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 glad that you can join us tonight.

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

And I get to come here with my co-host and also Clemson employee, Terasa Lott.

And, Terasa I always say it's like, continuing education, don't you think so?

> It sure is.

I strive to learn something new every day.

And, maybe I can bank up on the days that I come to Making It Grow and learn a few extra things.

It's so wonderful to have talented panelists who can not only inform us, but our viewers at home as well.

Amanda> And, I was gone for a little while.

My girls came home and Eliza Frezil's boyfriend and we went to New Orleans and stayed with a cousin.

Boy, did we have a good time.

Terasa> Well, I'm glad that you were able to enjoy a little bit of time off, but welcome you back to the host chair.

Amanda> And, Lill came home and she'd been walking around and said, "What is this incredible thing that smells kind of like a magnolia?"

And the sweetbay trees down there had much more foliage and got a lot bigger.

Maybe because it was so much warmer.

But, they were just everywhere, and nothing is as wonderful to me as a sweetbay magnolia.

Yeah.

Anyway, so... Jonathan, we have missed you.

It's been a long time since you've been over here.

Jonathan Windham, who is the Greenhouse Manager at the Pee Dee REC.

Jonathan> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda> And, you are our rose specialist.

How are those roses?

> They are doing pretty well.

I haven't seen the Japanese beetles yet.

Amanda> Which you've had somebody chomp, chomp, chomping.

> I have had a lot of deer pressure this season so far, so.

Amanda> Well, so is there, you... often do some crossing and all.

Is there something fun and new that you've come up with?

Jonathan> Not yet.

I'm still working towards, you know, introgressing our North American native roses into commercial products.

Something that's, you know, hopefully resistant to Rose rosette.

That's like the Holy Grail of rose breeding.

Amanda> I know, wouldn't that be something?

You know, and for a long time, I didn't understand that we had native roses.

But we do.

Jonathan> We do.

Yeah.

Amanda> Yeah.

How about that?

So what's going over at the REC these days?

Jonathan> Oh, we've got a lot going on.

I mean, we are excited.

This year, for the first time in a decade, we are redoing the format of our Field Day.

And so for those of you who don't know, Field Day, we open the REC up to the public.

Anyone can show up.

And this year, it's going to be August 28th from 9 to 12:30.

And so you come to Field Day, you learn about what we do at the REC.

You get to meet the researchers, ask questions, and then we serve lunch.

Amanda> And then you get lunch, which is good.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, that is so much fun.

You'll have to remind me when it is.

<I will.> I guess you will.

Thanks for being here.

Jackie Jordan is the Horticulture Agent for Fairfield, Kershaw, and Richland, which is a lot to me because Richland County has just exploded.

And, but also... you have some people who are still actively farming, and Fairfield is kind of a cool place.

I like Fairfield County.

> Definitely I've got... there are some small, vegetable growers, a couple of cut flower growers in the Blythewood area and up into Fairfield County.

So there's a lot going on.

Even in Kershaw County, we're starting to get some small farms.

Amanda> Okay.

And, Kershaw with Camden, what a lovely, lovely place.

It really, really is.

Okay.

So we are so happy that you can come.

And I bet you're gonna have some cool things to talk about.

Jackie> Oh, yeah.

Amanda> I'm counting on you, Jackie.

Alright.

And we welcome, welcome, welcome a first timer.

Whoo!

Daniel> Yeah!

Amanda> Daniel Livingston from Moore Farms Botanical Gardens over in Lake City.

And you're the Director of Horticulture.

So... what did you do to learn how to be the Director of Horticulture?

> That's a great question and a long journey.

I started, I'm born and raised in Florence, South Carolina.

Amanda> And Florence is, it used to be a sleepy little- Well, it never was a sleepy little town, but it's (making explosion sound) Daniel> It has exploded.

New housing, everything that comes with, progress, I guess.

Amanda> Yeah.

Okay.

So what did you used to do?

Daniel> So, started, working at retail garden centers.

Got involved with the extension agent, fell in love with gardening.

And then found Moore Farms in 2019, and, started working with their beautification staff in Lake City proper and then became Director of Horticulture three years ago.

Amanda> Well, we're so glad that you've moved up the corporate ladder, so to speak, and that you can come and see us today.

Daniel> Yes ma'am.

Happy to be here.

Amanda> Okay.

Wonderful.

Let's see, so we're going to have some fun things for you to watch.

Thousand Oaks Farm, Andy Brady from St. Matthew's.

And I declare you've never met anybody like Andy.

He is a wealth of knowledge.

He works so hard and he has this incredible historical knowledge.

He has papers and things going back to the 1740s.

So he is, a fascinating man on many, many fronts.

Thank you for letting us come out there.

And we're going to also go to the blue- We're going to learn how to make blueberry banana oatmeal cookies with our friend Trisha Mandes.

And, Craig Ness, who's our station manager, says "They are really, really good."

So I hope you'll bring in some.

I hadn't had one in a while, Craig.

Expecting you to crank up that oven.

Anyway Terasa, you always have beautiful "Gardens of the Week" that our listeners, watchers send in.

Terasa> That's right.

"Gardens of the Week" has become so much fun.

It's your opportunity to show off what you're doing in your yard or garden.

Or maybe you've captured a beautiful place in our great state.

Let's take a look at what was shared today.

From Belinda DeBelli, we have an array of herbs living among the Impatiens.

Cathy Tulluck is trying her hand at finding some things that can handle full morning sun, and that morning sun can be brutal.

From Jill Collins, she reported that she participated in a planting of a rain garden at a state park in Dorchester County.

And the garden contained shade-loving natives that now provide not only beauty but ecosystem services.

Amanda> That's terrific.

Terasa> Mhm.

From Vincent Gallicchio Sr., a semicircle of vibrant orange daylilies.

Melinda Hunter shared one of the metallic green bees visiting an Agapanthus flower.

So great timing on that photo.

And last but not least, Josh Summerford shared a lush window box with pink petunias cascading over the edge.

<Ah.> Thank you so much for sharing your photos with us.

Remember, this is just a random sampling.

There are many more featured on our Facebook page.

So I hope you'll go there take a look at all of them and don't be shy when you see us make a call for "Gardens of the Week" all you have to do is post your photos in the comments.

Amanda> Terasa, window boxes can be so attractive and really enhance the way a house looks.

But keeping them watered can be difficult.

What are some of the tricks or do y'all have any ideas too?

Terasa> You know, you are absolutely right.

So I don't have any window boxes, but I have a very small container that is a mailbox planter.

And I have struggled because I liked the concept.

It was there when we moved into the house, but it dries out so incredibly fast.

So I have resorted to using succulents like purslane Portulaca, those kinds of things.

So, they don't need a lot of water and can do just fine.

But anybody else have other strategies for- Jackie> I'll use drip irrigation.

My sister, is somebody who doesn't garden.

And so when she leaves her house in the morning to go to work, she just wants to pull off and see the pretty hanging baskets.

And when she comes in from work, she just wants to see them again, and that's it.

So I built a drip irrigation system that went up and over and put it on a timer.

So all of her hanging baskets, not window boxes, but you can do the same thing, run it along the porch and put emitters.

That's the nice thing about drip irrigation is if you can cut and push, you can build a drip irrigation system.

And it's so versatile, you can make it work for anything.

The hanging baskets on the porch, your pots.

Amanda> Jackie, I would never be able to do- Jackie> You would be able to.

I have built drip irrigation systems with second graders.

(laughter) Believe me.

Amanda> Well how 'bout kindergarten?

Jackie> We've done that too.

You've never seen such disappointment, because the drip irrigation is "drip."

They were expecting- (making splashing water sound) Amanda> They wanted gushing water.

Jackie> And when you turn it on, they were like, "oh."

Terasa> They wanted a big sprinkler.

Amanda> Jonathan, do you have any tricks that you use sometimes?

Jonathan> You know, not for a window box, for a mailbox, but if I've got, like, a new planting out in the yard, one thing you can do is like, take a five gallon bucket, drill a very small hole in the bottom of it, fill that up and leave it beside the plant.

Just let it drip irrigate that way.

Amanda> And if you paint the bucket black, nobody will see it.

<Yeah.> You know, that's kind of nice.

Daniel> Yeah... Piggybacking off what Terasa said, I think that's an excellent, way for smaller spaces.

You have less soil using succulent style plants, Sedums, stonecrops.

Amanda> And they're real attractive.

Daniel> Very, very attractive.

And with a lot of the new plants that have arrived out, you can get a broad array of colors, flowers and not have to spend your afternoons and days watering and watering... Amanda> Yeah, or asking somebody to come water your plants and feed your dog and your cat when you go out of town.

Daniel> It gets overwhelming.

Amanda> Okay, okay.

Well, great.

(Amanda sighing) Well, I bet there are people who need help with something.

Terasa> Always, because, you know, gardening is, not for the faint of heart.

It's not always easy.

Stephanie in Camden would like our help.

She said, "I recently saw a nursery online offering petunias that supposedly glow in the dark.

Are these real?"

Amanda> They glow in the dark?

Well...

I guess they could...

I once got some, some, ear paint that glowed in the dark and wore it to a party.

I painted my ears.

But I don't know about these petunias, Jonathan> Actually, yes, they are real.

So, these petunias are a new product.

They are called the Firefly Petunias.

And they are produced or they're engineered by a company called Light Bio.

And so what they did was, they took three genes from a mushroom.

There are three genes- Amanda> Oh, it does?

Jonathan> It glows in the dark naturally.

Amanda> Where does it grow?

Jonathan> In woodlands.

And so, this mushroom converts caffeic acid into luciferin.

And then that is acted on by an enzyme called luciferase.

And when that happens, you get light.

So, many plants naturally produce caffeic acid.

And so the researchers said, "Okay, we can take those three genes out of the mushroom, put them in the petunia because it makes caffeic acid anyway."

And so now the petunia is converting its natural caffeic acid into luciferin with that luciferase enzyme, which causes it to glow.

Now the question is, "How bright does it glow?"

I haven't been able to get my hands on one.

I think there's a waiting list right now.

<Oh.> But I do have a friend who is growing one, Sebastian Cocioba of Binomica Labs in New York.

He's a big plant guy, plant researcher.

So he has one, and he wants to know how bright does it glow?

So he was kind enough to share a photo with us.

And this photo is unedited, unfiltered.

And... you can see this is what it looks like with the naked eye.

Like it's, it's glowing.

So he does warn me that the, new flowers and the closed buds glow brighter than the older blooms, but it does in fact, produce visible light by itself.

<Wow.> Amanda> So he's probably not in New York City, where there's so much light all over the place.

I mean, is he kind of in a darker place?

Jonathan> This is a houseplant.

So you can keep it- Amanda> Oh it's a houseplant!

Jonathan> Yes- Amanda> Dang, so you just cut the lights out and close the curtains.

Jonathan> Exactly, yeah.

So, yes, the glowing petunias are real products.

(laughter) Amanda> That's pretty cool.

Thanks for telling us- I can't wait for you to get your hands on one.

Jonathan> Yeah, me too.

It's probably plant protected, so he can't propagate it and send you one.

Jonathan> I don't know.

I'll have to check.

Amanda> Yeah, okay.

Terasa> I think you should have a party for all of your favorite coworkers.

Jonathan> A glow party.

Terasa> A glow party.

That's right.

Daniel> I love it.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, Terasa, who else- Terasa> Goodness, I'm still thinking about what might happen...

I'm looking forward to this glow party.

But let's see, we can help Missy in Winnsboro.

Who said, "I keep seeing advertisement about mosquito repellent plants.

Do they really work?"

That's a great question.

Amanda> It's a great question.

However, I do a lot of this, even with DEET.

Jackie?

Jackie> Unfortunately, no.

This is one of those myths that just keeps hanging around.

There aren't plants that are going to repel.

You would have to surround yourself in a calm area, be right up next to the basil- Amanda> And probably rub the leaves too.

Jackie> And so all of the research that has looked at using plants has looked at using the... essential oils from the plants, <Yes.> to repel insects.

And so nothing has looked at the plants.

And all of the research that's looked at using those essential oils has been done in a lab setting where there isn't a breeze.

So, six studies out of like 300 looked at repelling insects outdoors.

Amanda> We wish for a breeze, sometimes more than we get, there's usually a little bit of a breeze going on.

Jackie> So when it comes to mosquitoes, unfortunately, no.

Now there are some things that you can do.

Mosquitoes like to hide under the leaves of your foliage.

So if you're planning on having an event, cookout, grill out, whatever you can go out about an hour before dusk and spray the undersides of any of your ground covers, any of your plants with some of those essential oils that will help to keep them away temporarily.

It's not a long-term fix.

And then I would say, honestly, the other thing I'm always... a proponent of going and getting more plants that attract hummingbirds to your landscape.

Because if you truly want something that's going to help deter the mosquitoes, having hummingbirds and... dragonflies and other things in your landscape- Amanda> That feed on- Jackie> That will feed on them.

So, take that approach.

Plant those types of plants as opposed to mosquito repellent plants.

Amanda> And Doug Tallamy, you know, Bringing Nature Home, whom we always, you know, like to follow what he's doing.

He, has, directions for a mosquito bucket, to help- Terasa> The "bucket of doom," as I've heard it referred to.

Amanda> Yeah... And that's, you know, something that, you know, could give you some relief.

Jackie> Absolutely, absolutely.

Amanda> And it's, not going to harm the environment.

Jackie> Exactly.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, how about these places that come and spray your yard?

Is that a good idea?

Jackie> No, I don't think so, because a lot of times... We need to talk about resistance and how when you use a chemical, you're going to kill off maybe the first time, 98 percent of the insect population, but some of them are going to have some resistance.

They'll reproduce and they can pass that resistance gene on, Amanda> And they're not competing with anybody, so they can really reproduce.

Jackie> Right.

So then you're looking at, honestly, some of these products maybe in a lab setting in perfect conditions, maybe last three weeks.

So, we're hot, we're humid, we get rainfall.

It's not going to last the entire time anyway.

And... you don't- Amanda> It's not selective.

Jackie> Right.

It's not selective.

So you're taking, you're getting rid of beneficial insects.

Maybe you're pollinators.

And we also can see resistance build up in mosquitoes.

There's a lot of resistance in some of them.

So if you...

I would talk to the company because some of them do offer some different natural products.

There are some products that we don't see resistance with.

The BT.

<Okay.> You can use that.

So there are some things that- and so I would say, you know, if you are looking to hire a company, talk to them about what kind of products they use.

Are they concerned about resistance?

That would be the first question I ask them.

What are they using, and how are they going to tackle that?

Amanda> Thank you so much.

I learned a lot from you today.

Thanks a lot.

Yeah, yeah.

All righty.

Well, I don't think this is from Terasa, but this is just from me.

What's new over there where you are, at Moore Farms Botanical Garden?

Daniel> Yeah.

So there's, always more happening at Moore Farms.

Right?

<Yeah.> And so, one of the, new additions to the garden that we're super excited about is our 27 bed trial evaluation garden.

Amanda> Whoa!

27 beds.

> 27 beds, we probably bit off more than we can chew.

Amanda> I was gonna say, that's a lot- Daniel> We're excited because- as Moore Farms wants to be a resource, a resource to gardeners and, industry in the state.

And so, getting back to that at Moore Farms was, was kind of an exciting venture for us.

And so we started this trial garden.

And we want to evaluate annual crops, herbaceous crops, woody crops, food, edible crops.

We're wanting to expand and get into paw-paws and pineapple guavas and some of these more exotic off the wall fruits.

And so, yeah, we're really excited about that.

It's the year two of our trial garden.

So some of our plants, some of our herbaceous and woodys are just now starting to become established.

We're starting to get our first kind of evaluations on them and starting to see some really exciting new introductions by national brands.

J. Berry, Proven Winners, Suntory, but also some local, breeders as well.

Amanda> So how do you make the selections?

Daniel> So right now we, with our wonderful partners, they send us plant material.

Amanda> Oh, they're sending it to you?

Daniel> They send us free plant material.

Amanda> So they're excited to have you do this for them.

Daniel> Yes and so right now we did a little research.

There's a couple entities in the state that are doing ornamental or strictly ornamental evaluations.

And so we're really excited- Amanda> You're doing so much, beyond that.

Daniel> And so we want to push the limit too.

We want to find out, will this new Dianella, will this new paniculata, will this new rose, how does it fit into a zone eight Coastal Plain of our state?

You know, and you may find a plant that maybe doesn't do so well here, but maybe has more potential in the Upstate.

Or maybe does have better potential in the Coastal Plain.

That helps our wonderful partners better to advertise and market these plants into the areas that, the retail garden centers, the landscapers, the gardeners can have better success.

Amanda> That's fun.

So, is there a list of things you look for, and how often do you go out there and make these check list?

Daniel> Excellent question.

So we have a trial garden coordinator.

Amanda> Oh, you do?

Daniel> She and a couple members of the staff go out and we do biweekly evaluations on our annual crop.

So we're looking for heat, humidity stress.

Insect pressure.

<Okay.> Vigor, flower power.

You know, all of these, positive and negative attributes that you can see.

And then, we do those yearly with our annual crops, and then we're looking at, two to three years on our herbaceous and up to five years on our woodys.

We want to make sure that these plants don't seed out and start becoming a problem and invading our, natural areas.

And there could be some seasonal interest with herbaceous.

So a lot of fun things to, evaluate.

And then we document, record all of those.

And then we hope by year, next year that those findings we're gonna put on our website.

<Whoa!> And so anybody the public, growers, anybody can come and see and see how this Petunia did or see how this Salvia did.

Amanda> Well good for you.

I think that's wonderful.

And you seem real excited.

Daniel> Yeah.

It's a big passion of mine.

I've always wanted to get into trial gardening and evaluations.

Yeah... we hope it's going to be a very successful venture for us.

Amanda> Gosh, proud of you.

Daniel> Thank you.

Amanda> Thanks a lot for telling us about it.

Okay.

We have, a lot of beautiful, places in Calhoun County because we've got rivers and bluffs and all kinds of things.

And we got to go and visit Andy Brady at Thousand Oaks Farms.

And what a story you will learn about.

♪ Amanda> I'm in Calhoun County, on the banks of the Congaree River, talking to Andy Brady, whose family has been in this area for generations and generations.

And we came down today to talk to you about the incredible commitment you've made to planting oak trees, in particular.

> Well, thank you for coming down.

Yes, this, this place, this land has been in my family for many generations.

We've done a lot to protect it.

Even now, you know, we are, we're in the middle of a conservation easement.

Amanda> This property down here, is just fascinating in that the soil is very rich because when the river floods, all this wonderful silt is deposited.

Andy> Yeah, we get all the good soil from up around Greenville and Newberry when it... when the river floods, it brings all that rich soil and nutrients down here and it deposits it right here.

Amanda> And y'all used to have just kind of a whatever came up forest down here.

And I think it was after Hugo that there was a real change in what you wanted to do with it.

Andy> Instead of going back and cleaning the place up and trying to plant pines in this rich land.

We decided, we need to put something there that's going to be more suitable to the land, like hardwood, because this land will grow hardwoods in abundance.

Amanda> And also, the ones that you've selected, I think, are incredibly good for the ecosystem around here.

Andy> The one I really like is the, the swamp chestnut.

That's one of my favorite trees, that and a bald cypress.

Amanda> Yeah, they are beautiful.

Andy> And a red mulberry.

(laughter) Amanda> That's true.

And, so the nice thing about these trees is they have a big old acorn.

And who all eats that acorn?

Andy> I think about everything in the woods likes a swamp chestnut acorn.

Because my trees, they produce very large mast and it's low in tannin.

That's the material that gives a acorn its bitter taste.

Amanda> And that would be with the red oaks and the white oaks- Andy> Red oaks have a large amount of tannin, the white oak less.

And it makes them more tasty for animals the squirrels, the turkeys, the deer.

And when the deer chew them up, there are little grains that fall on the ground, the turkeys come in and get that.

<Cool!> A turkey, it's hard for a turkey to swallow an acorn that's as big around as a golf ball, but the rest of them will, you know, break them down.

And then the turkeys come in and clean up.

Amanda> Isn't that something.

So it's just, keeps going down the food chain.

Andy> That's right.

Amanda> Yeah.

A lot of the acorns you've planted have come from local sources.

Andy> That's correct.

My family used to own 400 acres in Richland County, which is right across the river from us.

It's now the Congaree National Park.

Amanda> Yes, sir.

Andy> It came into my family's hands in about 1870.

Over there we raised cows and we raised hogs and crops.

The cows they thrived on the swamp chestnut oak acorns.

Matter of fact, in the old days, they called a swamp chestnut a "cow oak."

Amanda> Come on!

Andy> Absolutely.

They called them a "cow oak" because they have a low tannin, the cows could eat them and they wouldn't, they wouldn't harm the cows.

A lot of oaks that a cow would eat at would harm the cows but not, not a swamp chestnut.

Amanda> Okay.

So you get acorns and then you have a process by which you end up planting them out here.

So let's go through that process.

Andy> I go to the woods in the, in the fall of the year, sometime after October 15th.

That's when the swamp chestnuts start dropping their mast.

And that's a hard mast.

A persimmon or mulberry like back here is a soft mast tree.

I find the trees that, that I look at and say, "Well, that's a genetically superior tree because it's got a straight bough, strong central leader, tremendous robust crown that can hold acorns."

And that's the one I want to select.

Amanda> And so, you don't bring the acorn out here to plant, I think you grow those and then bring the little tree out.

Andy> Yeah, I have some large pots that I secured off the internet.

And they have walls about this high because when I plant my trees in the pot, I want to make sure the roots have plenty of room to grow down, so they don't "J" root.

<Yeah.> And I put enough distance where they're not overcrowded.

And I grow them for about a year.

And I plant them in a soil that allows me to extract the trees when they get ready to pull without tearing the trees up.

The old people call it "isinglass" soil.

<Okay.> It comes up- You get it from the back of a sandbar.

It's well-drained, and it's got enough organic matter in it to give them the nutrients.

But it's well drained and it's a loose soil, that allows you to extract the trees without tearing the roots up.

Amanda> Okay.

When do you want to get that little rooted thing in the ground?

And how do you go about doing that?

Andy> Well, when you're planting a hardwood orchard, there's different approaches you can take.

You can use the random arbitrary approach.

But when it comes to planting hardwoods at scale...

I like to use a, approach where I got my trees in long, straight rows so I can utilize equipment to manage my forest.

And, how I go about doing that is, I got several tools like you see, laid out here, and all this was learned through experience.

For instance, to draw the rows off to get the long, straight rows with the trees that are equidistant at a certain, certain distance.

And in my case it's 30 feet in the drill, 30 feet from this tree to that one.

I use a... of all things, electrical wire, like they put around a horse pin.

And this wire is heavy, is robust.

It's got stainless steel braiding in a poly cord.

And you, when you stretch the wire out for sometimes hundreds of yards and you pull it really taut, a string would pop.

It couldn't stand that tight force.

And if the wind is blowing, it will it won't stay straight.

It'll whip one way or the other, and you can't get a straight row.

But this, this material is heavy enough to where it will withstand wind.

And when you get it taut and straight, you lay it on the ground.

And then you use this material, it's nothing but garden, you can get it from a garden house, dolomitic lime.

You put it on the string on the ground.

You drop a pinch of it, right where you want your tree to go.

You get your toe, you put right there on the mark.

And you walk ten steps as wide as you can walk, and that's about 30 feet.

<Okay.> And then when you walk ten steps, you put the next drop of dolomitic lime at the end of your toe.

And that's your second tree and your third and your fourth and so forth, and so on until you get the whole row done.

And then, since you got it all laid out... You get the drill, I got an arbor here I made with a spool with a wire rolled up.

And you wind it up real fast, so it doesn't take you all day, and then you're left with dolomitic limestone marks, in a straight line.

That's when you bring your tractor in with a auger.

<Yeah.> And you drive up and you center the auger right over the dolomitic limestone markers.

Drop it and bore your hole.

Next one bore your hole, next one bore your hole.

Don't have to get off the tractor.

So now you got all your holes, all your holes dug.

And then you come back with your seedlings and you got your seedlings on a, in a bag.

You know, it's impervious to sunlight getting through it because you want to protect the root from wind and from the ultraviolet rays of the sun.

So you take your bag, you pull one seedling out, you put your back turned to the sun, so that the sun doesn't hit the roots.

You got your back turned to it.

Put the tree in the hole, kick some dirt in it, and then you use this...

I call it a "packer."

The packer is made out of conduit.

It's light.

It's got a ball bearing, a large machine ball bearing welded to the pipe.

And that spherical form there allows you to pack the roots of the tree without damaging the tree roots.

That spherical form will slide past the roots without harming or damaging them.

If you used a flat washer or something flat with a radical edge, it would cut the roots, which would eventually stress the tree, which is one more thing that might lead to its not making it.

Next thing you have to do is apply your stake.

<Yes.> You got the tree in the hole it's tapped, it's packed right.

<Yep.> And you use a, I use a...

This is a one by two stake.

Put it down and you put it on the... on the side of the tree that's away from the sun.

So you want the sun...

In other words, you don't want the light from the sun to cast a shadow on the tree.

So you look, see where the sun rises, <Gah!> and you put the stake on the opposite side.

So the tree gets sun all day long.

You put it on that side of the tree.

And then you use this device that I made, it's called...

I call it a "chinger" made out of an old drive axle with a power take-off end.

I like that because I can get my hand around it.

And I got some hand holds on the side and it's not real tall and it's not real short.

It's just the right weight to get that stick in the ground with no problem.

You put it over the stick, you make sure it's good and straight.

You grab that with both hands and you... (thumping noises) Like that.

<Okay.> And when you get the stake driven, then you come back and you, you apply your tree shelter.

The tree shelter, always put it where the solid end is toward the ground.

<Yes.> And, these little tie wraps... got two, put it on the stake, slide it down.

Make sure the tree is going up in the tube.

Amanda> Oh, because the tree is right- Andy> It's right there.

Slide it down.

Tap it a couple times with your hand.

Pull the strap, the tie wrap tight.

<Oh!> Tight.

That one's done.

Same thing to the next one.

Amanda> Okay.

Andy> Good and sturdy.

It'll hold up, the wind won't blow it over.

You know, in my case, if you do it right, the flood, when the river floods the water, the water won't damage them too much.

Sometimes you got to go back and straighten them up.

But that's how you do it.

And you do that repeatedly for the length of the row.

And you'll have long, straight rows with trees that are equidistant apart.

Amanda> You plant some things like the mulberry, I think.

Who likes a mulberry?

Andy> I don't know much that doesn't eat'em a red mulberry.

That's one of my favorite trees.

Raccoons, cedar wax wings, turkeys.

Just about everything I know of, likes to eat red mulberry.

And they are a wonderful, nutritious fruit for humans, too.

Amanda> And one thing you do, because you want to attract the raptors and all, is you pile up some trees that you've had to push up, and you put them on top of a dike, so that the little moles and rats and things can go in there.

What's the point of that?

Andy> One thing you do to attract birds like bald eagles and hawks, the red-shouldered, the red-tailed hawk <Owls?> owls... is you provide an environment that makes it friendly for them.

Those are limbs that I cut, when I prune my trees.

I prune my trees in January and February, when they're dormant.

I have a tractor with a big blade and I push them out the orchard on to the dikes.

The dikes are elevated, earthen structures that we built back in '73 on this property, 1973.

To control flooding from the Congaree because we had crops in all these fields, corn and soybean.

So, I pushed those limbs up on the dike and the little rodents, the rats and that type would go in those piles and use those piles to create holes for themselves.

And then that they on an elevated, earthen structure, and when the river gets up, it doesn't kill them all.

So they can, they can survive and thrive.

And when they survive and thrive, here comes the raptors.

That's their food source.

<Yeah.> So, that's how that works.

Amanda> Gosh, you've been...

I think you planted these trees, you showed me a picture you were a good bit younger.

Andy> Yeah, I was 52 years old when I planted these behind us.

Amanda> And, you put all this work in it, and you don't want somebody to come in and destroy the work you've done.

So I think you've taken steps to protect this property in perpetuity.

Andy> In perpetuity.

That means forever.

This area, it's a special place.

I mean, it's got so many features that you just don't find anywhere.

And it makes it special.

It makes it unique.

So, you know, one thing that will destroy that is too much human incursion.

And, the conservation easement, put certain restrictions on the land that limits that.

For instance, nobody can ever cut my swamp chestnut oak.

They'll be here forever.

Amanda> That's pretty exciting.

I want to thank you for your contributions to the environment.

I mean, this is massively important.

We know that the oak trees are the best things you can plant for the caterpillar larva.

And so everything you're doing is trying to keep the wonders of this landscape that your family has enjoyed for several hundred years there for other people as well.

I want to thank you for your efforts.

Andy> Well, and I appreciate those comments, but I had a lot of help down the road.

It was not just me.

I got a nephew, my nephew Robbie, my dad, who just passed away a month ago, Jack Brady, he helped me a lot.

My Uncle Larry, his brother, helped me and I got other nephews, Jackson and John and Stuart.

that help me.

So...

I got to give a lot of thanks to a lot of folks that give me a hand to help all this come about.

Amanda> It takes a village doesn't it?

Andy> Yes, it does.

Amanda> And your village is, a lot of them are relatives, which is even more special.

Andy> That makes it all the more special.

Amanda> Well, thank you again for letting us come and sharing us, this beautiful, beautiful site with us.

Andy> You're welcome.

♪ > I hope you're as amazed by what Andy Brady has done for nature and for the environment.

All those wonderful trees.

And then, property put in a land trust for perpetuity.

Hats off to you, Andy.

So, hats, hats, hats.

This one I have, the smaller palmetto, Sable minor, which has a larger distribution range than the great big tall one.

And I just think it's wonderful.

And when it, this is, you know, not quite in bloom yet, but when it does, the pollinators just adore it.

So that's great fun.

And then I have Echinacea and I think the seed heads are birds interested in them?

If you leave the flowers on.

Terasa> Yeah, it's so much fun to watch the goldfinches come and enjoy those seeds.

So don't tidy up too early.

Amanda> And then we went to, Microledon Farms down in Conway and they grow microgreens.

So I put some microgreens in my hat so I can eat my hat.

How 'bout that?

Okay.

All righty.

Okay, Daniel, what you got for us?

Daniel> Okay, so, I brought a, a South American native here that we've kind of fallen in love with at the botanical garden.

We've been using it a lot in our display gardens.

This is Caesalpinia Gilliesii.

This is a, it's got this nice mimosa like, lacey foliage here.

Amanda> Don't say mimosa like, we don't want to encourage that.

(Amanda laughs) Daniel> But not invasive, not invasive, like that.

And it's got a nice little flower bud up here.

Exotic yellow... <Ah.> Canary yellow flowers with these... yellow or red, excuse me red stamens on it.

Very tropical looking, but cold hardy and easy to grow, probably throughout the Midlands and the Coastal Plain.

May need a little protection in the Upstate.

Amanda> Well, they can find something else they can grow.

Daniel> Easily propagated.

<Yeah.> Wonderful conversation piece plant- Amanda> How big is it going to get?

Daniel> I've seen this plant easily get eight feet tall.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

So it's not going to take over?

Daniel> It wouldn't take over.

It's more like a very large, deciduous, shrub.

Yes, ma'am.

Amanda> Okay, that's fun.

Well, thank you so very much for sharing.

Daniel> You're very welcome.

Amanda> Okay.

Terasa?

Terasa> Let's see what we've got next.

Steve in Lamar said, "I've been seeing a lot of trees lately that have purple paint on them.

Is this some kind of disease treatment?"

Amanda> Gosh, purple paint.

Jonathan, you're all in purple today.

Have you been out there painting away?

Jonathan> So, this is not a disease treatment.

It is a new thing, "new thing" in South Carolina.

It's a purple paint law.

So landowners can now demark no trespassing with purple paint instead of a sign.

So a "no trespassing" sign could be torn down or blown down.

And so with this new purple paint law, there are a few specifications, but, you can mark your property boundaries with purple paint.

Amanda> Good heavens!

Yeah.

Terasa> I'm really glad that we got that question, because I wouldn't have known.

So I hope that this is, you know, being widely seen and people will understand.

Amanda> That is too cool.

Jonathan> It came out around 2022, but it's starting to catch on now so.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, I'll have my eye- I get so tired of seeing "no trespassing" signs.

I wonder if people can do it at their houses too.

But anyway, probably not.

All right.

Well, I'm so happy that you told us about that.

All righty, Terasa?

Terasa> It's inevitable, a tomato question.

Becky in Columbia, said "I have a tomato plant that's green, but it's wilting.

What is causing this?

And is there anything I can do?"

Amanda> Okay.

Well, fortunately, a lot of local markets carry tomatoes, and so if you can't grow them yourself.

But, Jackie, everyone wants that perfect tomato in the backyard for a tomato sandwich.

So what's the deal?

Jackie> Well, unfortunately, when a tomato wilts, you're going to have to just take a look at it and see if there are spots on it that could indicate it's one disease.

But these are green.

So we're looking at two probable causes.

So one is bacterial wilt that would cause the plant to stay green but still wilt.

And the other is southern blight.

What you want to do is take a sucker off of the tomato plants- Amanda> Tell them what a sucker is.

Jackie> A little branch coming out.

So where you have the scaffolding, the branching, you'll have a little segment that comes out in between.

Pinch that off... stick it in a cup of water and wait a few minutes and see if you see the bacterial ooze streaming out.

Amanda> Oh, so put it in a glass that's got some water in it.

Wow.

Or, the other thing is, you definitely want to excavate and take a look at right there where the trunk is, or the stem actually is touching the soil.

<Yes.> And see if there's some white fungal growth there that could indicate that it's southern blight.

Those are two different diseases that would cause wilting and the plant would still stay green.

Amanda> So what do you do if you got one of those?

Jackie> Well- Amanda> -stuff in the water.

What are you doing?

Jackie> Practice crop rotation.

If you've got stuff in the water.

The nice thing is, is there are some varieties that are resistant to it.

Amanda> So look for those.

Jackie> It is important to figure out what disease you are dealing with because there are over a thousand tomato varieties out there.

And so you can find a tomato that will grow for you.

So just looking for something that would be resistant to whatever your issue is.

And look at the root system also because nematodes can be an issue as well.

So I always tell people, just don't toss it, look at it and figure out what's going on, why the plant died, so you can make... better choices for next year.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, thank you so much.

And then you, just have to pick out what kind of mayonnaise you want.

Jackie> Exactly.

Amanda> Okay.

All right.

Terasa?

Terasa> So we had a question come in from Andrew.

He didn't say where he was, but he sent us a photo and a video that said, "Our Phlox have been hit especially hard with blight.

What can we do?"

Amanda> What do you think?

Daniel> So I would, I would suggest, with the picture that was shown there, it's a little late for treatment there.

That, that's probably a little too far past.

But most of your fungicides are preventative.

<Yeah.> So if you're, if you're having an issue with Phlox sometimes a preventative fungicide.

Amanda> But aren't there ones you can select now that- Daniel> A lot of your newer varieties are very powdery mildew resistant.

I would ask your garden centers or your landscapers, whoever you get your Phlox from, to make sure you're trying to buy a resistant variety.

Amanda> Yeah.

So just don't go to the mountains where your grandmother has some and bring those home, because those were the old ones and they're not going to do very well.

Daniel> Yeah, the Candy Series especially are some good ones.

Amanda> Yeah.

And aren't they pretty?

Daniel> Lovely.

Amanda> And we even have some native Phlox.

I've got a little bit I got off the side of the road.

Daniel> The divaricata, the ground cover Phlox.

One of my favorite herbaceous plants.

Amanda> Thank you so much.

All righty.

So now we're going to learn about blueberry banana oatmeal cookies.

It's going to be a lot of fun.

And if you make them, they're very tasty too.

I'm talking to Trisha Mandes and she has a master's in public health nutrition from a university in Finland.

Trisha> Yes, from the University of Eastern Finland.

And while I was working on my thesis there, I read research that I fell in love with by Dr. Brie Turner-McGrievy, who worked at the Arnold School of Public Health at USC.

So I reached out to her and ended up becoming a nutritionist working there, <All right.> in dietary inflammation research.

And then I left.

And now I work for myself as a nutritionist, and I live in Pennsylvania in a little cottage in the woods.

And yeah, I came here because I adore you and the show and plants and helping people eat plants.

So I'm really happy to be here.

Amanda> Well, tell me which clients, what groups of clients you've been most successful working with and whom you enjoy working with and what y'all do.

Trisha> Absolutely.

It's very fulfilling, meaningful work.

I help mostly women in their 60s, 70s and 80s shed pounds sustainably.

Most of them come to me because they're concerned that they have excess weight and they might also have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and they don't have energy to exercise or to even do chores around the house anymore.

They might be in too much pain and they really want to improve their health, but they don't want to diet anymore.

And the good news is, is they don't have to.

So I help clients eat optimally to shed pounds sustainably and in some instances some of them even reduce medications.

I have a client now shout out to Jan. She's 83 years old.

She reduced an arthritis medication off her blood pressure medication.

She got herself walking again, even without a walker.

So it's a really, really fulfilling and meaningful.

And food is, can be really powerful.

Amanda> Well, what is the basis of the system that you and these clients are working out together?

Trisha> So I help my clients predominantly eat plants about 90 percent of the time.

Perfection is not required.

There's definitely room for treats and animal products, but predominantly my clients are eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes in a specific way where they feel really full and satiated.

Because if all you ate was fruits and vegetables all day, yeah, you would be so hungry.

So it's really important that we feel full and satiated when we eat to not have to think about food.

And also- Amanda> Not to say I've got, you know, I've got four hours.

When can I eat again?

Trisha> Yes, exactly.

So you naturally stop thinking about food.

You feel full and satiated when you eat, and that food gives us energy.

So it's really good to eat.

We want to eat.

A lot of people are scared to eat or they think they just need to eat less.

So with my clients, there's no calorie counting.

There's no portion control.

They just get to eat.

Personally, I love it.

I love eating.

So we're going to today, I'm going to show you something that is also very satiating to eat for breakfast.

Amanda> All right.

Well, I was hungry this morning and got a piece of bread and a glass of milk, but I would be excited to find something that might be a little more, stick with me a little bit longer and make me feel a little healthier during the day.

Trisha> And I'm really excited to show people how to make this two minute blueberry oatmeal, because it's so quick.

You literally couldn't get a quicker breakfast even from a drive-thru.

You don't even need a cutting board.

And what's really neat about this too, is if you have leftovers, you can also make cookies with it.

That you can eat every single day and it's going to help you shed pounds sustainably, reduce pain, increase your energy at the same time.

Amanda> And not feel guilty about the cookie.

Trisha> Absolutely.

It's a good thing to eat them.

You want to eat them.

Eat them every day.

I would love it.

Amanda> Okay, Well, let's get to it.

Trisha> Okay.

Wonderful.

So I'll share our ingredients.

So our first ingredient is we have regular rolled oats.

Trisha> What I love about this recipe and what I want people to know is that you do not need to buy instant oats if you want a quick breakfast.

Regular rolled oats, still only take one to two minutes to microwave.

but they're going to satiate you more and they're going to keep you fuller longer.

So when you feel full, what do you stop doing?

Amanda> You stop eating.

You stop worrying about when your next meal is.

Trisha> Exactly.

So when we're eating optimally, it is okay, if you're hungry.

It is good to eat.

We just want to be conscious of what we're putting in there.

Amanda> Okay, So we've got a cup of oats.

Trisha> Yeah, go ahead.

You can put that in there.

Amanda> Okay.

Trisha> So it's always going to be a 1 to 1 ratio of oats to banana.

The bananas are a really important part.

So if you don't want to eat a whole cup of oats in the morning, you do a half a cup of oats and half of banana.

But in this instance here, we're going to use a whole banana.

Amanda> Okay.

Because we are.

We do want enough to make cookies.

Amanda> We just...

Trisha>...Yes!

cover the top of it with bananas?

Trisha> Yeah, that would be great.

Just equal sized slices.

It doesn't really matter how thick they are.

What's more important is that they're about the same width.

The same size, and they'll cook evenly.

And what's really important for this recipe, if you are going to make cookies with it, is that we want to have a banana in it because the banana acts as a binder.

Amanda> Oh!

Trisha> It's almost like an egg.

Exactly.

So now we're eating the oats as a whole grain (laughs) and banana.

Exactly!

Amanda> I was trying to cut them even so, when I got... Trisha> I love it.

I love it.

So we have our oats, our whole grain.

A banana is a fruit.

So this, everything that we're eating in here has fiber in it.

Amanda> So I've covered the top I think, that's pretty good.

Trisha> Perfect.

Amanda> They're about as even as I could manage.

Trisha> That's excellent.

The next thing we're going to do is add water.

Now, how much water?

I don't know.

It doesn't matter.

This is the trick the viewers need to know is that when you pour the water, you want the water to come to about the level of the food in the bowl.

Amanda> Okay.

Trisha> So we're just going to pour on top.

♪ Amanda> And this is fun because when I cook rice, I put my finger on top of the rice and add water till it comes to the first joint of my finger.

So this is a fun way to do things.

Trisha> Yeah, Perfect.

Exactly.

Okay, so you don't need measuring cups.

It's just 1 to 1, banana, oats, water to the top.

Now, we're going to microwave this for two minutes.

That's it.

That's how quick and easy this is.

And then we're going to finish it up ♪ Amanda> Ta-da.

The magic of microwaves.

♪ Whoa.

Okay, let's see how it looks.

Trisha> I smell it.

Looks great.

Okay, so this is how you're going to know when it's done.

Everyone's microwave is a little different, so you might need an extra minute, but you can see the change in the color of the bananas and you can really smell it.

The bananas have cooked, which means they're going to taste sweeter.

Amanda> Yes.

Trisha> Now, when you eat it.

So that's going to be better for cookies or personally, I just think it's going to be more delicious, when it's sweeter.

I really loved the taste of cooked bananas.

So what we're going to do next is we're going to finish this up.

Our really quick breakfast is almost done, so we're going to put blueberries on top.

You can go ahead and put as many blueberries as you would enjoy eating on this.

Amanda> Okay.

Trisha> Yes, that's it.

That's how a lot of times we know how many.

Amanda> That looks about right.

Trisha> Yeah.

How much fruit to put on is how much would I enjoy eating on this?

And next, we're going to add date syrup.

You can also use maple syrup or honey.

I love date syrup because there's more nutrients in it than maple syrup or honey because it's ground up dates.

So it's a whole food so there's more nutrients in it.

There's even fiber in here, which is great, which helps you feel full and satiated amongst other things.

And fiber is only found in plant foods.

It's not found in animal products.

So it's really important that we eat enough of it every day.

So we're just going to pour that on here.

Amanda> Oh!

We're going to use enough to actually add some sweetness.

Trisha> Yeah, absolutely.

Amanda> And bananas too.

Trisha> Right.

If you don't want to add that much date syrup, if you're going to have this just for breakfast, that's fine.

And then can you pass me the cinnamon, please?

Amanda> And this is not cinnamon sugar.

This is just plain cinnamon Trisha> It's just plain cinnamon.

Correct.

And we're just going to sprinkle that on top.

So now, boom, Now you have breakfast.

If you just want to eat this like this, you can also use frozen blueberries.

Just put the blueberries on before you put it in the microwave.

Amanda> That's a good idea.

Trisha> Again, no cutting board really quick and easy, but now we're going to turn this breakfast into cookies.

Okay?

You ready?

Amanda> Yes I am.

Trisha> All right.

So all we're going to do is mix that all together.

And because the bananas are so soft now, they're going to spread all throughout as well.

Amanda> It smells wonderful.

Trisha> It's really delicious.

Amanda> It really does.

Trisha> Yeah, And all we're eating again is fruits, whole grains, dates, for a sweetener and cinnamon, which herbs and spices are incredibly anti-inflammatory, and they add a lot of flavor.

So we always want to add herbs and spices whenever we can.

Does that look delicious to you?

Would you eat that for breakfast?

Amanda> I sure would.

Yeah, okay, but we're going to... We're going to skip the breakfast part and act like, just make cookies at this point.

Trisha> Correct.

We could just eat that as it is.

Amanda>...a container.

Trisha> Yes, exactly.

So you just need a baking sheet.

You can even put this all in a Pyrex and just boom, put it in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes and then you can cut it into bars and you have oatmeal bars or you can make cookies.

So you and I together, we'll just make cookies.

Just take a spoon and spoon it out.

And then I take my hand.

Amanda> We washed our hands.

Trisha> Yes, we did.

Amanda> Let everybody know.

Trisha> and I just spoon... it flat to make cookies on there.

Now, at home, you could also use a parchment.

Amanda> Sure, whatever.

Trisha> Put them on a piece of parchment paper or a baking sheet.

And again, you just bake these in the oven at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes.

Amanda> It's really stunning how good it smells.

Trisha> Yeah.

And again, the banana helps it all stick together when you make the cookies.

So if you take, if you don't include the banana, they will not stick together as cookies.

Amanda> Well, while we're getting ready to get these cookies in, if people want to learn more about this program and what you do and with your clients, what's the best way to do that?

Trisha> They can go to my website, trishamandes.com Amanda> Yes.

Trisha> And there, there is so many resources that people can use to learn how to shed pounds sustainably or eat optimally.

I have a training.

There's free recipes, so definitely go to the website.

Amanda> And you have a book?

Trisha> I do.

I'm also an author.

Amanda> Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Trisha> It's called The Optimal Eating Solution Maintainable Weight Loss and Longevity, Even if You Can't Exercise .

Amanda> Okay.

Well, and I would hope that a lot of people, from what you've told me, actually are able to sometimes exercise some more.

And that just makes you feel so much, so much better.

Trisha> Absolutely, within six weeks, all of my clients are starting to move again.

But many of them, it doesn't even take that long.

Absolutely.

Because they start to, they're in less pain.

They have more energy, they're lighter, they feel more confident.

So it's a lot easier to start moving again so they can start living again and enjoying their life again.

Amanda> Well, how long are we going to cook these?

Trisha> For 15 to 20 minutes at 350.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, Trisha, I want to thank you for coming down and telling me this.

I can't wait to start having an easy, nutritious breakfast.

And I'm going to your website and learning more about this program.

Trisha> Thank you so much for having me.

I love being here.

Appreciate it very much.

Amanda> The cookies really are delicious and we enjoyed having her come down and visit with us.

But not cookies, I'm going to pass out these microgreens and let everybody try some.

And I think you've come up with some really cool information about it.

And you said you could even grow these in your own kitchen.

Jackie> Microgreens are so easy to grow because you're just growing them till they get to that two-leaf stage.

But University of Maryland did some research and looked at the nutritional value of microgreens, and they vary anywhere from 4 to 40 percent more so with the broccoli, 40 percent more nutritionally dense in that little micro green than eating a whole head of broccoli.

<Dang!> Yeah.

Amanda> So your kids could, you could get your kids to eat their greens.

Jackie> You're always trying to get them to eat more vegetables, put a little bit of that on a sandwich.

Yeah, it'd be so much easier to get them to eat that than a whole head of broccoli.

Amanda> Whoa.

You are... Yeah.

I mean, it's hard to get them to eat their greens.

Jackie> And they're so easy to grow.

You can grow them in little...

I do them in the little storage containers, the little food prep containers you get from the store.

Grow them in a window because you don't have to worry about disease or insects because you're only growing them in a two-leaf stage.

Amanda> Well, on that we'll say good night and 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.