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 really, really happy that you decided to watch the show tonight.

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

Gosh, Terasa, you know, I had a varied career about college, and I was gonna be in international relations and a diplomat.

Well, if you know me at all, I think [indistinct].

[laughter] And then I got to take horticulture when I went back to school, and I was so excited.

Terasa> Isn't it funny where life takes us that we don't always end up on the journey we thought we would.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And you didn't start out doing this kinda stuff either, did you?

> I didn't, I've always enjoyed the outdoors, the natural world.

So I was a biology and secondary education major.

So always, you know, science related and education tract.

But not specifically horticulture or water.

Amanda> Yeah, and now you are a district director with Clemson.

And we are happy to have you, thank goodness, still helping us out.

What would we do without you?

Terasa> Oh, I'm sure you would manage.

Amanda> I don't know.

Terasa> I hope you don't try to replace me anytime soon.

Amanda> We rely on you a lot.

And thank you as always.

Okay... Carmen Ketron, our urban horticulture agent in Georgetown, Horry, and Marion.

Y'all experience a lot of growth down there.

> Lots of growth.

Everybody's moving down, and it's not stopping.

So it's nice, a lot of people are not from the South that are coming down and moving.

So they've got lots of questions and they're all very excited to grow things year round.

So a lot of very interested new gardeners.

Amanda> Do you have a knowledgeable Master Gardener group that can help you?

Carmen> We have a lovely, wonderful Master Gardener group that's very dedicated to education and you know, to teaching everybody kids, adults, newcomers.

So it's a lot of fun.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And they have learned that you don't just get to sit in your house all winter.

You have to be outside doing things.

Carmen> That's correct.

Amanda> Well, anyway, thank you for making the drive up here.

We really appreciate it.

Nicole Goodman, an urban horticulture agent from Spartanburg, South Carolina, and we just love Spartanburg.

I think it's one of the nicest little towns.

And y'all have, street trees and all kinds of things, don't you?

> We do have a lot of beautiful spots of pride along the roads.

Yeah, very pretty up there.

Amanda> Pretty town.

<It is, I love it there.> I mean city, I guess now.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

How about that?

Anyway, and so you are also a horticulture agent.

<Correct> We're happy that you could make the trip and be with us today.

This is fun.

Yeah!

Tess Moody, you are a forestry and natural resource associate at the Teach center down in Charleston.

And most people are probably familiar with that.

But for those who aren't, what is the Teach Center?

> The Teach Center is a classroom and lab space in the Citadel Mall down in West Ashley.

And so we do programing, canning classes, cooking classes, as well as horticulture classes and natural resource classes.

Amanda> There's also a office downtown, which is where the horticulture, I mean, where the Clemson office is.

Tess> Yeah, the county office is downtown where they, the county agents are.

Carmen> You can take soil samples to both, though.

<Yes you can> My mom loves that parking lot at the Citadel Mall.

[laughter] Amanda> It's really... parking in downtown Charleston is a challenge.

Carmen> That's right, so two different places to take soil samples is never a bad thing in such a big county.

Amanda> I think that's wonderful.

Okay!

So, let's see what we have.

We have the South Carolina Orchid Society show.

I think you went up there, Terasa.

You said it was beautiful.

Terasa> It was magnificent.

Absolutely.

I just wanted to take all of them home.

But of course, they would require a lot of care.

Amanda> But you do have a fair number, I think.

You're pretty good at it.

You're pretty good at it.

And then we, oh, it was just wonderful.

We got to talk to Doug Tallamy, when he was down here last time, and his messages of critical, critical importance.

So you will enjoy and learn and hopefully, put into practice some of the things that he suggests, if that's fair to say.

Well, so, I think we often have some lovely pictures of gardens.

Terasa> We do!

"Gardens of the Week," and you mentioned the word enjoy.

And I would say the gardens of the week is a time for you to enjoy the green thumb that you might have.

So it's a time to spotlight what's going on in your yard and your garden, or a beautiful photograph that you've taken, maybe in South Carolina or one of our neighboring states.

It's become so popular that instead of highlighting just a few photos, we have created a montage.

So let's take a look at this week's submissions.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ There was so much variety, but I really wish that we could incorporate fragrance into our broadcast because you saw a picture of plumeria and it is known for its fragrance.

Although it can be different in different, varieties.

And sometimes described differently.

People just know that's what plumeria smells like.

So you'll just have to imagine.

But if you ever get a chance, I encourage you to get to experience that fragrance.

And I encourage you also to submit photos for "Gardens of the Week."

All you have to do is post them on our Facebook page when we make that call.

It's called the Call for Gardens of the Week.

Put your photos there and you never know.

You might just see them appear on air.

> Alrighty, we sure appreciate all the work people do, keepin' South Carolina beautiful.

Don't we?

<Mhm> Well, usually people have some problems or some questions.

And we're going to do our very best to help 'em.

Terasa> We sure are.

We're going to start with Alice, who is from Cherry Grove, so on the coast, she said, she read with her grandkids that dragonflies eat mosquitoes.

And so they want to make a habitat for dragonflies in their backyard so that they'll come and help control those pesky mosquitoes.

She says, "How do we go about doing that?"

Amanda> Gracious goodness!

Well, Carmen, what to do?

> A lot of people have been getting into more of the whole system gardening.

So it's kind of exciting when somebody gets to be like, "oh, what about dragonflies or damselflies," and things like that.

And, the one big thing that I do tell everybody is that dragonflies need the same kind of habitat that mosquitoes like.

So they like fresh water, they like it pretty standing, but it makes for a really great opportunity to have that whole system together.

<Alright> So you definitely want a pond because they spend, pretty much, a fair bit of their life as little nymphs and larva in the water.

You also want to make sure that that pond is fairly big, something like 40 square feet at least.

And you want it pretty deep, about two feet deep.

<Alright> And so a lot of people will try for the little koi ponds, and they just won't get the same kind of situation.

And so you want to make sure that there are, if you can, and you're making a manmade pond, no fish, cause fish are a huge predator of- Amanda> Well sure, yeah.

[laughter] Carmen> - of dragonflies, a lot of people will have like stocked koi ponds in their backyard.

And they'll be like, "I can't get any dragonflies."

Amanda> Well, duh.

Carmen> Well, they're probably eatin' them.

Additionally, with things like retention ponds and stuff like that, that don't have any vegetation in them, that's not gonna be great too, because those dragonflies for most of their life as little nymphs and larva actually need protection from aquatic plants.

So making sure that you have some nice aquatic plants and places for them to hide under, but have a cool shaded area as well as places to perch, all very important.

Amanda> So this is kind of a commitment?

Carmen> It is, it is!

So a lot of people, they're like, "where does this all come from?"

Well, just making sure that if you have this opportunity, that you can do it.

Because it is a lot of fun to see just like swarms of dragonflies just taking out all of those mosquitoes, midges, things like that.

Amanda> You can also put up bat houses.

<That's right!> I mean, and they're not, that's not quite as much struggle, as trying to construct a pond.

I mean, I'm just saying.

Carmen> No, that's right.

The bat house is very fun to put up and excellent.

Just, you want to make sure there are a lot of really great resources because a lot of things you need to consider like, south or north facing houses, making sure it's the right height.

There are a lot of things that are specific to habitats that people just think, "oh, I'll just put something here.

Why won't they come?"

But a lot of the times it's how we set it up.

So planning it, you know, measure twice, cut once.

Amanda> And there's plenty of information on it.

And bats are losing habitat spaces, oh, right and left.

So, I actually leave the faded leaves on my palmetto trees, you know, the ones that hang down, because that's a great space under there for things to take refuge.

And bats sometimes use them, too.

And, you know, you don't have to be so needy, needy, needy.

I mean, do something for nature instead of for you know, whoever's yard of the month people.

Not us, but the people who give out those awards for garden clubs, right?

Carmen> Yes and... I know that you're one of the big people who will go on and be like, "hey, change your mindset about what a healthy garden looks like as opposed to a clean garden."

<Yes, yes> Cause a lot of the times you're getting rid of stuff, Terasa> There's some beautiful emergent vegetation that people would enjoy, like Thalia is one of my, the powdery alligator flag.

And you'll often, if you're in a pond setting, see that and see a dragonfly, you know, resting using those.

Amanda> Well, Terasa, what's coming up?

Terasa> Nicole has quite a collection of houseplants, and I believe she's brought a few to share with us and with our viewers.

Amanda> Alright, what are we gonna learn about?

Nicole> Alright, so I brought a pretty interesting one, two, but they're cousins.

So we have, they're both in the grape family.

Genus is Cissus, and then we have the Cissus amazonica, which is from South America.

And then we have Cissus discolor.

And so you can already see the different colorations there.

<Gracious goodness!> I have a love-hate relationship with this one in particular.

This one I haven't had too long, so I'm not sure if I love it or hate it yet.

We'll see, if it survives me.

But the discolor one, I killed it about two times already.

It was in my bathroom, great light, high humidity, what it likes, and it just wouldn't want to grow.

Amanda> What it's supposed to like.

What they said it liked.

Nicole> Yes.

Well, I ended up throwing it out on my south facing porch in full sunlight, and it grew back more beautiful than ever.

So here we are.

So I started just putting it into the coldest, darkest room during the winter.

I forget about it, it dies back.

And then in spring, I bring it out, I water it well and it grows back stunningly beautiful.

Amanda> Do you think they set fruit?

I mean, since it's in the grape family, will they grow?

Have you have ever looked them up to see about that?

I was just curious.

Nicole> I don't believe.

I mean, they will most likely do some sort of fruit.

Amanda> It's gonna make something in reproduction.

Nicole> But I'm not aware that they are edible at all.

But yes, they are in the grape family.

They are related to our muscadines and table grapes.

But definitely a warm climate plant.

So don't try and grow them outdoors all year long.

Amanda> Although, when does winter come?

Nicole> Yeah, that's true.

Amanda> Alright.

And so you just put it, you don't even feel like you have to water that one all the time in the winter?

Nicole> So this one, I basically do not water unless it gets warmer in the winter and it kind of starts to grow.

That's when I gave them a little bit of water.

But both of them are known that they really want to dry out before you water them again, so don't keep them too wet.

This one you can feel has a bit more of a succulent leaf.

Compared to the discolor, which is just, you know, your average velvety type of leaf.

Amanda> Okay, well, let me see the velvety type of leaf.

Yeah, that sounds kind of fun.

Ooh, ooh, isn't that nice?

Gosh, that's a pretty leaf, I think.

Nicole> Love-hate relationship.

Amanda> Oh, I see the tendril, look.

Cause it's in the grape family, isn't that fun?

Well, thank you so much for bringing those in.

<My pleasure> Amanda> Yeah.

Well, Terasa... Terasa> What is up next?

We have Sanjeev from Columbia who said, "My milkweeds are covered in aphids!"

With an exclamation point.

"I planted them for monarchs.

Will the aphids hurt the milkweed?

and will they cause any problems for the monarchs?"

We get a double question.

Amanda> Yeah, that is.

Well, I think we have an example of that here.

Tess> We have a couple of examples.

So I brought in a couple of native milkweeds, Roots and Shoots Nursery down in Charleston was kind enough to let me borrow these for demonstration.

So this is the butterfly weed.

You can see it in full bloom here.

There's not a whole lot of aphids on this one.

And there is, yeah, there's a milkweed bug on that one too, which I don't know if we can get that on camera or not, but it's even put out seed already Amanda> I see it's got seeds, yeah.

Tess> It does have a couple of aphids that you can see just on that stem, but not bad at all.

But these are milkweed aphids.

They're in the oleander group of aphids.

This one, this is a swamp milkweed.

And this one is absolutely covered in aphids.

[laughter] It is crawling with them.

Amanda> We don't even have to look towards the top.

Tess> Yes, there's a lot down here.

Amanda> Good gracious!

Whoo!

Tess> I know, it seems like it would be hurting the plant.

The thing is, when we have monarch caterpillars on these plants, sometimes they can mow them down to just little stems and stalks.

These plants are well adapted to deal with this.

And when we have aphids on these plants, we know that we don't have pesticides that'll kill our caterpillars.

And also these aphids feed some of our favorite pollinators, really small pollinators like hoverflies in the Syrphidae family.

In particular- Amanda> What does a hoverfly do?

Tess> A hoverfly, it looks like a tiny dragonfly.

Amanda> Like a little helicopter?

Tess> They hover like a little helicopter.

Like a little drone.

And around your flowers and whatnot, they'll land on your flowers and then they'll lay their eggs on these plants and then their larva, which look like little caterpillars, go through and they just mow down these aphids.

And so, you can see, if you get up close to this, so many different little pupil cases and some of the little larva just cruising up and down these stems and eating all of these aphids up.

And then that continues the cycle.

Amanda> And that way we know, since this hasn't been sprayed, that it's perfectly safe for the milkweed.

I mean, when they come through for the caterpillars, that's pretty clever of them.

I'm glad to see that they figured all that out and then explain it to people who go in and say, "Bleh."

Tess> Yeah, and so Roots and Shoots does a really good job of saying, "Yes, we have aphids."

And I think a lot of other nurseries do too.

Absolutely.

Amanda> Badge of honor.

Tess> But if you have different habitat types, I just want you to know that there are different aphids or different milkweeds for different habitat types.

This one's the aquatic milkweed, this one is the swamp milkweed, this one's butterfly weed.

This one's very wet, this one's somewhat wet, and this one's quite dry most of the time.

Amanda> And my swamp milkweed seems perfectly happy and it doesn't get water very much, I'm just- Tess> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Amanda> Once it's established.

Alright.

Terasa> It really is a shame that the common name has weed in it, because I think that discourages people from wanting to incorporate it into their yard.

Tess> Such a beautiful plant.

Terasa> It is.

Amanda> And serving a great purpose.

Tess> Absolutely Amanda> Alrighty.

Well, the South Carolina Orchid Society show, Terasa has said, was just filled with gorgeous things.

So let's take a look.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Terasa> Inside the Garden Club Council of Greater Columbia Building, you'll find an orchid show dedicated to highlighting the beauty of this amazing group of plants.

Joining me is Clay Owens, president of the South Carolina Orchid Society.

Clay, I am so excited, but I've never been to an orchid show before.

Can you tell me a little bit about what we'll find?

> Of course, you're going to find a little bit of everything here, from education to some conservation information and of course, a great variety of plants that are exhibited from growers all over the southeast.

We have eight different societies that are exhibiting with us.

Groups from Georgia, South Carolina, and from North Carolina.

And they're all competing to have the best exhibit in this show.

It is a nationally judged show, and so you will get to see the best of the best in our area.

Terasa> You mentioned judging.

I'm really curious about what that process entails.

Clay> Well, there are lots of layers to judging, and it really starts with sort of a comparison.

The American Orchid Society has a database of literally thousands of orchid plants that show the ideal, how tall they should be, how many flowers they should have, what colors they should be.

And so what we're doing is we have judges who have been training for as long as six to ten years on how to select the best plants that are looking at our choices and then saying, "these are good," "these are great," or "these are spectacular."

If they're spectacular, they're gonna be taken in for individual judging.

And those plants will be compared on the database.

They measure everything from the size of the petals, to how many flowers are on a stem, to is that color correct?

They do all of this to ensure that before they put the label of "Best In Show" on that plant, they really measure up to standard.

Terasa> Wow!

That's quite a rigorous process.

But I think the South Carolina Orchid Society fared pretty well.

Clay> You know, we did.

It was a great combination of effort from all of our members that we could come together to produce a big, beautiful display of plants.

And it was wonderful to show a combination of our new novice growers, along with some of our more advanced or expert growers as well.

We could blend it all together just to show that orchid growing is for everyone and any kind of plant is welcome, and it's something that can be enriching for you in your life.

Terasa> And what I really enjoy about what I've seen is the educational component.

So there's obvious beauty and it's hard to take it all in, but there's education stations and classes as well?

Clay> Yes, that's actually one of the mission statements for the South Carolina Orchid Society is that we always want to promote education, conservation, and culture for orchids.

So in our show, we made a point to have education stations throughout the show.

Those education stations have examples of different orchid families showing you all the different variety in colors, shapes, and sizes, along with care sheets and information so that you can see how to best grow those plants as well.

It's a great resource of information that you can even take home with you by giving you care sheets and direct connections to our website and the American Orchid Society websites as well.

Terasa> You know, if people are inspired and I don't know how you couldn't be after coming here, there are plants that are available, plant material as well.

Clay> Yes, we always try to have a variety of growers here so they can show you their plants, and that might inspire you to locate some of those that you can then take home with you, and you can start growing different things that you might not find locally, but things that are accessible to everyone, once you determine what the best growing place is in your life and then know how to take care of it.

Terasa> That's always key, right plant, right place and knowing what's going to fit into your lifestyle.

Whether you're looking for something that's simple or you're willing to give it a little bit more care.

Clay> Exactly.

I always promote the fact that orchids are here to enrich our life.

We really shouldn't have to change about our routine to adjust to them.

There are 70,000 native species of orchids around the world, and now we've hybridized more than 400,000 species.

There's something for everyone.

If you have low light, high light, lots of moisture, no moisture, you want fragrance, you want it to not have fragrance but have lots of color.

With those 400,000, there's something for you out there.

We just need to pick the right plant.

Terasa> There really is.

That number, is rather overwhelming to think there are so many different species and hybrids.

Clay> You know, actually about two or three years ago, the Phalaenopsis orchid, the plant that you might find in big box stores or grocery stores became the number one house plant in the world.

It is now more popular than the poinsettia or any other house plant.

They're everywhere.

Terasa> That's incredible.

But I want to know, what's your favorite orchid?

Clay> Well, I think just like people say, they don't have a favorite child, there's not a favorite orchid.

I will say that I really enjoy the Cattleya orchids because they give you enormous color, great fragrance, and a diversity.

And if I'm honest, I'm a little bit of a lazy grower sometimes, and they can do more light and less water.

And in South Carolina, that's always a plus.

Terasa> Yes, work with what you have for sure.

<Exactly> So what do you think for a novice grower, what would be the hardest orchid and they might want to stay away from that till they've got a little more experience.

Clay> Well, there's an entire family of orchids.

And I will say, this is a very broad statement, but miniature orchids can be a little tougher because they have smaller systems and they don't take shocks quite as well.

And there are many miniatures that actually grow in the Andes and the cool weather regions of South America.

Some people do successfully grow them, believe it or not, in wine coolers and other things to maintain that 40 to 50 degrees that they really need.

But for me, I would say those might not be for the beginners, but there are plenty of plants out there that you can still buy almost everywhere in the state of South Carolina without having to look too hard, and you will find something that fits more into our more summer like temperate climate for most of the year.

Thank you so much Clay for speaking with me today, and to the society as a whole, for sharing the magical world of orchids with everyone.

From dainty and delicate to vibrant and showy, there really is something for everyone.

♪ ♪ Amanda> You can see that a lot of people really do love their orchids, and I'm glad they do, because I'm not gonna be able to grow them very well.

Anyway, hats, hats , hats.

I want to let y'all know, I go to a lot of trouble for y'all.

So this hat has boneset on it, which is this white flower, and then the purple one is pokeberry.

And so, pokeweed is fascinating, and it's a great dye, except it comes right out when you wash your hair or just rinse it out with water.

Terasa> That's probably good since you just put that in your hair.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Anyway... And it gets all of your hands and everything.

Anyway, I just think it's great fun.

Boneset, this one was, I was going to Camden, and I had to pull off, you know, and go through a ditch that was full of briars.

And then climb out the other side on my hands and knees and get the boneset, and then blah, blah, blah, come back and do the same thing.

And then I had to come down and turn around and go to get the pokeweed.

Terasa> I really could have helped you.

I have boneset in my yard and pokeweed just outside my fence, but I do appreciate the effort you put in.

Amanda> Yeah.

Anyway, so thank you.

Ruined my story.

[laughter] But, potpourri is a perennial, and when it first... it dies back to the ground, and when it first comes out in the spring, a lot of people collect the early, early foliage, and you have to boil it a couple of times.

And it was like the first thing they had to eat after a long, hard winter.

It was green.

And so I have cousins in the mountains who kind of went back to the land and they would really make use of potpourri when it first came out.

But you know, you need to read about it, how to do it safely, if that's fair to say.

Yeah, yeah.

But anyway, you know, when you think about it, before we had grocery stores and you'd had a long winter without much fresh stuff to eat, green is green, right?

Okay, okay.

So, Nicole, did you just get a moving van and decide to move everything here?

Nicole> Almost.

[laughter] But it's funny every time we have people come to the office, and for the first time, if they don't know where it is, they always point out that they knew the office would be in that location because they saw my window.

Because I have a lot of plants in my office.

[laughter] So I brought a lot of Hoya or wax flowers today.

And just because this is such a fun, plant species group.

There are so many different types.

We have Hoya imperialis, which has one of the biggest flowers.

So you can see on the Hoya krohniana 'black' how tiny those flowers normally are.

And the imperialis has basically the entire flower set up can be as big as your hand and individual flowers about two inches.

<Golly!> So you can see how diverse they are.

Then we have Hoya bella, and this thing has not stopped blooming ever since I got it, basically.

Amanda> So beautiful!

Nicole> Very pretty, yes.

And then another Hoya krohniana.

So I have the Hoya krohniana 'silver' and I have the krohniana 'black.'

This one has the most fragrant flowers I've ever, smelled.

Every time it blooms and I walk into the office, I know which one is blooming.

Amanda> Heavens!

Nicole> Yeah.

And then another fun one is the Hoya kerrii, the heart leaf Hoya Amanda> It's a beautiful little leaf isn't it?

Nicole> Yes.

Usually you can buy those at nurseries or big box stores on Valentine's Day because the leaf is like a heart.

Now make sure when you buy one, the leaf can survive on its own and root just perfectly fine for years, but in many cases it does not have a growth point on the leaf.

So make sure you see a little bit of a sprout behind the leaf.

That's when you know you're gonna get a plant out of it and not just one leaf.

Tess> Now, are these pretty easy to propagate?

You said that it can grow just from, like, the leaf just about.

Nicole> Yes.

They are so easy to propagate that I often give my friends a little cutting.

Just be sure they have a little, milky sap.

So you shouldn't touch that.

You should wash your hands if you're very sensitive, wear gloves, use pruners.

But, yeah, very easy to propagate.

Either in water, just make sure it dries up first before you put it into water, or just normal potting soil, they will root very readily.

And as for care, what I really like about Hoyas is the fact, because I'm very bad at watering my plants, they want to go completely dry before the next watering.

Amanda> Woah.

Nicole> Yes.

So dry them out, they prefer to be more dry than too wet.

Amanda> So what exposure do you give them?

Nicole> Per websites, books, and common knowledge you want to give indirect light.

Amanda> Okay, for this one.

Okay, well that's easier than having to move things in and out the sun.

Nicole> But in my experience, direct sunlight, they will flower so much more easy.

Amanda> Whoa.

Oh, okay.

Nicole> So you can do, you just have to gradually get them used to direct sunlight.

So many of mine used to grow outside during the warm months in full sunlight.

Amanda> Oh, and the flowers are just stunningly beautiful.

Nicole> They are.

They truly are.

They smell very good.

And, once they start blooming, they will continuously bloom.

Amanda> Oh, have you gotten a bloom on the big one?

That's this big sometimes, the one you said- Nicole> No, I'm still waiting.

I've had this one for about three years.

Amanda> Hurry up.

[laughter] Nicole> Now, what I can also mention here, because especially the imperialis as well as Chelsea, if you see crinkled leaves on your Hoya, you probably have flat mites, because that is one of those pest insects that really likes Hoya leaves.

And you cannot see them, they are microscopic.

So all you will see is those weird curled or wrinkly leaves.

Amanda> And how do we get rid of them?

Nicole> Well, you do have to use chemicals for those, but because they're inside plants, it's not quite as severe, as if you had outside where we have pollinators and whatnot.

Personally, I prefer to spray my plants outside and then bring them back inside just so I'm not walking through the spray.

Amanda> Yeah, okay.

Goodness.

Well, we'll help you load up your moving van and- Nicole> I appreciate it!

[laughter] Terasa> She won't notice if, you know, you brought- Nicole> I will.

[laughter] Terasa> Darn.

Carmen> But they really are like Pokemon, you got to get 'em all.

<Yes!> There's so many different types.

Amanda> But, we're now gonna go and listen to what Doug Tallamy tells us what we can do to kind of help save the world.

I'm talking with Professor Doug Tallamy an Entomology professor at the University of Delaware.

And, Doug, you have pointed out to us the importance of gardening for nature and give us the statistic that really drives home why we've got to be so critically enthusiastic about doing this.

Dr.

Tallamy> Well, unfortunately, there's a lot of statistics.

The one that people talk about is the loss of our birds.

We've lost 3 billion breeding birds in the last 50 years.

That's a third of our North American bird population already gone.

But we already have, we've got global insect decline.

The last figure I saw is we've lost 75% of our insects.

The little things that run the world...not good.

So pretty much everything's in decline.

Amanda> And one of the things that when I've been following you for years and one of the first things you talked about was larval food sources, because even I think a hummingbird, everyone thinks they just eat sugar water.

But how many, don't most birds have to feed their young sources of protein?

Dr.

Tallamy> Absolutely.

96% of our terrestrial birds rear their young on insects.

And most of those insects are caterpillars.

And that includes hummingbirds.

When they're breeding 80% of their diet is insects.

It's not much sugar water.

You need protein to make a body.

That's right.

And it's not just any insect.

It is those caterpillars.

They're soft.

Amanda> Soft.

Dr.

Tallamy> They're high in protein and fats.

They're high in carotenoids, which vertebrates can't make, so it's a great source of carotenoids for the birds.

Well, they have very thin exoskeletons.

Amanda> Who would want to have to stuff a roach down their babies mouth?

Dr.

Tallamy> Or a beetle.

A beetle is... I talk about caterpillars being like sausages.

<Yeah> Well, a beetle's like a tank and so much of a beetle is "un-digestible" and it's got sharp edges.

It rips up the baby's mouth.

So caterpillars are enormously important.

And not just a few... thousands.

6000 to 9000 caterpillars to get one clutch of chickadees to the point where they leave the nest.

Amanda> Whoa!

Dr.

Tallamy> And after they leave the nest, the parents continue to feed them caterpillars another 21 days.

So you're talking about tens of thousands of caterpillars.

Amanda> Just I mean, for one little nest of a small bird.

Yeah, a small bird.

And then the other thing is that because of co-evolution, most caterpillars can't have certain, only certain plants which their larva can digest.

Is that correct?

Dr.

Tallamy> That is correct.

That's called host plant specialization.

And a perfect example is the monarch.

It only eats milkweeds.

But 90% of our caterpillars are host plant specialists, just like the monarchs.

And they have to specialize because the plants don't want to be eaten.

They want to capture the energy from the sun and use it for their own growth and reproduction.

So they protect their tissues with nasty chemicals.

They don't taste good.

Amanda> And then some, like the monarchs, learn to get around this.

Dr.

Tallamy> That's where that co-evolution comes along.

They get specialized enzymes and behavioral adaptations and life history adaptations that allow them to get past those defenses on milkweeds.

But they didn't do that for any other plant.

So then they're locked into eating milkweeds.

And if you take milkweeds out of your yard and put hostas in... there go your monarchs.

Amanda> But fortunately, we have some plants that are easy to grow that also support a huge number of caterpillars.

And I guess the mighty oak.

Dr.

Tallamy> The mighty oak is the best.

It's the best across the nation.

They support more than 950 species of caterpillars.

No other plant genus comes close to that.

So if you're going to plant a single tree, if you're going to do one thing to your yard, that's going to help biodiversity, plant an oak.

Amanda> And then also, you know, people do all this crazy volcano mulching and stuff like that.

But the caterpillars, the majority of them, I believe, fall to the ground and they need to go into the ground.

So you really should have a huge mulched area that allows them to and they're not coming down there to bother you as soon as they land, they want to go down into the soil.

Dr.

Tallamy> They pupate and you get egg, larva, pupa, and then adult, and then they go underground to pupate or they spin a cocoon in the leaf litter.

But we don't have a leaf litter under our trees.

We have grass that goes right up to it.

So it's very difficult for those caterpillars to get down there.

So we've got to do two things.

We've got to make caterpillars, but we also have to shrink the lawn.

<Yes> We've got 44 million acres of lawn, which is an area the size of New England.

Amanda> I don't believe that lawns do anything for the caterpillars or the birds, if I'm not mistaken.

Dr.

Tallamy> Lawns don't do anything for anything.

They're pretty.

There's four things every landscape has to do.

It has to support the watershed.

It has to support pollinators.

It has to support the food web, those caterpillars, and it has to sequester carbon, pull carbon out of the atmosphere.

Lawn does none of those things.

So having less lawn is going to help all aspects of our ecosystem.

And a good way to have a lush lawn is to put that bed under your oak tree because the beds make it right out to the drip line.

That's what the caterpillars want.

That's what the tree wants, and you'll have less lawn.

Amanda> And then around the edges of our property where if you just have lawn, any pesticides or fertilizers might get down into the watershed.

We can use the edges of our lawn also to plant perhaps smaller trees and have some little patches of perennials, Dr.

Tallamy> Sure.

Amanda> Herbaceous perennials- Dr.

Tallamy> The more plants you have on your property, the more pollutants are going to be intercepted before they get into the watershed.

But remember, we don't need any pesticides.

We use pesticides pretty much for no reason.

The only ones that really are necessary are to control termites and real termite people use baits now.

Amanda> And you have clever ways of trying to reduce your mosquito population.

You get a water bucket and put some straw or hay in it and then some mosquito dunks.

And so if you've got an easy place for the female mosquitoes, the mosquito dunks are specific only to the mosquito larvae.

Dr.

Tallamy> Only to aquatic diphtheria.

But the only aquatic diphtheria in your bucket is a mosquito larva.

And it's there because you've created this irresistible brew.

The female can't help but layer eggs in them, so you draw them from your property.

They lay their eggs there, put in one mosquito dunk, Amanda> -and they last for a long time.

Dr.

Tallamy> You're done.

Yeah.

Twelve dollars for a season's worth of control.

Amanda> How about that?

Then the other thing we can do is fire ants are such a problem down here and Clemson has wonderful resources on how to control those.

A lot of people still come down and put pesticide over their entire yards.

There's one thing that is, although it's not organic, it's a bait, and you just put like a pound for a whole year.

And then they're also some organic.

Dr.

Tallamy> They will take it back to the colony.

Amanda> Yeah, I know.

It's really, people are working hard to find ways to try to be a part of the solution, I believe.

Dr.

Tallamy> You know, when we spread pesticides and herbicides all over our living spaces, we're living in that, we've created an envelope of poison and know we don't die tomorrow.

But 30 years from now, we get cancer.

Where did that come from?

Amanda> And tell me about what would happen if we did not have the decomposing insects.

Dr.

Tallamy> 90% of the organic material out there dies and falls to the ground.

It's our decomposing insect, decomposers that turn that over.

If we didn't have that, E.O.

Wilson says that the Earth would rot, all we would have is bacteria and fungi.

It would take forever.

It'd be this tangled mess of rotting vegetation very slowly.

But the insects are turning it over very quickly.

So insects are essential for life on earth, life as we know it.

And without insects, humans would disappear, which is an important point.

So this war we have against insects is a war against ourselves.

Amanda> Also, I think that we need sometimes to provide water sources.

Where you're from, you probably have to put water that's not frozen in the winter.

But down here, birds do need water.

Dr.

Tallamy> Yeah, having a moving water source.

So a friend calls it a bubbler, but even just a dripping hose because birds are attracted to clean water, the old birdbath that just sit there and get stagnant, they don't like that.

But if you have a little pump that circulates it, it signifies clean water.

And yeah, particularly for migrating birds, they fly up to 300 miles a night.

They've got to come down, have a big drink.

Amanda> And when you talk about that, we are nature's best hope.

You have now a movement that I believe you said 75% of the land in North America is.

Dr.

Tallamy> 78% of the lower 48 states is privately owned, 85% east of the Mississippi.

So if we don't practice conservation on private property, we're going to fail.

And failure is not an option.

So, unless we have something called Homegrown National Park, right?

<Yeah.

Yeah.> We need to enlist everybody, millions of property owners who are going to practice good earth stewardship right at home.

That will turn this around.

It really will.

And there's enough people who have done it, including myself, I see what happened at our property.

Nature's really resilient.

If you put the right plants there, it rebuilds itself and we can increase biodiversity very quickly.

Amanda> As we move towards smaller yards now.

Some people think, well, I can't do anything, but I believe you've talked about people who have teeny little properties and they plant natives and then they go out and start looking at the different caterpillars they have.

It's kind of astonishing.

Dr.

Tallamy> Yeah, small properties work, if you have no property, if you have a balcony on an apartment complex container plants with native plants, and you can now go to our website HomegrownNationalPark.org and there's a whole list of the appropriate native plants that do well in containers and different eco-regions.

So there's no reason, that's a pile of bricks with no plant material there.

If everybody had plants on their balconies, it's all of a sudden an important resource for the migrating monarch, for the native bees... that are nearby.

We can do it everywhere, cities included.

Amanda> You'll laugh at me, but we live in a house that was built in 1880 and we don't have central heat or air.

And if we did not have oak trees and pecan trees in our yard, let me tell you, we could not survive in South Carolina.

Dr.

Tallamy> Yeah, those big trees throw shade and they'll lower the temperature 15, 10 to 15 degrees in the summertime, and it protects you from winter wings.

Amanda> There's just for every single purpose.

This makes great sense.

And it's not going to be that difficult, is it?

Dr.

Tallamy> No, it's not.

It's fun.

You can see the results and it's not that difficult.

And, you know, if you don't garden and a lot of people don't, we're trying to build an industry of ecological landscapers that you can hire and they'll come do it for you.

But not doing it in the future is not an option.

We can't live without nature because that creates the life support that we depend on.

We call them ecosystem services and we need them everywhere, not just in parks and preserves.

So this is kind of a must do movement that would involve gardeners.

But even if you don't garden, the people you hire can do it.

Amanda> I want to thank you so much for sharing this information with our audience and for helping us all to understand that we as an individual can make a difference.

Dr.

Tallamy> You are nature's best hope.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Amanda> Doug Tallamy's the person I found out about mosquito buckets from too.

So, he's just... Please, do pay attention to what he posts and read it and make some changes, if possible, so that you can, help the pollinators.

Well, Terasa.

Terasa> We got some more questions, if you'd like to try to answer them.

We have Quetta from McClellanville who said, "I'm new to the coast and I'm not sure how to prepare my yard for possible hurricanes.

Is there anything I should put on my hurricane prep list?"

Amanda> I mean, I remember that you're supposed to have all this stuff packed up.

Help us out here, Carmen.

Carmen> Yes, that's right.

Having your kit ready, but also being able to go around right now when it's not raining or a hurricane is not imminent, and looking to see the status of your trees, any of the trees that might be dead or broken or hanging limbs already, those are basically projectiles at this point.

So that's when you want to, probably get a lot of your trimming done, is to trim up anything that looks like it is already dead or is hanging on by a thread.

<Alright> Additionally, especially on the coast, one of the biggest problems we have with things like vegetable gardens and some of our non-native plants, gardens is saltwater intrusion during hurricane surge.

So, in addition to that and stormwater runoff, a lot of the flooding ends up being problematic, toxic, or full of fecal matter.

So if you, making sure that you have a raised up garden, and watching to make sure that if a hurricane does come, if it floods, you probably just want to take those vegetables, like, root vegetables, things like that, Just pull them out.

And if you know the hurricane's coming and you're not out of town, pick those fruit first before the rain comes.

A lot of things like tomatoes and the fleshy fruits, During a heavy storm, even something, like a, a small Category one that will actually split a lot of your fruit open.

So grabbing them now makes it a lot easier later.

Even if they're green, bring them in and harvest them first.

Amanda> And I think you're supposed to bring in lawn furniture and all that kind of too.

Carmen> Oh, yeah!

Bring it in, sink it in the pool, whatever you got.

<Okay> Make sure that there's no projectiles.

Any of your tomato cages, if they're not really just grown down, Pull 'em, pull all your posts, all your stakes.

Amanda> Let's hope that this is information and we won't have to implement it.

Carmen> That's right.

Being prepared is the best part.

Terasa> People might have hanging baskets or other outdoor plants and things, you know, just got to be mindful that the wind gusts could get pretty, pretty "strengthy".

You know, they could blow that thing and like you said and become a projectile for your yard, your neighbor's yard.

Carmen> Any top heavy planters, take them all on the inside.

Amanda> Terasa, something else.

Terasa> You're ready for something else?

We'll think about, oh, this is kind of a sweet question.

Bianca from James Island said, "I found this cute tiny turtle and I don't know what to do with it!

What is it?

Should I try to feed it?"

And luckily, we have a photo so that we can help identify.

Amanda> What is this?

Tess> So this is a hatchling diamondback terrapin and diamondback terrapins are specific.

They're very specialized to brackish areas.

So brackish water being not quite ocean salt, right?

Not freshwater, but something in between.

They're the only turtles in the world that can really tolerate those specific conditions.

And one of their favorite things to eat is periwinkle snails.

Amanda> Oh, sure!

I love those.

Tess> Which feed on, like, the algae that grows on the grasses in the marsh.

Now, this tiny little turtle, since it is, especially since it's a hatchling, it probably hasn't had any food yet, and we don't want to give it the wrong thing.

So we want to make sure that we put it in the right habitat so it can find its own food.

Turtles, are very good at, like they don't need any help.

We know sea turtles go right out into the ocean without any help from any parents.

Same thing with these diamondback terrapins and all of our turtles.

So the best thing you can do is put them out into the marsh where they belong.

Amanda> Where you found it, maybe?

Tess> Near to where you found it.

As close to where you found it as possible.

But there is a reporting website that SCDNR runs.

And so it's good to report those diamondback terrapins, too.

There's been research going on with diamondback terrapins in places like Kiawah for like 40 years.

<Goodness!> And so they are a very interesting, well-studied species that are really unique and only found in the coastal area.

Amanda> That's kinda fascinating, don't you think?

Tess> Absolutely.

But they do come on land to nest and that's why she found it in her yard.

Amanda> Oh, okay, okay, okay.

Goodness gracious.

Well, are they... do raccoons come and dig their nest up?

Tess> Absolutely, absolutely.

So one of the things that they do to kind of help with that is they'll actually lay multiple nests a year sometimes.

So they can lay up to, I think it's three nests a year and sometimes up to a dozen or so eggs.

And then those eggs take about two months to hatch.

And so between July and September, is when we see most of them hatching.

But if the conditions aren't quite right, then they'll actually stay in their nest until the next spring and they'll overwinter in that nest.

So sometimes they really don't have to eat for a while.

Yeah, they can last a long time.

Anyway, they have a very interesting reproductive cycle.

Amanda> I don't want to go a year without eating, okay?

Tess> I know.

Me either, me either.

Terasa> Good thing we're not reptiles.

Amanda> Nicole, what you got for us?

Nicole> Oh, I brought some more plants for you.

I have... I have some Halloween themed plants.

So I brought- Amanda> A dead plant.

[laughter] We're supposed to teach people how to keep plants alive.

Nicole> It's growing, and it even has some flowers, okay.

Amanda> If you say so.

Alrighty.

Nicole> But yes, it is called dead stick plant, is the common name.

Don't ask me about the scientific name this time.

But they're both, cacti.

We have the- Amanda> Really?

Nicole> Yes.

Yes, ma'am.

<Okay> So, yes, the dead stick plant, and it was advertised on the website where I purchased it as the ugliest plant alive.

And I felt so sad and so bad for that little thing.

So I decided to grow it.

[laughter] And then one of my favorites is the dancing bones cactus.

And it's, well, it does look like dancing bones.

Amanda> Wow!

And so what Habitat, for both of 'em?

Nicole> Dry.

Dry.

They cannot overwinter outside in our state.

But they do like it cooler in the winter.

They do like to go a little slow.

Amanda> That's right because out in the desert- Nicole> Correct.

Correct.

Yes.

This one is very easy to propagate.

I usually put it in water.

Amanda> Really?

<Yes> Do they flower?

Well, this one, the dead man is.

Nicole> The dead stick plant has some flowers coming up.

They're hard to see.

Amanda> And how about the other one?

Nicole> The other one has yellow flowers.

Very small.

And usually during the winter time.

So, so far it has always bloomed in December, January.

Amanda> For you?

<Yes> It blooms in the house?

<Mhm> So I guess you don't water 'em very often?

Nicole> No.

Those stay fairly dry.

If you overwater them, they're gone.

<Gracious goodness> Terasa> Something reminds me, it looks like coral.

<Yes> I mean, coral wouldn't move like that.

It would, you know.

Nicole> But that's a good point.

We're going back to the saltwater.

[laughter] Something else is in the pot with the dancing bones.

Oh, I'm not supposed to notice that.

Nicole> It has a lot of sun scald.

So just because we have some degrees in horticulture does not mean we grow perfect plants.

Amanda> I'll agree with you about that.

Nicole> This is another jungle cactus.

<Goodness!> And what I like about this one, it is just very nicely red, especially if it's in full sun after you acclimated it properly, which I did not do.

But it gets even more reddish.

Amanda> Heavens.

How often do you feed cactus?

Cacti, whatever they are.

Nicole> I do... so honestly, I feed all my plants with every watering, but extremely diluted because I'm not good at keeping track on what needs feeding when.

So I just dilute my fertilizers heavily and then I can do it every time I give them water.

Amanda> Okay, cause I was gonna say you got a lot of stuff to keep up with.

You'd have to have spreadsheets and all this kind of stuff.

Nicole> No, and a lot of my plants struggle.

But there is a saying that plants thrive with neglect.

And I'm very glad I found the ones that really thrive under neglect.

Amanda> I'm glad y'all found each other.

I'm glad you found each other.

[laughter] Well, thank you all so much.

This has been a wonderful, wonderful, fun time for me.

I mean, I hope you all had a good time too.

And Terasa, always thank you for everything that you do, all these questions that people send in.

Terasa> It is my pleasure.

Amanda> It is kind of interesting to see what people are coming up with.

Anyway, so... well come back soon.

Yeah, yeah.

Alrighty.

And so to you at home, we'll be here.

You know, you can count on us, here we'll be.

Right next, you know, next Tuesday, same time, same place.

See you then.

Bye-bye!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ 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.