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> Good evening and welcome to Making It Grow .

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

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

And Terasa Lott, my co-host also is a Clemson person.

Terasa, I don't know what we would do without you or the wonderful people who send in "Gardens of the Week" pictures.

> Well, that part I will agree with.

I'm sure you'd manage just fine without me, but I do love being a part of the show, and especially when viewers like you tell me how much you enjoy it.

I was visiting Congaree National Park, walking down the boardwalk, and some folks said, "Hey, we see you on TV."

And we had a little conversation and it just made my day.

Amanda> It's so much fun, isn't it.

And I always ask them, you know, like, "where are you from?"

And you know, if they've been here a while or they're new and they found us.

New people who've moved down here have found us, which is wonderful because they came from a place where growing, you don't even grow in the wintertime.

I mean, they're covered in snow half the year.

Terasa> That's right, transplants, especially like me from our northern states, are usually excited to have such a long growing season.

But it doesn't come with all sunshine and roses.

It comes with usually more disease and pest issues, so there's always give and take.

Amanda> Although, I would like to be someplace one time and get to smell the lilacs, I understand- Terasa> Oh, it's amazing.

We had a whole row of <Really?> lilac colored and white colored, and I can close my eyes and just... Amanda> Still?

Oh, isn't that wonderful?

Well, anyway, maybe one day.

What time of year do they bloom?

I mean, you were from- Terasa> Spring.

Amanda> What time is spring in New York, where you used to live?

Terasa> It's been so long since I was there, I can't remember exactly.

I'm going to go with April, but I could be, I could be way off on that.

Amanda> Maybe late April.

And they sell some lilac cultivars or varieties, but I got one, but it didn't do anything.

It wouldn't work.

Yeah, I should have planted some native plant that was a larval food source instead.

We do need things that are fragrant and smell good too.

Yeah, okay.

Stop and smell the roses.

Well, Brad Fowler, you are now a Commercial Hort.

Agent, and we're so thrilled that you can still come and help us.

And, what's happening with your farmers down in your area now?

> Well, a lot, you know, it's the strawberry season, started picking strawberries and stuff, and so, yeah, I switched over from the urban or residential side to the commercial side.

So dealing with, fruit and vegetable producers.

And I'm still learning a lot and getting to know a lot of the farmers and stuff.

So, just trying to get my feet under me as far as all that's going.

Amanda> So, for us to have wonderful strawberries this time of year, if we've had a cold spell, I think they pull the covers up and down or something.

Brad> Right, right.

We have those cold snaps that we inevitably get this time of year.

Sometimes they'll cover them, to help protect them.

But strawberries are a pretty hardy, hardy plant, they can recover.

Amanda> Well the plant itself, but the fruit- Brad> Yes, the fruits and the flowers can be a bit sensitive.

Amanda> I think it's kind of fun, they pull it, you know, at night, and if it get's too hot, they take it off in the daytime.

Brad> Yeah, exactly.

Carmen> It's a lot of work.

Brad> A ton of work.

[laughter] Amanda> And Carmen, I think now you, know some of the people that Brad used to know because I think you've, kind of switched down to where he was.

> Yeah, I took Brad's job.

So now I'm in, Horry, Georgetown, Marion, Dillon area.

So it's very nice because I've always, I've lived in Horry County for the last three, four years, so it's good to be back home.

Amanda> So, how many people want to know about the Master Gardener Course, and how many people want to sign up and take it?

Is it a big deal?

Carmen> Everybody wants to take the Master Gardener Course, it is a big deal because it's a really good badge of honor.

And a lot of people want to not only educate themselves, but then go help others.

So a lot of people, especially in Horry County, in the Myrtle Beach, Grand Strand area, they're wanting to, they get into different projects.

Go help community gardens, they want to go teach at the schools because everybody's got a school garden now.

Amanda> Do they?

Carmen> Yeah.

And we need a lot of people to help volunteer because, you know, Brad, I, Glen, we're only one people for multiple counties.

Glen's wild with his counties.

But, one of the big things is having these people to be able to go out and educate different populations is a huge benefit.

And the more people educated, the better, we make better decisions.

So, yeah.

Amanda> And, you know, and if you just, I mean, often at the garden centers and all, they do have very educated people, but there's nothing like research-based information, especially about putting out things like fertilizer.

Gosh, Pete!

I mean, people just, you know, or pre-emergents or post-emergents.

Carmen> It really is, one of those big things where everyone's like, well, it says a little bit, but a little extra doesn't hurt, and it does actually end up hurting in the long run.

Hurts your wallet, hurts the environment sometimes if you go too crazy, and it's unnecessary.

So just being able to educate yourself and understand it is a little bit different down here.

It goes a long way.

Amanda> I'm still going to, I still sometimes get an extra piece of dessert, but I shouldn't.

Carmen> Hey, that's fine.

[laughter] Amanda> Glen, we're so happy that you come up and are with us sometimes.

And you're now, you're the Urban Hort.

Agent, down in which counties?

Glen> I'm in Beaufort County.

<Okay, okay> As well as Jasper, and Colleton.

Amanda> There are a lot of people down there.

> And, you know, Jasper County is now the fastest growing county in the state of South Carolina.

Amanda> And we are the fastest growing... we have more people moving here than any other state in the country.

Glen> That is correct.

Amanda> That's crazy.

And you know why?

Because we have air conditioning.

If we didn't have air conditioning, we'd just have a few people who still knew how to sit on the front porch and fan themselves.

Isn't that right?

Glen> That is right.

Amanda> But, nice people moving down.

Glen> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

But again, in need of knowledge.

Glen> Yes, non-biased, research-based knowledge.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Anyway, well, we are so happy that you made the trek up here today.

Glen> Well, thank you for the invitation.

Amanda> Next time you come bring some shrimp.

Glen> I will.

Amanda> When it's the right time of year, okay.

Anyway, so we're going to have, something that you're going to enjoy learning about, Wabi Sabi.

What a cool name, farm.

With Zack, they grow strawberries, which is an appropriate thing for this time of year.

And orchid varieties with Clay Owens.

And Terasa, a we consider you our orchid person.

Terasa> Oh my goodness.

Well, I don't compare to Clay and the Orchid Society, Amanda> But you have several that you keep up with.

Terasa> I do, I really enjoy them.

There's just something about orchid flowers that is very intriguing.

Amanda> Well and they're also fun to study, you know, just from their structure and how they get pollinated and all.

They're pretty cool.

And we have some native orchids, you know, to right here in South Carolina.

Terasa> We sure do.

Amanda> Not quite as stunningly beautiful, but- Terasa> Beautiful in their own way.

Amanda> That's true.

Absolutely.

Well, do we have some "Gardens of the Week" to share with people?

Terasa> We do Amanda, our viewers never disappoint.

And this part of the show is, is fun because it's not just us talking about places that we think are special, but it's you highlighting your yard, your garden.

It could be a house plant, or it might be a beautiful space you've captured, and there certainly are many.

Today we begin with Renee Gibbs, who shared the pink flowers of her parent's crabapple tree.

From Joyce Ling, vibrant pink azaleas with their reflections in the pond.

The reflections are just amazing in this photograph.

From Mike McCully, clusters of Yellow flowers on Golden Alexanders.

Mike Ely shared the flowers of our native fringe tree or some people call it "grandaddy greybeard."

And last but not least, Mary Wratislaw shared the red flowers of her bottlebrush, which she notes is absolutely adored by hummingbirds.

I thank all of you for sharing your photographs.

This is just a small sampling of what was submitted on our Facebook page.

I hope you visit that page often, you can see beautiful photographs and hopefully some important information and tiny tidbits to help you with your gardening endeavors.

Amanda> And, you know, fringe trees, fun because they're male and female trees, they're separate, you know.

And the, the male tree is a lot showier.

So they're kind of like birds in that way, which I think is kinda fun to know about.

Anyway, great tree.

Well- [Amanda clearing her throat] Excuse me.

Goodness gracious.

Can we help somebody with some problems?

Terasa> We are sure going to try, Amanda.

We start with a question from Brian in Andrews, who said, "I've heard it's a good idea to prune my blueberries.

Why do they need to be pruned, and is it too late?"

Amanda> Okay, well, Brad, what do you think?

Brad> Well, "why is it important?"

Let's start with the "why is it important."

A lot of times when we look at a plant, we think the bigger the plant can grow, the bushier it is, the more leaves it has on it, the better it is, the more healthy it is.

And in some cases that might be the case.

But with blueberries, we need to prune them because that's going to help them with their fruit production.

Amanda> If you want fruit.

Brad> If you want fruit, yes.

Now, if you just want a bush that looks nice, gives you a few berries here and there for the birds, essentially.

That's perfectly fine.

Nothing wrong with that.

But if you want to produce fruit, and good large fruit on a consistent basis, then yes, those blueberries do need to be pruned pretty much every year.

They need to be kept what I would consider fairly small, essentially.

So, that is kind of the "why" of it.

It also helps keep out some dead and diseased branches, things like that.

So that's kind of the "why" of it.

"Is it too late?"

I would have to say you could do it now.

Amanda> You're not gonna kill the plant.

Brad> You're not going to kill the plant by any means, especially if you're planting something like a rabbiteye blueberry, it's tough as nails.

But you are going to cut away a lot of that fruit if you do it now, because you're cutting off a lot of blooms.

So really, we like to do it a little bit earlier, right at the end of winter, you know.

Maybe about a month ago would probably be one of the best times to prune that blueberry.

Now, after it gets done fruiting, you can come in and top it a little bit.

If you just want to reduce the height some.

But if you're going to do that hard pruning, thinning it out, really needs to be done kind of late winter.

Amanda> Okay, and if people want to grow blueberries, I think it's interesting because like, you know, you go to the store and there's all these rabbiteyes, but I believe they're early, and mid, and late- And they need to pollinate each other, don't they?

Brad> Right, you need, so you need at least two blueberry, so they can pollinate- Amanda> That bloom at the same time.

Brad> That bloom at the same time.

But you can get different varieties that are early, mid, and late.

So if you really want to get into it, get you a spreadsheet out, figure out some varieties and maybe get ten blueberry plants of varying, bloom and fruit times and, you know, and you got it, you're into blueberry production.

Amanda> Are you possibly going to have to order these?

I don't know that they're that many nurseries that would carry all that.

You know, you gotta have this, and this, and this.

Brad> It's definitely going to take a little bit of research to try to figure out where you can get everything from.

Some nurseries are going to carry a few different things, but you might could order some stuff from different places.

So it's, it's not as simple as just going to the local nursery and picking out everything you want.

Amanda> Okay, but, they're not much trouble.

I mean, other than doing the right pruning.

Brad> Right, exactly, and we got some great fact sheets on the Home and Garden Information Center website that talk about blueberry production and when to fertilize them and all the pruning stuff as well.

So you can, kind of, have a good sheet to go by.

Amanda> And isn't the pH kinda weird on blueberries.

Brad> Yeah, it can be, a lot of times they like it a little more acidic.

And so, like I said, they they are tough plants a lot of times.

But to really get them thriving and produce some blueberries, you have to get a little more specific.

Amanda> Okay, but nothing that you can't handle with the advice from your local extension agent.

Right?

Brad> We can try for sure.

Amanda> Well, that's lots of fun, thank you so very, very much.

Terasa?

Terasa> We're going to stray away from questions because Carmen is here and she always has some fun show and tell.

And I think maybe even one that has a taste test.

Carmen> I thought we could try some of the asparagus.

<Ah!> This is, the end of the season down here for asparagus and a lot of people get so, they don't realize how important asparagus was to grow in South Carolina for so many years.

Amanda> I will chime in on that after you finish.

Carmen> Tell me now, I'm so excited.

Amanda> Well, my mother grew up in Ellenton, Old Ellenton before the bomb plant came, the "bomb" plant and then in Saint Matthews.

And my mother and Edward's mother both said they grew huge amounts of asparagus in both places, Calhoun County and all over.

And they, the children would go, "Oh, Momma, please, not asparagus again."

Because, they, you know, had a long picking season and, you know, and they, you know, of course, so the culls, the ones that you didn't ship up north- And at my friend Hank's place at, you know, right outside of town, Hank and Ann who I talk about all the time, they had an asparagus inspection station right there on the property, the USDA.

And the train would stop every day going up north to take asparagus up north, which is so much fun.

Carmen> Yes, see it was- Amanda> It was a big... Carmen> Big business down here.

And, asparagus is a great plant to plant, all the time.

It's good with the sand, it really likes, if you can amend it with some compost.

These are wonderful plants.

And a lot of people who have moved into old houses- Amanda> Still have some.

Carmen> And they get real nervous because, they'll call me and they'll say, "Oh, my goodness, I've got this weed growing in my yard, they only pop up in spring."

It'll be a little frond like that.

And, what it ends up being, It'll be like "you got an asparagus patch."

Because so many people would have these asparagus patches.

They're a perennial vegetable, we love.

It'll last you 20, 30 years if you want it to.

And, all you have to really end up doing is keep it weeded.

Fertilize it a little bit every, every couple of years and just let it go to town.

And then you have, oodles and boodles of asparagus.

We're picking every day, right now.

And like you said, there's a nice, like, eight, ten week period where you're just going out there and they are popping up out of the ground.

They'll start out looking like this guy, with a small stalk, and they just shoot out one day and then, at the end in the afternoon it's 12 inches tall.

Terasa> It does feel like "Jack and the Beanstalk" sometimes.

Carmen> So, I picked, I picked one day and then I was like, okay, I'm gonna leave it.

And I promise you, I don't know if you can even see this, but, the next day, it gets tall, just like that.

So you got to get them when they're young.

Amanda> Let's put that down so we, everybody can see.

Carmen> So, one of the best things that you can do if you wanted to grow asparagus, is you can buy the crowns, the actual root systems, they're about two, three years old.

And you can just plant them in the ground.

You wanna plant them deep in trenches.

We're talking 16 inches deep and you cover them up.

And, in about two, three years, they will grow to make these wonderful, you can see pencil shaped or pencil sized, spears.

The first two, three years, they're going to be more like, little tiny babies, little sticks.

Those aren't probably going to be the best tasting.

But my husband really likes them.

He calls them, string... he calls them string asparagus.

And so it works really, really well.

Amanda> But if you do that, you want the crown to get bigger so it can, I think, have more production behind it.

So I think it's better.

Carmen> Every so often you can go through and you just want to cut them down to, put more energy, the first two, like year or two in there, you wanna actually cut them back.

But, it makes for a really good option for a, like, a long term investment because after four or five years, you've got something that just reproduces for twenty.

Amanda> And their fall color is just gorgeous.

I mean, it really is.

I've used, I've stopped and picked them off the side of the road where they used to be in somebody's yard and used them to make hats because they are so beautiful.

Carmen> And those ferns, are... real gorgeous.

Amanda> Well, that's what I meant, the fall color.

Carmen> The heirloom type, you'll also, very much like the fringe tree, you'll get the male and the females.

And they have the, just the prettiest berries.

A little red berry.

So you'll know what's going on.

Amanda> If you're ordering, I think you want to get the males because they'll, they don't have to make fruit so they can put more production into the plant, I believe.

Carmen> Exactly, and almost all of your F1 hybrids that you're buying, not like the heirlooms, like Mary Washington, but things like Millennium, Purple Passion, the Jersey Knights, they are all, they are all bred for, just to have males.

Amanda> And, you know, I go out and pick Smilax.

Which, I just think is wonderful.

And it's called Chainey Briar or wild asparagus, sometimes.

And I get it, when it's, you know, just coming up, you know, pop the tips off, and they are delicious.

and they don't affect your, urine smell.

Carmen> Yes, it does have a very distinct smell, you know that you did eat some asparagus.

Do you wanna try some now, after I told you that?

Glen> I think, I'm going to hold off right now.

I'm more fond of the string bean asparagus.

This is a little large for me.

Carmen> A lot of people dig the thin asparagus.

Amanda> But, you know, there was one called Carolina Colossus.

We had a place in Atlanta, where we, when we lived there- And a gentleman, who'd been in the vegetable business for 80 years, and this was 50 years ago when we were there, he had some huge asparagus, and I said, "They're going to be tough."

And he said, "Take these home."

They were like cutting butter.

Because, I mean, you know, it's just one day old, you know, just popped up that day and they used to be so wonderful.

They've changed them because of course there's diseases and things that happen.

And so, they're always doing new genetic work, which is wonderful.

Carmen> And I will just say, if you are going for the string bean asparagus, make sure that you're picking them and you're cooking them at the same kind of, I don't know, diameter because they're going to cook at different times.

So if you're bunching up for friends and family, like I bunched up for y'all, you're stuck with them.

I mixed the string beans with some that are about bigger, pencil thick.

Amanda> And, you know, I just, I mean... what in the world is better than butter, anyway?

But anyway, I use sesame oil on my asparagus, to roast them in that.

Phew.

Honestly, you know, sesame, which is benne.

You know, we love benne seed cookies.

But anyway, so you might want to try that if you're an asparagus person, anyhow.

Well, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

And what a cool basket.

Carmen> Oh yeah, it's got, one of my family members, they got my name put on it.

<Come on!> Yeah, I'll still lose it in the field, but, you know, at least the rabbits will know it's mine.

Amanda> Tie a red bow around it.

[laughter] Okay, well Terasa, who else is out there who needs some help?

Terasa> We do have some more questions, but first, we have a show and tell.

Glen's going to give us some advice on a plant that we see frequently, around this time of year.

<Okay> Glen> I have brought today, an Easter lily.

And a Easter lily, I had a question about, "can they be used to sit outside after they're done blooming?"

But before I got to that, I thought, you know, what a great idea on selecting your Easter lily.

There's so many of them when you walk into the store.

So one thing you want to look for are maybe two to three blooms that are about to open.

<Oh!> And then, if there's four to five more that are going to bloom after that.

Amanda> Oh, so show us the new, there's some open and show us the other one.

Glen> Here's a couple of open blooms that you can see.

And you'll notice there's yellow inside, which is the pollen that's in there.

And one thing I do want to remind folks when they're selecting their Easter lilies, or if they bring them home from church on Sunday, is to be careful if you have cats in the home, they're extremely toxic to the cats.

And, things that you want to look for, is the cat disoriented?

Is it staggering?

Things like that.

And it can just be the pollen that's in their fur.

Amanda> And also, if you have a white tablecloth that you're bringing out, go ahead and remove the pollen tops, you know, and, because there's a lot of dye in that.

And you don't want to get that all over your tablecloth that you spent a long time ironing and starching and all that kind of stuff.

Anyway, so- Glen> And the same for your white shirt that you may have come home in.

You don't wanna get that on it.

A few other things that you can look for, like this particular Easter lily is in a nice tissue wrap.

But when you water your plant, you're going to want to take it out and water that until the water comes out of the venting holes that are in the bottom.

And then place that back into the tissue paper that you have, for your presentation on it.

Any brown leaves that are on there you can remove.

And when you're looking to keep your plant blooming, once it begins to wilt up, go ahead and take your pruners and remove that flower.

And that will actually trigger the other blooms to open up at that time.

And you'll continue on with that bloom.

And then once they've all bloomed out, then you can take your plant and transplant it outside, and you're going to want to plant at about four to six inches deep and put about two inches of mulch on it.

And unlike, some of the plants we talked about earlier, like the blueberry, your Easter lily likes to be a little sweeter in the soil.

So a little higher lime content like a 6.5 to 7.0 range.

Amanda> Although, I ride by places where people used to live, a long time ago, and they'll be all over the place.

So, they seem to be a pretty easy plant.

Glen> They do, and one thing to remember when you're going to plant your Easter lily, it likes to have moist feet, but it likes to have its head in the sun.

<Okay> So, that's one thing to remember when you plant those and just know that they've been forced in the greenhouse around Easter time.

So set your expectations realistic that for the next year, as you grow those out in your garden, that they're going to bloom more in the May to June time frame.

Amanda> So if you want one at home to put on the table, you'll have to get it, you know, give some money to the church or go to a nursery.

<Yes, ma'am.> Okay.

Thank you so very much.

That was really good news, especially about the kitty cats.

Okay, thanks a lot.

<You're welcome.> Well, I think now we're going to go down to Wabi Sabi Farm and learn all about things down there.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ > Hello everyone, my name is Zack Snipes.

I'm a County Extension Agent for the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service, and today I'm in beautiful Cordesville, South Carolina.

For those of you that don't know, that's near Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

We are at Wabi Sabi Farm.

I'm here with Mr.

Jimmy Livingston.

He's the farmer, owner, and operator of this beautiful farm.

Jimmy, welcome to the show.

Jimmy> Thank you.

Thank you for having us.

Zack> Yeah.

So, as I mentioned, we're Wabi Sabi Farm.

What in the world does "wabi-sabi" mean?

And why did you guys name it that?

I thought I was going to get ramen the first time I got introduced to y'all.

> Well, when we were beginning to farm about 15 years ago, we knew just enough to be dangerous at it.

And, our rows might have been a little more crooked, and our fruit wasn't quite just right.

And, we read about wabi-sabi, and it just means you embrace life imperfections, and, it suited us at the time.

And so, here we are.

Zack> So now that y'all have perfected everything, I guess we need to change the name of the farm.

Jimmy> There's no perfection.

There's a lot of misshapen fruit and a lot of crooked rows out here.

It's... it suits us just fine right now.

Zack> Alright, so tell us a little bit about the farm and what you guys do here.

Jimmy> Well, we primarily grow strawberries, but we also offer, other vegetables that grow at the same time.

Lettuce, onions and a little bit of garlic, radishes.

Just whatever we can grow, simultaneously with the strawberries.

We find that people arrive for the strawberries and enjoy the, the day out.

Well, they love to support a small farm and they love to eat fresh vegetables.

So it's a win for everyone.

Zack> And folks when they come out, you know there's strawberries and other vegetables, but earlier we were looking at one of your trails.

Can you tell us about your, what did you call it, a "contemplative" trail?

Jimmy> It's a contemplative trail.

It's just, when you leave the strawberry field, it's just a field of wheat and oats, just cover crop.

But we just cut a long, winding trail through it so you can just enjoy... just the walk.

And the listening and, you know, just enjoy while you're here.

So it's just, it's just a trail.

And kids enjoy it.

They play, have fun.

Zack> Sure.

So we've talked a little bit about cover crops.

Can you tell us A: What a cover crop is?

And why, why should we care or why do you grow cover crops?

Jimmy> Well, if you leave soil bare, nature will fill it with weeds or probably something you don't need.

What we found is just by growing, say, sunn hemp and oats and some other, you know, maybe some peas.

You increase your nitrogen greatly.

You increase your organic matter.

Your tilth is so much healthier.

Your soil is so much healthier.

It'll carry a better crop like sunn hemp, for example, has about... It can have two tons of organic matter per acre.

So that's enormous.

I mean, that's like two tons of mulch in your garden.

Zack> Right.

Absolutely.

Jimmy> So, we believe in it.

And, we grow it.

Zack> And that's evidenced by y'all's crops.

You know, I've worked with y'all ten, twelve years now.

And I remember the first couple times I came out here, man, I was, I was worried because it was beach sand.

Jimmy> It was.

Yeah, you're right.

Zack> And now, you have a lot darker soil, healthier soil.

And I've seen it at different times in different seasons where we'll have a flush of growth.

And you're like, "Well, I didn't fertilize or anything."

And, and I think it's because of just the goodness that's in the soil that y'all have built and cultivated over time.

Jimmy> Yeah.

Thank you, we... we feel like that if you create a healthy soil, the plant is going to be healthy.

It can defend itself from the, the enemies of the plant, you know, so whether that's disease or pest.

And you, you just have a healthier environment.

That's kind of how we want to grow stuff.

Zack> Absolutely.

Jimmy> We enjoy it.

Zack> Yeah.

Well, we're in the strawberry patch now.

I know... there's a lot of issues around strawberry production, particularly last couple years with some major diseases.

And we're all, at Clemson and other universities are working on that.

And, so it kind of makes us nervous.

But I mean, this is probably one of the best crops I've seen you grow.

I mean, what did you do different this year?

Jimmy> We did a lot.

First of all, we followed Clemson, we really leaned on you guys.

So, we appreciate, we appreciate you answering our questions.

And, we bottom plowed, which is something we don't normally do.

We tried to pull those nutrients up.

We also tried to bury any existing disease that might have been in there because disease is, ever present.

<Yeah> And, it's, you have to try to stay in front of it.

Zack> You have an interesting pest, that I think a lot of folks don't have.

And what did you call them?

"Ninjas."

Jimmy> Yeah.

They're possums.

Zack> Possum ninjas.

Jimmy> Yeah.

They're terrible.

They, you can't, you can't even see them.

They sneak out here and they... They'll take every strawberry, every strawberry off the field.

So, we had to put this electric fence in.

And this is the "great wall of Cordesville."

Zack> The "great wall of Cordesville."

Jimmy> You know, and it stopped the possums.

So, so... <Sure> But that's our biggest, I guess, thief of strawberries.

You know, he, they sneak in at night and, they just walk down the row and eat every red berry they can.

Zack> Definitely hurts, when you're trying to fill a bunch of buckets, right?

Jimmy> Yeah.

Well, it's, it's more than you think.

You know, they might get 20 or 30 gallons a night out of a field this size.

And if they do that for a week, Zack> It's a lot of berries.

Jimmy> It's a lot of berries.

And, you know I'm not growing them for them.

Zack> Yeah.

Another thing you, you've done differently this year and something I admire a lot about y'all is you don't ever do the same thing over and over and over.

You're willing to change and willing to think things through and think a little differently.

And something that y'all have done differently this year is your spacing on your strawberries.

You want to talk about that a little bit?

Jimmy> Yeah, we did.

We increased it to 18 inches.

We've always spaced them 12 inches apart and they crowded a little bit but not too bad.

But on the advice of Clemson, we separated by six inches and it was a huge bonus.

I think the plants have more room to grow, more room for their roots to spread.

And as you can see, the breeze is blowing through these right now, which is exactly what you want.

You need a airflow to keep them nice and dry.

<Yeah> So it worked out great for us.

We're actually decided that we're just going to go to 18 inches from here on out.

We'll just space them- Zack> It makes it a little easier to pick because y'all are primarily a U-pick.

Jimmy> Yeah, much easier.

People can see every berry, stuff doesn't get lost.

<Yeah> So yeah, it's a much better operation.

Takes a little more space, but it's okay.

Zack> So y'all have strawberries.

You have vegetables available, seasonally.

But recently you, you turned your little covered shed area into a studio.

Tell us a little bit about that.

Jimmy> Well, I enjoy painting and I enjoy creating prints, and, I needed a space to do it.

So, we just closed in a little bit of our vegetable shed, and, and I make prints.

I paint, you know, acrylics and oils and, it's my own little escape and my own little, just... It kind of started out as a, as a way to... use the plants that were out here to show people just really how pretty they were and how nice they were.

<Yeah> And so we just started making prints of them and just physical prints, and it really, they really turned out nice.

We love them.

Zack> So Jimmy, now that you have this studio and you have art in the studio, it's a cool segue and to talk about Clemson's Ag.

and Art Tour that they have that's around the state.

And I think Berkeley County is going to be a part of that And y'all... are one of the farms on the Ag.

and Art Tour.

Jimmy> We are.

We're a farm, I think there's maybe six or seven in the area and people can travel around and visit all the different farms, and they'll be vendors and, artists set up.

We enjoy it.

We're really excited about it.

And we can't wait for it all to happen.

Zack> So you're nephew got married recently?

<Yes> And they didn't want to get married in a traditional space.

So what did y'all do?

Jimmy> Well, they were just looking for a place that they could, bring the family and their friends and... they, they love our farm.

So we invited them, and we... put a new cover on our greenhouse and turned that into a beautiful little venue spot.

And so, you know, they had a grand time.

We had a lot of people out there.

And it was, very different because it was on a farm.

I mean, there were crops growing in the field.

So, it was kind of, it was fun.

When they ate some of the food, it was just from right there.

So it was really nice.

Zack> Yeah.

And it's a true authentic experience.

Jimmy> It is, I mean it was, it was a fun day.

It was a good farm day.

Zack> And I see a lot of farms doing that sort of thing, the agritourism type thing.

Can you talk a little bit about maybe how small farms can diversify and things that you have to think about because, there's good seasons and there's bad seasons.

Jimmy> That's right, yeah.

It's not always good.

Zack> Right.

Jimmy> But, you know, just, a farmer once told me, I was telling him how things were going really well and stuff was growing, and he said, "well, that'll pass."

[laughter] And that's both ways, you know, when the bad stuff comes, it passes.

But what you have to do now, farming what we see is you really have to figure out how to, allow the land... to help you live on it, you know.

And if that's opening up another spot that you can make available to people... you just have to diversify.

You just have to figure out where you can... where you can create opportunities for your farm.

So that's kind of what we're doing.

And we farm full-time.

And sometimes, you know, winters get long.

Zack> Winters get long, and 1:30 in the morning covering strawberries gets old.

Jimmy> That's right, that's right.

So, yeah.

So, you know, we try to find available options and people enjoy coming out here and they enjoy going to other small farms.

And so we figured we'd open up an area, and it's actually met some really good response.

So we, we're happy about the way it's going.

Zack> That's great.

Jimmy> Yeah.

Yeah.

Zack> Well, thanks for having us out today.

I'm getting pretty hungry, and I know normally when I come, you know, I have to block off at least half, three quarters of a day because we look at every plant, we do the contemplative... you know, cover crop tour.

We get to see everything.

And, I'm just really thankful for our friendship and- Jimmy> Me too.

Zack> You know, all the, times we've had together.

The good times, the bad times.

And I'm especially thankful for all the, all the lunches that you have.

You always tell me to come around lunchtime.

Jimmy> That's right.

Zack> We always eat good.

Well, it's a long ways out here, and we appreciate you coming out.

And we really do lean on your advice.

And, when you come out, we might not appear to be paying attention, but I'm paying attention every time, so I appreciate it.

Zack> I can tell, it's very evident.

Jimmy> Yeah, well thank you.

It's been great.

Zack> Well thank you, Jimmy, I appreciate you, coming on the show, and, I wish you the best of luck.

Jimmy> Thank you.

♪ > So many wonderful things to do with strawberries.

Golly, Pete!

And when you're looking for them, please look for certified South Carolina.

Because first of all, they haven't had to travel across the country.

And, and so they're going to probably be a lot tastier than the ones that have been refrigerated and slowly making their way, anyway.

But they are just wonderful.

And we have wonderful growers right here.

Well, hats, hats, hats.

You know, I like to talk about native things.

And I like to talk about larval food sources, but, there's just nothing to me more beautiful Lady Banks Rose.

And, and it's just everywhere right now, and it goes, clambers way up in the trees and then cascades down.

I went on my upstairs back porch.

This one is in, a red maple I have there, and I just, you know, it was... and it was on the back porch, the upstairs back porch we have, anyway.

And it's just the most wonderful thing in the world.

And, you know, I mean, I know it doesn't do it, but it doesn't, you know, spread.

And so I just think, it is just truly, so incredibly beautiful.

It brings smiles to everybody's faces.

And they're real- Once you get one, you're just gonna have it forever!

I mean, it's just the easiest thing in the world.

You don't have to cut it back, you don't have to do anything.

If you have, you know, just let it clamber up and clamber up and ah!

Terasa> Speaking of clambering, it is not invasive, but a pretty vigorous grow.

So, folks are wanting to grow it on a trellis, they need to make sure it's sturdy and can support the weight.

Amanda> I'm sorry.

Yeah, because it is, it's vigorous.

Yeah, yeah.

Terasa> But it is beautiful.

And I just have it going up a tree, you know, and blah, blah, blah.

And yeah, I've got a pine tree, you know, it'll just... Yeah, they are fun.

Anyway.

And don't... you know, no care.

I mean, you know, roses in general, the ones that you cut and bring in the house, can be a certain amount of trouble, but not this one.

Anyway.

It just, you know, has wonderful little petals that fall all over the place.

Okay.

Well, Carmen, let's talk about something that's going to be a problem soon.

Carmen> Yes, fire ants.

'Tis fire ant season.

And you know, they're here.

And we get questions all the time about them.

And, a lot of it just is, you have to be on top of management for it.

And right now, early spring, warm seasons, dry days, that's the perfect time to start doing a fire ant management, protocol.

And a lot of it starts with your bait.

And Vicky Bertagnolli, who's on here all the time, she calls it a "Texas Two-Step."

But you do your bait first, and then you do your mound treatments.

That's the best way to kind of knock back the fire ants.

It's not a one and done.

It is, this is like a new, this is just like a new to-do that you just have to add every, every- I usually do it spring and summer.

<I do too.> Yeah, so twice a year.

I like to time it around, when I'm having all the events, my spring events, my Easter parties, things like that, or graduation.

But a lot of it just goes to you need a nice, good, fresh bait.

Not like, just the grits.

We get a lot of questions about, "I can just put out grits?"

But, you need an insecticide in there.

And there are a lot of really great insecticides that are specific to fire ants.

Amanda> I like to go to a place that gets a lot of new inventory when I'm buying the bait.

Because I don't want it to be old.

Because it has a fair amount of oil in it.

And if it gets off, if the oil goes rancid, they're just going to go "Poo, poo, poo, I'm not going to touch this."

Is that right?

Carmen> That's right, a lot of- so don't go and buy the big 25 pound bag and be like, "Oh, I'm stocking up for later."

Because it goes rancid in like about six months.

Brad had to teach me that when I was like "the baits not working."

And he's like, "well, how long has it been sitting in your barn?"

Because it will go bad very easily.

And it's, and you need to put it out fresh on a dry day.

No rain.

So, and they will just, they will, flock to it.

You can just spread it.

You want to spread it out throughout the entire yard.

And you don't want to use one of those push spreaders because it is just teeny-tiny granulars.

You want to use, like a little hand spreader.

Amanda> Well, and also they're foragers.

And so they're going 100 feet here, 100 feet there.

So it's real easy.

It's not like you have to cover your whole yard.

You kind of go out there and, you know, put some in and you walk over 50 or 75 feet and put out some more.

I mean, I think one pound can do an acre, if I'm not mistaken.

Carmen> A pound and a half, depending on the product.

Amanda> Okay, sorry.

Carmen> No, no, no.

Check the, you know- Read the label.

It's the... Everyone> Law.

Carmen> Yay!

Good job, team.

Amanda> But, you got to be sure they're foraging.

Carmen> Yes, normally it's going to be sunny.

It's going to be a warm day.

And then Glen has the, the age old potato chip trick.

Glen> Carmen, you're telling me I've got to share my lunch and my potato chips with fire ants?

Carmen> That's right... You just put it right out and see, and check and see if they start foraging.

Amanda> Okay, and then we also have great fact sheets on this that people can go to, Terasa I believe, and find out in depth, or you can call your local extension agent or call HGIC for more help.

You want to be certain that, you're doing things correctly and not wasting money and not having run-up, having unintended consequences that go in places you don't want to.

Okay.

Well, thank you so, so very, very much.

Well, I think now we need to talk about orchids, with Clay Owens.

> Hello, I'm Carmen Ketron, the Urban Horticulture Agent for Clemson Extension in Florence and Darlington Counties.

Today, I'm here with Mr.

Clay Owens and his amazing orchid collection.

Now, Clay you are from the South Carolina Orchid Society.

Tell me about that.

> Yes, I am.

So the Orchid Society was established about 45 years ago, and we are based in Columbia, South Carolina.

But we help everyone all over the region.

We have meetings once a month in Columbia, South Carolina.

We have a website presence, we have Instagram and Facebook.

And it's all there just to give information to anyone who wants to know more about where you can find orchids, how you can take care of orchids, and how you can learn a little bit more about the orchids you might already have.

<Excellent> We have an amazing assortment of things here.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

This is showing you plants that came from both Carter and Holmes Greenhouses in Newberry, South Carolina, which is one of the treasures here in South Carolina.

And you guys visited there years ago with Making It Grow .

And from our own greenhouses with our members as well.

Carmen> Let's get into them.

What do we have here?

Well, we have probably what I would consider to be one of the easiest orchids to grow.

This is the Phalaenopsis or moth orchid.

This is the plant that you will find in your grocery stores, or maybe big box stores.

It's one that is amazing colors and it's easy to take care of.

It comes in multiple sizes, from the large to a medium and a miniature size.

And they're great because each one of them has the same type of care requirements.

You can have a full size, you can have a medium or even this little guy, depending on how much space you have.

Each one of these likes the same things that you like.

Doesn't want to be too hot or too cold, so anywhere between about 65 degrees to 80 degrees.

It likes to have a breeze, just like we like to have a breeze.

It doesn't like direct sunlight because it could burn, so indirect light.

And for watering it's pretty generous.

So you can water it anywhere between every 7 to 14 days.

But the key is whenever it feels dry, that's when you want to water it.

And it will rebloom for you year after year.

So it's a wonderful investment and something that you can find almost everywhere.

Carmen> I love these, I see them all the time.

Some of these, I have never seen in my life.

and I can smell them from here.

That is amazing.

Tell me about some of these.

Do I smell chocolate?

Clay> You do, actually.

This is an orchid that is very popular because people say, "Do you have that chocolate orchid?"

And we do.

This is called an Oncidium Sharry baby.

And it specifically has a chocolate fragrance and it became so popular that now they have chocolate with raspberry, they have chocolate with vanilla.

They have all different types of flowering plants that are called Oncidiums.

And Oncidium, is one of the many families of orchids that you can find and grow.

These like a little more water, again, not direct sunlight.

And they will rebloom for you many times throughout the year.

So that's another attribute of this particular family of plants.

And you can see you get a lot more blooms on it and you get that great fragrance.

Now another big category of plants would be slipper orchids.

A slipper orchid is technically called a Phragmipedium or a Paphiopedilum.

This is an example of a Paphiopedilum.

So this one, you can see the little slipper pouch right under here.

And this one's very special because you can see another bud right here.

That means it's called a sequential bloomer.

It will bloom once, and when this bloom is finished, you have another one coming right behind it, ready to bloom again.

This one also likes a little more wet conditions, less light.

But probably once it starts blooming, it will keep going for you month after month after month.

And these can be any size from about four to six inches, up to 24 to 36 inches tall.

So you have a wide array of plant sizes.

Now, speaking of plant sizes, if you look down here, we have something very special.

This is a miniature orchid.

Now when I say miniature, I mean, teeny-tiny little blooms.

This plant has hundreds of blossoms on it.

And that is to show you that orchids come in every shape, size and color.

There are more than 70,000 types of orchids in the wild, and with hybridizing 450,000 orchids, that man has created over the years.

We've developed them to have bigger blooms, more fragrant, smaller sizes, bigger sizes.

But this is an example of an original species orchid.

That is how you would find it in the wild.

So some people collect miniatures so they can have them in a small grow space.

Other people, maybe they like something very large and very showy like this.

That is a Cattleya orchid.

You might say it's the Corsage orchid.

That's something that has this beautiful color and an amazing, rich fragrance as well.

This particular one has a name that's called labiata, that's even better.

And you can see why it might be called even better.

This is an amazing plant.

But by comparison, this is also a Cattleya, as well.

Look at the difference in size, there.

You have a giant plant like this, but then you have a little tiny plant like that one that gives you a windowsill growing.

This is only about six to eight inches tall so that you can still have a beautiful large bloom.

This one has a great amount of space and color, but you don't need all the space that you have for that plant.

This is showing you that there is an orchid for everyone, and Cattleyas are very forgiving as well.

They like more heat, more light, less water.

So they're great for southern growers.

Carmen> I love that.

So it sounds like what I'm hearing you say is I need to actually pick out- And so normally if I'm doing plants, I find the right plant for the right place.

But here I've got to determine my place, and then I have, what... thousands of options.

So I kind of have to get my... where I want to go and what kind of light it has.

What kind of- Clay> There are basics.

The same basics that you might have for other house plants you want to do for this as well.

Every plant needs the same basic things.

You need to know what your temperature requirements are, what your light requirements are, your water requirements, and then what your air requirements are.

If you have those four things for any plant you have in your garden or in your home, you will then know what you can do to be successful.

So once you do that now you can decide.

I've figured out what I have, what's my routine?

What can I do to take care of a plant?

Because I don't know about you, but I think that a plant should enhance my life.

I don't need to change my life for a plant.

So what do I already do?

How frequently kind of water it?

How frequently can I take care of it?

How big of a space do I have?

Then you narrow it down from there.

There are literally millions of websites out there that will help you figure out the right plant.

But if you start with, southcarolinaorchidsociety.org we have a complete listing of care sheets and information that'll help you narrow down some of the things you might be interested in.

> I love that and I appreciate it.

I want, if I were... to quiz you.

<Yes> What would be your third favorite... Clay> Third favorite?

Carmen> That you want to show off.

Clay> Well, I'm going to show off something that's really interesting and unique to South Carolina, but also to growers all over the world.

This particular plant is very unusual because it has this one really spectacular bloom.

And that is a plant that was actually developed at Carter and Holmes Nurseries in Newberry.

This particular one is called an Oncidium mendenhall.

This plant started a revolution because it has this very small base, but a huge, up to 36 inches tall, spike.

And then it will bloom for you.

The great thing about it is it's another sequential bloomer.

You get this amazing big butterfly shape.

When this bloom ends, there's another bud right behind it ready to go.

There are plants that have been in bloom literally for years because one bloom ends, another one starts, and it keeps going over and over again.

And it all started in Newberry, South Carolina.

So it's kind of an amazing plant that is world renowned.

And it all started here.

But it's a big, showy plant that doesn't take up a lot of room until it starts to bloom.

So it's a great story like that.

Now, I will say I kind of like the unusual and the odd things as well.

So I would love to introduce you to a plant like this one.

I think it has a beautiful display.

It's got multiple blooms on each spike.

And if you get close up to it, you can see they're fuzzy and they're furry.

They have little parts that bobble and move around and it looks really interesting.

It's called a Bulbophyllum.

That's one in a family of hundreds and hundreds of plants, but it's really unique because it grows like an ivy.

It just covers the ground than it moves on and on, and you can divide it once it gets to a certain size.

But as beautiful as it is, it's got a little hidden secret.

Carmen> What's that?

Clay> All of these orchids are adapted.

The only reason they bloom is to pollinate, to reproduce.

So it has to have something special to come in and reproduce with it.

It is pollinated by flies.

[Carmen gasps] So where some things are bumblebees and moths even this one wants to attract a fly.

So a fly doesn't want anything that smells really sweet and really nice.

It wants to smell garbage or meat.

<Trashy, yes.> And so these are known for having a little bit of a stinky fragrance.

So it's a little bit of a trade off.

And you can give it a try.

And depending on the time of day you may have a really strong fragrance.

Some of them have no fragrance, those are more popular.

But I think they're so unusual and unique and really easy to grow.

And again, a climbing plant- Carmen> Oh, see now that is wonderful.

Can I smell it?

Clay> Go right ahead.

Don't take a deep breath just in case.

Carmen> Oh!

That smells horrendous.

[laughter] Oh, no.

Clay> Yes.

Now you know, it's true.

Now, we talked about Cattleya orchids and all the different sizes.

Now, I am wild about spots.

I think spots are fantastic.

And so this is a great example of another Cattleya.

This one is called in particular Cattleya Caudebec and it's Linwood.

These are beautiful spotted plants that have been bred specifically for more and more spots.

And it has a great fragrance as well.

So you can see that just like we have designer paint samples and designer fabrics and fragrances, we also have that with orchids.

These all started from one common type of plant millions of years ago.

They're one of the oldest plants on records, and now we've hybridized them into what you see before you.

You can find orchids on almost every continent except for Antarctica.

Because they don't do well in cold and they don't need ice.

Which is a very common question that we get all the time.

Carmen> Have you been talking to my grandmother?

She loves ice cube in the pot to water.

Clay> Well, you know what I think there's a great thing to know about orchids.

There's a million rules about how to take care of orchids.

If it works for you, you keep doing it.

But everybody has an opinion.

Not all opinions are valid for you.

If that works for your grandma and for anybody else, keep doing the ice cubes.

However, I tend to believe that ice cubes belong in sweet tea and not in an orchid because naturally an ice cube is going to shock a plant, <Yeah> it's going to create some stress.

They may still thrive, but instead what they're really saying is that's how much water they need.

And they're just trying to do a little bit of a marketing that says, "throw those ice cubes in there."

But that was started by a company that wanted to sell more orchids.

So if people kill those orchids by accident, they're going to sell more plants.

So I personally and other orchid growers do not recommend the ice cube, but if that is what works for you, keep doing it.

There is no one set of rules because everybody grows plants in different conditions.

Everybody has different lifestyles.

So just keep an eye on your plant.

If it's thriving, keep doing it.

Don't change the rules of what works for you just because of somebody else's opinion.

Carmen> Well, thank you so much.

This has been enlightening.

I got new information.

I'm so very excited and I'm a little less hesitant now.

I might... get me an orchid this time.

Clay> Well, I have one last thing to share with you.

Remember, if you buy an orchid and it doesn't thrive for you and it may even pass away, that's a very specific kind of orchid.

And I want to remind you of what that's called.

That plant's called a "quitter."

It's not you, it was the plant.

[laughter] Carmen> Definitely the plant.

Clay> So you just try another one and read a little bit more about it.

And the South Carolina Orchid Society is here to help you make sure you're successful.

Carmen> Thank you, Clay.

And where can we find more information about the South Carolina Orchid Society?

Clay> You can go on the web at southcarolinaorchidsociety.org or South Carolina Orchid Society on Facebook and on Instagram.

And of course, we have our meetings in Columbia on the third Sunday of every month.

And you can find all the details on our speakers and our programs on the website.

Carmen> Thank you, Clay.

Thank you so much for coming on today.

Clay> Thank you.

Amanda> Terasa, I know you're fond of orchids and that you probably learned a lot when Clay came.

Terasa> For sure.

Amanda> Yeah, okay.

Well, I want to thank, everybody for coming and, for telling us all about this.

And, I guess I could have a... yellow nose.

[laughter] Anyway, let's say good night to everybody.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ 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.