it, but this is not characteristic.

This may be the nicest black racer I've ever met.

Amanda> Hey fella, glad you came to see us.

Tony> Normally they're- (laughing) Tony> Yeah, they're, but again, that's, that's, that aggression is protection.

There's a big difference.

This isn't, doesn't want to have anything to do with a person.

Amanda> Now sometimes people hold them behind the head.

Is that correct?

Tony> Yeah.

Amanda> That can keep them from biting you if they were so inclined?

Tony> Yeah.

And I think if you want to move a snake, there's, there's all sorts of things you can do.

Like you could take a you know, a rake or something to pick it up carefully and keep your hands away from it.

I guess the first thing is you got to know what you're looking at.

Because if you if you pick up a venomous snake, it's extremely dangerous.

So what you want to do is learn to identify the snakes first.

And it's not that hard, learn the six venomous snakes.

Like I said, they're only six in the whole state.

As long as you know those, Amanda> And most of them look very different.

They're very different from this one.

Tony> Right.

Amanda> We had a rattlesnake in the yard a couple of years ago, and everybody was, "Oh", and I said, "It's not going to stay here."

Tony> Yeah, they're moving.

A lot of times they're moving through.

But anyway, these get big.

So you know we've seen these up to five feet long, very fast.

Amanda> And you know people used to have all kinds of strange names like coachwhips and things.

Tony> Yeah.

So the coachwhip snake, is another one we have in the state, pretty uncommon to see.

But that's got that great myth.

So coachwhip snakes as you know supposedly would chase you down and then they would whip you to death with their tail.

And then I've even heard people say they use the tip of their tail to see if you're still breathing, I guess once they've whipped you.

But the story gets really ridiculous.

In reality, coachwhip snakes will thrash if you pick one up and they're very fast and I think they look like a braided whip.

I mean, the tail looks like a whip.

I'm sure that's where the myth came from.

Amanda> Very handsome.

Tony> But notice very visual animal.

And you can tell that it's fast and athletic- Amanda> -to keep it's head up to look at things.

Tony> Yeah, I've seen them just sitting with just a head up like a periscope above the grass.

Amanda> Do they have a good sense of smell?

Tony> Yeah, so... Amanda> -receptors that give... Tony> It's very much like a sense of smell.

So that tongue is going out in the air picking up little chemical signals, transferring them to the roof of the mouth to the Jacobson's organ.

And it's highly specialized.

And so this animal can tell has a mouse crawled by, is there a lizard nearby?

Most importantly... she didn't do anything.

The important thing is to not panic, right?

Amanda> Yeah.

Tony> But anyway, I'm going to hold him behind the head from now, like you suggested earlier.

So we looked at the rat snake.

There's a cousin of that called a corn snake.

And so this is much prettier.

Amanda> Just beautiful.

Yeah.

Tony> So that's one that is the same genus.

Pantherophis, as the rat snake, but it's guttatus, it's a different species, Amanda> Isn't he just gorgeous?

Tony> Some people call this a red rat snake because, and they are gorgeous.

The ones in the Lowcountry of South Carolina are beautiful, Some of them are even brighter and more vivid than that.

Amanda> It is truly spectacular.

Tony> Fabulous belly, that wonderful checkerboard belly.

Amanda> Look at this.

I think that is just... And they very, very, very seldom bite.

Although it did get a little... Tony> Every now and then, and again any non-venomous snake may, may bite you just to protect itself.

Amanda> And I had it...wrapped around my neck for a while.

Tony> Yeah.

Just keep it away from your eyes.

Amanda> Okay, well, put it like that.

Yeah.

Tony> So this is one that it's just a I think this is one of the prettiest snakes in the world.

Amanda> Truly beautiful.

Yeah, and on both sides.

Tony> And...they're beneficial.

Amanda> Yeah, up and down.

Yeah, yeah.

Tony> So... Amanda> Eating what?

Tony> So these eat primarily mice and rats.

So as they get bigger, they can- Amanda> Another great thing.

Tony> Oh for sure.

Now some snakes like that racer will eat almost anything.

They'll eat other snakes.

They'll eat birds.

They'll eat, lizards.

Just about anything they can run down.

This one's a little more specialized.

And the other thing is the little guys will eat, tree frogs and lizards and then graduate up to mice and rats.

Amanda> Good because I don't want the tree frogs...<Yeah> Tony> Yeah, exactly.

But they got to you know, it's hard to find a mouse small enough for, a baby snake to eat.

Amanda> That's true Yeah, yeah, yeah, Tony> I think, let's talk snake protection again.

Amanda> Okay, Tony> Obviously this is not a... (laughing) This is not a real one.

This is well, you know, what this one is...coral snake.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Red and yellow, kill a fellow Tony> So this is a venomous species.

It is not very common in the state, although, coastal South Carolina, you know, places like Lady's Island and some of the areas- Amanda> Near where you are.

Tony> Near where we are they're not on Spring Island, but they're just spotty.

But where they are, there can be lots of them.

And so, it is a very venomous snake.

In fact, five of our six snakes are pit vipers.

Amanda> Pit vipers.

Tony> This is basically a cobra.

It's an Elapidae.

And Elapidae is a family that includes kraits and cobras and coral snakes.

And so, this would be a big one.

Normally they're smaller than this, but they have they don't have that big triangular shaped head like a pit viper would.

But what's important to realize is we also have one that looks like it that's completely harmless.

And this is the scarlet kingsnake.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Tony> And so they really, side by side or at least- Amanda> They're different, and they're different from individuals to individuals.

Tony> Exactly, exactly.

And I wish I had a real coral snake to show you.

We'd be handling it slightly differently.

But, so one of the best ways to protect yourself is to either be dangerous or to look like something that is, In this case, here's a mimic.

And, you know, there's everybody's heard that rhyme red and yellow kill a fellow red and black friend of Jack.

And that would be... so this would be the, this would be the red and yellow one.

But I always say, if you have to remember the rhyme, you probably shouldn't be picking up the snake.

Amanda> I've heard that, of people who get bitten by a snake, about 85% of them knew the snake was there, and they very frequently were messing with the snake.

I mean, duh.

Tony>...and many more males than females I don't know what that means.

But it's definitely true.

This is one that I've worked with a bunch.

And kingsnakes, their numbers have declined drastically throughout much of their range.

The question is why?

Is it habitat destruction?

Is it fungal disease that snakes can get?

You know, we don't really know for sure.

But one thing's for sure we don't want to lose kingsnakes.

And first of all, they're magnificent.

Amanda> Boy.

Handsome, handsome- Tony> We, have to really keep these two apart because, this would eat that.

You're fine, where you are, but I just mean if I get.

Amanda> Hey guy!

Tony> -if I reach over towards you, stop me.

And this one right away is already tongue flicking.

He's like, I smell racer, I smell rat snake.

I smell a corn snake- Amanda> It's not my perfume.

Tony> -because this is a snake eater.

This is a snake that eats... Can kill and eat pretty much any snake, it runs across, including venomous species.

<Yes> So copperheads, rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, the famous water moccasin.

It will kill them and eat them.

And we...

I think you were telling me a story earlier about- Amanda> Yeah.

My husband was riding his bicycle around, and saw this fight, and he watched it for about a half an hour and finally it was just a draw.

Tony> It may have been a little too big for it to swallow.

Amanda> Yeah, Tony> But they're constrictors.

So what they'll do is grab another snake, and then they wrap it up with real tight little coils, and then they wait until it's dead.

It suffocates.

Takes a long time, actually, and then they'll swallow it whole.

Amanda> Gosh.

And they can swallow a fairly large snake.

Tony> This could eat a full grown copperhead, no problem.

Remember, snakes have the ability to stretch their neck and the mouth a great deal.

And so this could... And I've even seen snake, kingsnakes swallow slender snakes like green snakes and ribbon snakes that were longer than themselves.

Amanda> Wow.

Tony> So they can, what they can do is kind of pack it in the, pack it in the body, but... this is a special one for sure.

And again, you really have to be careful when you lose species like this.

So if you, any species of animal, if we lose it, you got to wonder what kind of effect this is going to have on other animals and why is it happening?

Amanda> So they're indicator species?

Tony> They really are.

So if your, if your snakes are all gone, just like, you know, other things like sharks and big, you know, certain big fish species, that's a really bad sign for the environment.

Amanda> For the ecology...Yeah.

Tony> So one of the things that I've been doing is doing some research with this species and actually working with these little guys, Amanda> Uh huh!

Tony> And so here's a little junior king snake that was just hatched out.

Amanda> Okay.

Tony> And so this is, this is what we're doing with these is releasing babies.

Of course, we have permits and everything to do this.

And what we're doing is just seeing if we can kind of augment populations.

In other words, if king snakes are not in an area, well, if they are there, can we add to the king snakes that are already there?

Amanda>Well, I'm standing up and moving back just a little bit because I think we're going to see a venomous snake.

Tony> Yeah.

So this is one of the most common venomous snakes.

In fact, I think it is the most common venomous snake that we have in the state.

And I've got a bucket here and I'm going to reach down and just pick it up on the stick.

Amanda> Oh it's beautiful.

Tony> Oh, they are...they are one of the prettiest snakes of all.

And this is, this of course is the copperhead.

It's a pit viper and big wedge shaped head.

Amanda> Yeah.

Tony> And chunky body too.

So in general, non-venomous snakes here are long and slender.

And the pit vipers are much, much chunkier for sure.

Now, the problem with that is we have some water snakes and some other things, hognose snakes that are chunky as well.

So, it's not always a venomous snake, but boy, that head is characteristic, for sure.

Now, this is one that's interesting because as a baby, the babies are only about this big, but they have a bright yellow tail tip.

In fact, it looks like the tip was painted with a- Amanda> A sharpie or something.

Tony> Or fluorescent marker or something.

And that is something they use called a caudal lure.

And so what they'll do is take that tail, kind of wiggle it, and it looks like a little worm or something, and frogs and other things will come in...

I guess I better control, watch this snake for a minute, see if I can get a better.

There we go.

So it will... Amanda> Uh, oh!

Tony> Okay.

Not good.

Hold on just a minute.

Sorry, guys.

There we go.

Amanda> Okay.

Tony> So it can move that tail, and when it does, it looks like a little worm or something, or a frog or a lizard comes to investigate, they bite it, and they envenomate it, and then they swallow it.

Now, one of the things that's true about copperheads, this is probably the least dangerous venomous snake in the United States.

It's certainly one of them.

But that doesn't mean it's not serious to get bit by one.

So you don't want to get bit, for sure.

But as far as I know, no one has ever died from the bite of a copperhead.

But that doesn't mean you don't need medical attention.

Amanda> Yes, I would certainly- Tony> In the past, you know, there are all these stories about people, you know, slicing, you know, cutting it open and sucking the venom out.

None of that, you just want to get to a hospital, and let a professional, medical professional deal with it.

Amanda> Well, I just want to thank you so much.

I don't know when I've had such a good time.

And I hope you'll let me come down and visit you in the Lowcountry.

Tony> Well, I... certainly appreciate being here.

This was great.

Amanda> Okay.

Thanks so much.

Tony is so nice.

He's going to let us come down and we are going to do some things together.

I think we'll have a great time.

And in the meantime, I want you to be sure to check out Coastal Kingdom on SCETV.

Brittney, you had something you were going to talk about?

Brittney> Yeah.

So, I just want to talk about the importance of muscadine pruning real quick.

This is the perfect time of year to get out and prune your muscadine vines if you have them.

And just like with blueberries, they're perennial crop, and they're only going to produce fruit off of the new one year wood.

So that's why you want to really get in there with your hedgers and really cut close to the vine to make sure that you simulate that new vigorous growth.

<Okay> To also make sure that the fruit size up well, and they have that nice taste.

A lot of times whenever you let too much fruit sit on the vine, they're not going to size well.

And then the quality can be kind of grainy and they're just they're not going to taste good.

Amanda> I like those great big things you can just pop in your mouth.

Brittney> That's what we see when we think of a muscadine.

We think of that really big- Amanda> Wonderful, juicy.

Brittney> Exactly.

Amanda> And then you can have fun spitting out seeds if you want to.

Brittney> Exactly.

Yeah, yeah.

Amanda> I think you have a picture you want to show us, too?

Brittney> Yeah.

So this was sent in after someone pruned.

Basically an injury was caused to the trunk of the muscadine.

And what happens is it produces sap, and then bacteria and yeasts and fungi will colonize that.

And they live off the, the sugars and the moisture that's coming from the sap.

And it looks really nasty and gross.

And you might think it's a disease, but it's perfectly harmless.

You can leave it on there, or you can also just wash it off with a water hose if it really bothers you.

Amanda> Alright.

Well, thank you for telling us that.

I look forward to having some of those later on.

Brittney> Me too.

Amanda> All righty.

I want to thank all of you for being here and thank you at home for watching.

I hope you'll be with us next week right here on Making It Grow .

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.