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 everybody.

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

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

I went to school a long time ago and Terasa Lott, my co-host... and also a Clemson person.

It's hard enough to remember things because I'm real old, and now they change the scientific names of everything.

I'm just about to lose my mind.

I think, I'm not the only one, surely.

> I'm sure you're not the only one.

I have difficulty, too.

In fact, this year it's my 30th high school class reunion.

So feeling a little, a little like I'm in that, that grouping as well, where I'm starting to have trouble remembering things.

But, in some respects it's good that things are changing because that keeps our mind and brains engaged.

Amanda> Well, I guess so.

Thank you very much.

That's a nice, that's a nice slant on it.

[laughter] You're right.

And it is fun to learn new things because sometimes it's you know, they're doing DNA on everything.

I mean, we may found out they were first cousins.

Who the heck knows?

[laughter] But it is kind of fun because they're figuring out how things really are related.

Terasa> That's right.

<Yeah> Ever changing technology gives us new advances so that we maybe can change things that we thought in the past.

So, science is of course, fact and, research based, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't change.

Amanda> And that's what's so nice about working for Clemson is that, you know, we are research based.

But it doesn't mean we can't have fun while we're giving the research based information.

Anyway, thanks for being with us, as always.

And Carmen Ketron, from- an Urban Hort.

Agent.

And, it's always fun when you come.

You go places and do things.

Have you been anywhere fun lately?

> Yes, I love to travel around the state, and recently they let me into North Carolina.

<Whoa> And I just got to, be one of the judges for the North Carolina Strawberry Festival and Strawberry Contest.

Amanda> Well, you know, we used to say that we were the tastier peach state, but I don't think we're going to try to denigrate North Carolina strawberries.

I'm sure they're just as good as ours.

Carmen> Oh, yes, they're delicious.

And I'm really excited.

Hopefully I'll get to try some strawberries today, I hear.

Amanda> And so, did they have a theme up there?

Was it kind of a big deal?

Carmen> Yes.

This year, in Chadbourn at the Strawberry Festival, was "Berries and Bravery."

And so it was both strawberry themed and American pride themed.

So everybody was out at the gala in their beautiful strawberry outfits as well as their American flag attire.

It was quite fun.

I loved it- Everybody got excited.

All of the Strawberry Queens were there and the princesses.

And we had a really good time judging some of the, tastiest strawberries I've had to date.

<Whoa> So, it's always fun to do it.

And, I did such a good job, they're going gonna let me go back for the Watermelon Festival.

Amanda> Well... Carmen> Yeah.

Amanda> La, la, la, la, la... no flies on you.

[laughter] Carmen> But it's a lot of fun because now I'm in a new area and everybody stops me now and recognizes me from the show.

And they all send their regards to you and Terasa.

I feel very excited to be, like, amongst the stars.

Amanda> And for people who haven't followed your, progression in the career- You've moved from one office to another county, I think.

Carmen> Yes.

Now I'm back in my home office of, Horry County.

And so I do Horry, Marion, and Georgetown.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, we're glad you can slip us in.

Thank you so very, very much.

Jennifer Weaver, you haven't been here in a while.

Thanks for coming back.

> Glad to be here.

Thanks for having me.

Amanda> And, you're the Urban Horticulture Agent in Lexington.

And I think occasionally you run down to Aiken too.

Jennifer> Yes.

We have... two offices that I am in charge of.

And we also have a master gardener group at each office- <Heavens!> In Aiken and Lexington, so we're busy.

Amanda> I bet you enjoy teaching those people and meeting them, don't you?

Jennifer> I do, it's great.

We alternate our class every year between Aiken and Lexington.

So I enjoy, you know, getting to be down there a little bit too.

Amanda> So can people in Lexington take the class in Aiken if there's room or how do you do it?

Jennifer> I do open it up to everyone, but usually the majority of people want to have it in Aiken, are from Aiken.

They just wait til their turn comes up the next year.

<Okay> But it's open to everyone.

Amanda> Downtown Aiken is just the cat's meow now.

Isn't it fun?

Jennifer> It is.

They have a... an arborist that is trying to identify all the trees that they have planted and locate them.

And they have, I think a video, an audio... Amanda> Oh, so when you see a tree you can learn about.

Jennifer> Right.

Amanda> Whoa.

Isn't that fun.

Jennifer> It really is.

<Okay> It's a neat little town.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Well, they're lucky to have you.

You make it even neater.

How bout that?

Jennifer> Well, thank you.

Amanda> And, Daniel I don't think you've been with this before.

Daniel Lyon, you're the, Commercial Hort.

Agent, not very far from me because you're in Clarendon and Orangeburg and Sumter.

How bout that?

> Yes, ma'am.

Amanda> I'm in St.

Matthews.

<Okay> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's... is it very different the things that people are doing there?

Daniel> It is.

There's a lot of different things going on in all four of the counties that I cover.

I'm based out of Orangeburg, but I also cover Calhoun, Clarendon and Sumter and even parts of Dorchester.

Amanda> Mercy me.

And, people just don't realize Orangeburg is a big agricultural place, I think.

Daniel> It is.

Orangeburg has a huge row crop presence where as I cover, commercial fruits and vegetables, which I have, you know, throughout all of my other counties as well.

Amanda> Okay.

Yeah, people just don't realize how much agriculture there still is in South Carolina.

Daniel> Yes, ma'am.

There is a lot.

Amanda> And, so we say, you know, the Certified South Carolina, nothing better, nothing finer either, than local.

And I encourage people to get local things when they can.

Daniel> Yes, absolutely.

I serve a lot of those roadside stand farmers, and they seem to be doing really well.

And I encourage people to go out there and meet with them all the time.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, thank you for giving a plus to the home team.

<Absolutely> Okay.

We're going to take you to some fun places, to Carolina Wildlife Center.

Terasa, you went there.

And what do they do there?

Terasa> Yes, that's a wildlife rehabilitation center.

And, many years ago, I had a chance to volunteer there, and help with some kind of ambassador education.

So one of my favorites was a day that I got to spend with an owl named Luna.

Luna had been injured, with an accident with a car, so couldn't be released.

But we could use as an ambassador to educate folks, about human and wildlife interactions.

Amanda> And they're still going strong.

Terasa> They sure are.

Amanda> We'll be excited to see that.

And then Hannah Mikell went to do some soybean deer control.

And good gracious, there's not there are not many places for the deer anymore.

And they do like soybeans.

It's a pretty big crop.

At any rate, well, I bet we have some "Gardens of the Week."

Let's see what beautiful things people have sent us pictures of.

Terasa> I can't wait.

"Gardens of the Week" is your time to shine.

It's when we feature photos that you have submitted either of your yard, your garden, indoor plants, beautiful places, wildlife, all kinds of things.

The possibilities are endless.

So let's take a look today.

From Ellen Pauly, we have Clematis.

But people don't always recognize this one.

This is Clematis pitcheri.

One of the common names is leather flower.

And Ellen said that people are often confused because it has bell-shaped flowers.

So it doesn't look like the traditional Clematis that people used to seeing.

<Okay> From Linda Grooms, we have mealycup sage, Salvia farinacea.

Which she reports is usually humming with bee activity.

From Timothy Mills, we have a koi pond surrounded by plants, including Hostas that he says "are doing very well."

And last but not least, a photo of Winnie Wood helping her parents, Marina and Paul, remove unwanted vines in their yard in Camden.

And her attire is absolutely adorable, complete with a flower, a flower crown much like you wear Amanda.

[laughter] Well, I sure hope they didn't get into any poison ivy when they were getting rid of those vines.

Terasa> I hope not.

But, we encourage you to submit your photos.

It's easy, just look for a call for "Gardens of the Week" post your photo in the comments on our Facebook page, and one may just appear on air.

This is just a random sampling, so there are far more for you to view on our Facebook page.

Amanda> Well, sometimes we can help people with questions.

So let's see what's in the hopper today.

Terasa> All right.

In the hopper, up first is from David in Florence who said, "I have a quick question for you.

I heard that tree roots above the surface are bad or dying, but I don't want to cut or remove them and kill the tree.

Do you have any suggestions?"

Amanda> Goodness, I love it when people say quick question, then we're going to talk about it for ten minutes.

[laughter] Carmen?

Carmen> Yes, so, one of the big things with most of your trees, especially in-ground trees, is that those surface roots are actually very important and critical.

They are almost always not dead.

They're actually just trying to get air and... enjoy kind of spreading out.

And a lot of those become feeder roots that then come back up.

And so, chopping those off or a lot of people I've seen think that, it is smart to, kind of slice them or to shave them off so that, they can run their mower through it is actually very damaging.

A lot of people will cut, very important lifeline roots without really knowing it.

Anything bigger than an inch diameter, of root can create unstable conditions for the tree, make it very problematic, introduce fungus sometimes or disease.

And so you got to make sure that if you can, don't even touch those roots.

Really just enjoy them.

I know that it can sometimes if you're mowing the lawn, you can go and nick them and then the blades are all messed up.

Amanda> I mean, why not mulch?

Carmen> Exactly.

Great plan.

<Yeah> Mulch around.

How much are we mulching these days?

Out to the- Jennifer> Well, the drip line of the tree canopy is optimal.

Although that can't always be done.

Amanda> Because the grass, you know, if you're just irrigating your grass, you really need to irrigate the tree.

And if you're, you know... the grass is going to get the irrigation before the tree roots mostly.

Carmen> Now, and a lot of factors sometimes if it's getting into water lines, things like that, you want to make sure that you're, identifying like, how old the tree is.

If the tree's a little bit older, you might want to be a little bit more careful.

Younger trees can take it a little bit better, but if, like, the tree is leaning you definitely don't want to chop any roots because that makes it super unstable.

Yeah, other things, the health of the tree.

So you just want to, take a lot of factors into it.

But if you can just hold off, don't cut any tree roots.

Don't slice any.

Yeah, just be smarter.

Amanda> And I think it's so much fun because people, spend thousands of dollars to bring in a tree to plant, Daniel, sometimes.

And, actually, I've read that a tree that you plant yourself will outgrow you know, this one that was 40 dollars might outgrow the other one pretty quickly.

Daniel> Yeah, that's certainly possible with, you know, taking the right measures and irrigating properly and making sure that we're taking care of those plants and watching for fungal diseases and things like that.

Amanda> And, if you get a plant that's in a pot, though, I think we can actually take it off and look at the roots.

And if there is an encircling root, then I think, Jennifer, that we would want to get that root, remove it while it's still young so that the roots will spread out.

Jennifer> That's exactly right.

Those are called girdling roots.

And you want to remove those before you do your planting and spread them out as you plant them so they can, just migrate out into the existing native soil.

So you don't want to have those girdling roots.

So break those up when you take it out of the container.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Gosh, I mean, if I didn't have trees or pecan trees, which are kind of nuisance, but, around my house, I don't know what we do because, you know, we don't have air conditioning.

You know, we've got, I mean shade... Terasa> They provide a lot of shade for you.

Amanda> Shade is pretty important, I think, for everybody.

[all agreeing] Amanda> Okay.

Well, that was fun.

Well, what else?

Terasa> Well, we normally try to answer a lot of questions, but last year, while some of our Clemson agents from around the Midlands were at a district meeting at Nature as Teacher Preserve in Camden, <Yes> we knew there was a possibility that a rather rare Trillium would be there and about to flower.

And so it turns out, that Jennifer had a chance to see it, along with Jackie, who is a frequent panelist on the show.

So I thought Jennifer might share that experience and a little bit more with our viewers.

Amanda> Gosh, that sounds pretty exciting.

Jennifer> It really was.

We were glad to, be able to observe that in the preserve.

We were taking a walk through the, the woods down to the river, and Jackie said, "hey, isn't that a Trillium?"

And, while she was photographing that one, I looked around and we saw a few more, on the ground.

<Oh> And when we got back, we contacted Dr.

Herrick Brown, the Curator at the... South Carolina- Amanda> Herbarium.

Sure.

Jennifer> South Carolina Herbarium.

And he did confirm that, that was the Wateree Trillium.

And also, added that, that is the northernmost point that they've ever found it.

It's usually found more below the fall line on the Wateree River.

<Whoa!> We were excited to find that and that the preserve could say that they are home to the Wateree Trillium.

Amanda> Isn't that exciting?

And that it is a preserve because so much land is being lost in South Carolina.

So it has a place where it can continue to flourish, I hope.

Jennifer> That's right.

So I hope you get a chance to go out there and look at it.

Amanda> I'd love to go and see it.

Yeah.

May not... at least I've seen the pictures.

<Right> And it certainly is lovely.

Jennifer> You can enjoy our pictures for sure.

Amanda> Yeah, thank you so much.

Okay.

Well, can we help someone now Terasa?

Terasa> I think we can.

We'll go back to our questions.

This one comes in from Elise in Irmo.

Who sent a photograph of a peach and said, "What is this clear, gooey substance on my peach?"

And our viewers might not identify it as a peach because it is kind of small and still greenish, but indeed, that is a developing peach.

Amanda> And boy, I just can't wait for peaches.

I've got an ice cream maker and I'm just about to have a heart attack waiting for those peaches to come in.

But I'm afraid I will have a heart attack if I keep... eating all this ice cream.

[laughter] Well, what's going on with this, soon to be great, delicious peach.

But this one may not get to that point.

Daniel> Yeah.

So, the peach here in this picture is a developing peach.

It's still green.

We're just starting to see some of the color on our peaches.

There can be a lot of different things that can cause that.

Maybe, potentially some disease or mechanical injury to the fruit.

But I think in this picture, because of the way that it's showing, the way that clear goo is sort of coming out of it, is most likely to be insect damage.

So probably from a stinkbug or plant bug or some sort of... insect that we say has piercing and sucking mouthparts injected into that peach.

It is pulling the nutrients out of it and then leaves, and then a few weeks later- it actually takes some time to develop symptoms.

That stuff starts to come out of it.

And then after that, when the peach actually ripens up, it's still edible, but it'll have a dimple in the fruit there that you can see where it was fed on.

Amanda> Okay, okay.

<Interesting> Terasa> Peaches have a fair number of insect pests and disease issues.

Daniel> Yes they do.

Believe it or not, it is more difficult than people might think to grow a peach in South Carolina because of the humidity and the climate that we have here.

It is incredibly difficult to farm here in the southeast.

Amanda> Well, but we do have people who are really successful at it.

And thank goodness, because there's just nothing in the world better than getting those wonderful peaches.

<Absolutely> Yeah, yeah.

And, you know, some people want to have backyard fruits but peaches take so many sprays and things, I think, to be successful.

And the people who do that, wear all kind of protective gear and stuff.

It's not a good idea to try to spray them yourself.

I don't think.

Daniel> Well, there are some products that you can find at garden centers labeled for stinkbugs and peaches.

It can be difficult to time the sprays because you often don't see the symptoms until weeks after the feeding.

There's been a lot of different sort of home remedies tried.

There's actually a bag that you can buy to cover the peach to prevent feeding like that.

I've heard of people, spraying them with a type of clay spray to keep the insects off the peaches and doing things like that.

Amanda> Kaolin sprays?

Daniel> Yes, Kaolin sprays.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

It's interesting because one of the reasons that Wedgwood China and all those things grew so exponentially was that people came here, we had all these giant deposits of kaolin, which is a white clay- that's just the worst clay in the world to try to garden in.

But, it was really great for making, China.

So, how about that?

Terasa> People could give it a try.

And if they're not successful then that's a good reason to visit one of your Certified South Carolina grown, farmers markets, roadside stands and get your peaches there.

Amanda> There you go.

Okay.

Well, as y'all talked earlier, Carolina Wildlife Center is a pretty exciting place.

And let's go and learn some more about it.

Terasa> South Carolina is home to many wildlife species, but who steps in when one becomes injured or is abandoned?

I'm at Carolina Wildlife Center in a busy part of Columbia today, visiting with Ashton Blume, the Executive Director.

Ashton, tell me a little bit about your mission and how it's evolved since your founding in 1989.

> So our organization was primarily started to rescue and rehabilitate songbirds because there was that need and nobody was really doing it.

They're protected and so there was a group of five people that came together and said, okay, how can we help?

And in the first year, I believe that they were able to rescue over 100 of them.

And primarily, that's what we've done for decades.

In the past few years though, we've really gotten into rescuing and rehabilitating reptiles and mammals as well.

Terasa> So you really are filling a very needed niche here in the Midlands with expanse throughout the state.

What does it look like from the time an animal comes into the center until release day?

Ashton> So animals that come to our center are treated just like a patient at a hospital.

They come in and they go into triage.

They get an examination.

They immediately are given fluids or medications if that's what they need, then it's decided where will they go as far as what type of enclosure will they go in.

Are they going to stay in the isolation room, are they going to stay in the hospital, or are they going to go kind of in gen.

population where they have their own enclosures but they're in the main open room in the center.

And from there they get checks multiple times a day.

Their enclosures are changed every day.

They have specific diets that they go on.

Those plans are put in place by the director of rehabilitation.

Once the animals go through that process and show us that they are able to forage or they understand how to gather food themselves, they then go into their prerelease enclosures that are outside, that acclimates them back into nature.

Some of them go into groups, and then once they spend a certain amount of time out there and they're at a certain age, and we feel confident that they could go back into the wild and they would survive on their own, we set a release day for them and we end up sometimes taking 32 squirrels a day and releasing them on property that donors have given us, or individuals have said, "Hey, you can use our property for this purpose."

Terasa> That's the ultimate goal, really, is to take the animal to a point where he or she can live on their own in the wild, as nature would have intended.

But, in some instances you'll have animals that are not releasable.

So tell me what might happen in that case.

Ashton> So when animals come into us, if they are non releasable, which to us is they would not survive outside in the elements without human intervention.

We then can assess if they could become an education ambassador.

We have to go through a very lengthy process to get that approved by the government, if those animals are protected.

And then once they are, they actually have a certain amount of hours a year they have to complete as education ambassadors to maintain those licenses and permits.

So we do education programs where they go out and each animal it varies based on the species, you know, do they have to do 100 hours a year of education?

Do they have to do five?

It just really depends.

Terasa> And I think one of your education ambassadors is Penelope the Possum.

Tell me a little bit about Penelope's Story.

Ashton> So Penelope came to us at the beginning of 2025.

She was either someone's pet or someone who really handled her.

So she became very familiar with people and she really wasn't going to thrive on her own.

So she actually went to another rescue that we work with.

They called us.

We had the need for an education possum because we didn't have one at the time.

So we took her in.

We spent months working with her and now she goes out and does education programs.

She was at our baby shower in the spring and she's just a little bundle of joy.

Possums are incredibly misunderstood, but it's funny, you get them out with people and people love them.

People are so excited to see them.

Terasa> I have a special place in my heart for possums.

They're such a really neat animal, being the only marsupial here in North America.

<Yes> And so you mentioned your baby shower event.

Tell me more about that, because that's a time when the public can come and learn a little bit more about what you do here.

Ashton> Yeah, so, since we're not a zoo and since our animals aren't on display and they're really patients in a hospital, that is the only day of the year.

We do it every spring, usually in March, where we take any of our education ambassadors that we can to Saluda Shoals, which is where we currently have it every year.

And we set up and the public can come.

Anybody can come and they can come, and they can interact with our education ambassadors.

They can learn about them.

That's a time when people really want to bring their kids out, to help explain why it's so important to save these animals, but also to release them.

We let people interact with biofacts, and we let them interact directly with Penelope, and we have our big birds of prey that go out and people get to see these owls that really you're not going to see in the wild, and you don't want to see them because they need to be smart enough to evade us.

So it's really the only time that you're going to get to see the owls that we have, unless you have an education program with us throughout the year.

This is a free day when you can come and interact with us, and you get to meet the staff because we're not public facing.

Terasa> That's right.

And there's something just awe inspiring about owls, about birds of prey that just captivates people.

So I think you have, do you have a great horned owl, a barred owl and a screech owl?

Ashton> Yes, yes we do.

We have Geehow who is a great horned owl, and then we have Roo who is a barred owl, and then we have Ruby, who's a screech owl.

Terasa> Tiny little owl.

Ashton> Tiny little lady.

And they are just, they're fascinating.

And, you know, we call it the baby shower because we go into what we call baby bird season, starting in March.

And it's funny, before this past one, our director of rehab said, "We haven't had a baby bird come in yet," and literally the next day, inundated with baby birds.

Terasa> She spoke it into existence.

Ashton> She spoke it into existence.

So we really do the baby shower before we get into baby bird season, because from March through September we're slammed.

We are open 365, 24/7 we have business hours, but we really are here kind of always to intake animals.

Terasa> Wildlife needs don't always coincide with business hours.

Ashton> Absolutely not.

And we also are dealing with calls and other rehab facilities and individuals calling us at all hours of the night trying to find a place to take an animal in need, which we appreciate and we want to fill that need for the public.

Terasa> Now, songbirds, baby birds are incredibly demanding in terms of their feeding schedule.

Tell everyone, how often baby birds need to be fed.

Ashton> So baby birds come in to us kind of in all different life cycles, but people will literally show up here with the nest and they will have the birds and say, "The mom hasn't been back in a few hours."

Baby birds in our center are eating every 15 minutes.

So during the busy season we have just incubators stacked and we have staff standing there and there's just all these little timers and they just continuously go off and you're feeding baby birds.

And it's a very specific process, Not everybody can do it.

You have to be trained on how to do it.

And so during baby bird season, you have two people who do not move from that location all day.

Their only job is to feed baby birds.

Terasa> It makes you have a better appreciation for songbirds in the wild and how incredibly difficult it is for them to forage for food and keep those babies so that they can grow and develop and eventually fledge.

Ashton> Yes.

We also think, you know, the next time you see a nest in your yard, I understand it can be an inconvenience to people based on where it is.

Those birds are not going to be there very long.

We try to encourage people.

We know it's an inconvenience, or maybe they built their nest in a light fixture, or they built their nest somewhere that... unless it's under the hood of a car or needs to be removed for their safety.

If it's maybe not the best, if it's not the most esthetically pleasing place, we ask can you just let them do their thing?

They'll only be there a little while and then they'll leave and they probably won't come back to that area.

So yeah, it's interesting to watch mama birds in the wild because they are working around the clock nonstop to get those babies food.

Terasa> That's right.

It's a tough job.

They mature very quickly, and so it takes a lot of food to make all the development happen, in order for those birds to be ready to leave, and kind of live on their own.

You know, we talked a little bit about humans and wildlife interactions, and I think sometimes folks have really good intentions.

They find wildlife that is in need.

Maybe it's been injured, but maybe don't always know what to do.

So what are some common mistakes you think that people make?

Ashton> The most common mistake is that when people find wildlife, they automatically assume that it needs food or water.

We will tell you in any situation, do not give it any food or water, because what happens a lot of times is people do have very good intentions, but they will give the animal food or water and it will asphyxiate and then it will come to us and it's already backing up with fluids.

Sometimes it's too late.

We appreciate that people have the best intentions, but what we always say, especially if you call, is don't even Google it, call us.

We are the experts.

If you are unable to get us on the phone to give you advice, just immediately bring the animal to us.

Treat it like 9-1-1.

You know when you call the doctor's office in case of emergency, hang up, call 9-1-1.

If we cannot answer the phone, please just bring it in.

Somebody will be here to answer the door and to help you.

So, you know, our director of rehab and I talked about it, you know, how do we really want to say thank you for wanting to do the right thing, but please don't do anything.

And really, the easiest way to think about is don't DIY it, you know, always know that we are here and we are the experts in it and we want to help them.

So avoid feeding them, avoid giving them fluids.

Try to get them into a box, if you can.

Try to put that box away from any pets that you have in your home.

Put it in a dark space, that animal is already going to be stressed, it can relax.

And then bring it to us as soon as possible.

Terasa> We had a chance to talk earlier and you told me you've got a pretty unusual species here that was a pet, but is not from the United States.

Ashton> Yes.

So about two months ago, this whole kinda debacle happened where we ended up with this Burmese Mountain tortoise or an Asian mountain tortoise.

It's the largest land tortoise in Asia.

They're not native here.

You've probably never seen one.

People have them as pets in, like, the exotic pet trade, someone had it as a pet, it escaped.

Somebody hit it with a car.

People were posting on Facebook trying to find its owners.

It actually came to us.

We contacted the owners and we explained how much rehabilitation it needed.

Its shell had been cracked, and it was going to have to be here for a very long time, or it was going to have to go to an exotic veterinarian.

Those are pretty hard to find.

So, they agreed to surrender the animal to us.

And after going through all the processes, we got approval that we could have it as an education ambassador.

And even though it's not a native tortoise to North America, because we only have one native tortoise in South Carolina, and that's the gopher tortoise and they are, they're threatened.

So even though this tortoise specifically isn't native to North America, we're going to let this tortoise go on education events.

I mean, it's a big tortoise- Because we want to show this tortoise, if people do not step in and help it, will go extinct.

The same will happen to all of our turtles or tortoises if we do not step in and really get serious about conservation and understand the role that they play in our ecosystems.

Terasa> It has been so enjoyable talking to you and hearing about the wonderful resource that you serve here in the Midlands part of the state.

For our viewers that might want to learn more or get involved, what's the best way to do that?

Ashton> So, you can check out our website.

We try to put as much rescue and advice on there, but always call if you feel like you're not getting the answer you need.

You know, we're a very small organization.

We try to answer the phone every time we can.

We try to call you back, but again, just always know you can bring an animal to us.

If it can't come to us or we're too far away, we're happy to tell you where it can go or give you suggestions.

I just think the biggest thing is, you know, understanding that we need wildlife, even though we don't, we don't see the role they play every day.

They're all playing a very important role.

And so I understand it can be frustrating when you have an armadillo digging a hole in your yard, or you have a squirrel chewing through something in your house.

We ask if you're going to have those animals removed that you call a humane animal removal company, or call us and we'll tell you if there's one that we can suggest.

And we also just ask that you kind of let animals come and go.

They'll go on their way.

If you're putting food out for them, they're going to keep coming back.

So then take that food away.

Just know that they're supposed to be here and we're really encroaching on their environment.

So we've gotta play a part in this and offer a solution, support for them.

Terasa> We do.

Very good information.

Together through education and specific actions, we can protect wildlife and share our communities responsibly.

Amanda> It's wonderful that places exist that know exactly how to safely, rehab or perhaps give a permanent home to wildlife that have been injured and, and that they, you know, have an ambassador possum Isn't that kind of a funny idea?

Yeah.

Daniel> When I volunteered there in high school working on my Eagle Scout project.

They had an ambassador possum, then as well.

Amanda> Come on.

[laughter] A possum seems like kind of a funny animal.

Daniel> It is.

And I think that's why it makes such a great ambassador.

Amanda> Yeah, well, that's cool.

Well, thanks for telling us.

And thanks for being a volunteer.

I'm sure that volunteers are important to them still.

Daniel> Absolutely.

Amanda> Yeah.

Okay.

Well, we went and filmed with some friends in St.

Matthews, Janet and Dick Whetstone, who have roses.

And, you'll enjoy seeing that in the future, but she sent some roses for a hat.

And I thought that was- Terasa> They are absolutely gorgeous.

Amanda> Aren't they pretty?

Yeah, yeah.

And... it was really fun to go to their place.

Everybody had a real, real good time.

Oh goodness gracious.

Well, is there someone else we can help?

Terasa> You're looking for next up in the queue.

We have Lorraine in Lake View who said "I bought some lovely mixed container plants with things like petunias and calibrachoa, but they've stopped flowering.

Is there something I can do to get them back to life?"

Amanda> Okay.

Well, Carmen, I mean, it's still pretty early in the season.

I'm sure she wants them to be beautiful again.

> I know, especially because you want them to last at least until the heat of summer.

But with, a lot of the times, those container plants, if you're not watering, watering, watering they can dry out and they will start to abort the flowers.

But a lot of the times, if you get a nice flush on them, and then they just start to peter out, deadheading often helps to encourage growth of most of our fun annual flowering spring plants.

Additionally, in a container you're sitting in, soilless potting mix.

Often times a little bit of fertilizer can really help.

Just a, a low dose of liquid water soluble fertilizer to give it that bump really can help, especially if it's not in the ground or something like that.

Amanda> Because our in the ground plants, when we fertilize them, the fertilizer stays and lasts for a while.

But when you're watering every whip stitch, which you have to in the heat of summer, all that goes... Carmen> It leaches right out.

Amanda> So, just a low dose of a... soluble fertilizer is a good way to give them a little, rebound.

Carmen> I would probably start with that.

Whatever they're suggesting, go at a half that rate and then bump it up as you need to go.

But just make sure you, if they're not looking so happy, water, deadhead and then a little bit fertilizer.

Amanda> Okay.

Thanks so much.

Well, Teresa, whom else can we help?

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

Melissa is asking for our help.

She's in Lexington.

She said, "I recently visited a nursery looking for a Magnolia to add to my yard.

Some of the leaves had white speckles.

I want to make sure I pick out a healthy plant.

Can you give me some advice?"

Amanda> Goodness.

Well, everybody should have a Magnolia in their yard if they have room, don't you think?

Jennifer> Yes, they're blooming right now and they're just so fragrant.

Amanda> So what do you think's going on with this one?

Jennifer> I believe that it may be false oleander scale.

And I'm glad that she was taking note of that and looking and inspecting your plants before you bring them home, because we don't want any people to bring a pest or you know, a problem home.

So always inspect those plants before you purchase them.

But this false oleander scale is a common, scale.

It's, armored scale... <Alright> versus some of the other scales that we have, which is a soft scale.

But this armored scale does not exude honeydew.

But it does look like little white specks on the top of your foliage.

And, most Magnolias can tolerate a low infestation but if it is a heavier infestation, it can cause premature leaf drop and just an overall weakened tree.

So, most of the time you don't have to take any action unless it's a heavier infestation.

Amanda> Alright.

Well, and it had been in your yard for a long time and gotten real big it'd be really difficult to spray it too, wouldn't it?

Jennifer> That's right.

If it's a small tree, you can use your light horticultural oil to control, control the scale.

But if it is a larger tree and it's too large for you to spray, then you can use a systemic insecticide and that is absorbed by the root system of the tree and translocated throughout the tree into the leaves.

And when the scale feeds on the foliage, then they absorb that product.

So that's how you get rid of the scale.

And it's also much better than spraying the whole tree because you don't want to kill your beneficials, which happens sometimes when you use a foliar spray.

Amanda> Well, that was just wonderful advice.

Thank you so much.

Really, appreciate it.

Okay.

Daniel, I think you're going to have something fun for us to do.

Daniel> Yes I do.

I have a very fun, exciting activity.

So we're going to talk about something else that producers have in their toolbox.

And that is variety selection, especially in strawberries.

So what I brought with me are five different strawberry varieties commercially available for producers to grow.

Amanda> Yes.

These are ones that people in South Carolina... Daniel> Yeah.

All in South Carolina, across several of the counties that I cover, I collected these strawberries.

And we're going to do what we call a "blind taste test."

So these are all labeled varieties "A" through "E."

Amanda> Goodness.

Okay.

Daniel> And none of us, including myself, actually know what these varieties have.

I got my fiancé to create a key, so we will be able to find out afterwards.

[laughter] So I'm just going to open this up and pass it to you.

Just put a strawberry on your plate.

<Okay> And put them from left to right.

<Alright> So that we know what varieties are there.

Amanda> This is "A."

Daniel> This is "A."

Amanda> I'm gonna write on my plate if that's okay?

Daniel> You can do that.

That sounds like a great idea.

Daniel> This is... Amanda> "B."

Daniel> Thank you.

I'm gonna put that on my plate.

Amanda> Dang, I'm excited.

I'm hungry.

Daniel> Variety "C."

Amanda> So these are from different growers?

Daniel> These are from different growers, yes.

And I'd like to thank those growers for volunteering to give me some of their fruit so that we can do this segment.

[Carmen whispering] Amanda> So... is it possible that some of these fruits can be sweeter sometimes, depending on what's happening in that part of the state culturally, as well?

Daniel> Yeah, absolutely.

Amanda> I mean, with the weather and all.

Daniel> There's a lot of different things that can affect the flavor of the strawberry.

We've been experiencing some pretty significant drought conditions the last couple of months.

So that's had a big effect on the flavor of the berries.

Different things that the growers can do can affect the, the berries.

And then, of course, the actual variety of the strawberries.

Which I don't know if a lot of people know about the different varieties that are available.

Whenever you go to the grocery store and buy fruit, you may not always be getting the exact same strawberry, every time.

Amanda> Well, how do you want us to start?

Daniel> So we'll start with variety "A."

Amanda> You got a little sheet for us- Daniel> You got a scorecard with you.

So just take a big bite of that strawberry and give us your honest opinion.

They're all going to taste good, so... you can be harsh with these ratings.

Amanda> So variety "A," we have taste and we have 1-2-3-4-5, 5 being the tastiest, I imagine.

Daniel> Yes, absolutely.

<Okay> Jennifer> That's delicious.

Daniel> That one was very good to me.

Jennifer> Very good.

Sweet.

Amanda> Oh my goodness.

<Mhm> Mmm.

Daniel> When you're ready you can go ahead for variety "B."

Amanda> Okay.

[biting and chewing sounds] Daniel> They're all so good, it's going to be tough.

Amanda> Yep.

[biting and chewing sounds] Daniel> Variety "C."

Amanda> I'm gonna say these are all beautiful strawberries too.

Daniel> They are.

Daniel> Variety "D."

Amanda> Oh, be quiet, I'm still tasting.

[laughter] You already on "D."

Carmen> Some of them have some really good tartness to them too.

A lot of people like that for- Daniel> Some people do.

Yeah.

[laughter] Amanda> Like with peaches.

Daniel> Right.

And the last one.

Amanda> Alrighty.

Daniel> Oh, that was good.

All right.

So now we're going to tally the results.

Amanda, what did you get for "A."

Amanda> I'm still... I'm still tasting.

Daniel> Taste away.

Amanda> Okay.

Carmen> Okay.

I'll start if you don't mind, that my favorite is by far "A."

Jennifer> Me too.

Daniel> Oh, I agree, Jennifer> That's what I chose.

Amanda> And I thought "C" was as good as "A," but that's just me.

Terasa> "B" was my favorite.

Daniel> "C" was actually my least favorite.

Amanda> Come on.

Isn't that funny?

Carmen> "E" was probably the freshest, not as sugary.

Because, you know, time also... Jennifer> That's right.

Carmen> Depends on when you pick.

First pick versus second pick.

Terasa> You thought "E" was not sweet?

Carmen> I wasn't, mine... But then again, I might have just gotten... the little baby.

Jennifer> I don't think it was as ripe as the other ones.

Terasa> I thought it was sweeter than some of the others, but harder.

Amanda> It was harder.

I noticed that, the texture was different.

Carmen> Mine was a little watery.

Terasa> Interesting.

Daniel> Which one?

Carmen> "E" Daniel> I'd agree with that.

Carmen> I like... But, you said "C" was your favorite?

Terasa> "B."

Carmen> Hold on, let me retaste- Terasa> "B" was my favorite.

Amanda> And I thought... "C" was as good as "A."

Carmen> I had a three for "B."

This is delicious.

Thank you.

Daniel> You're welcome.

[laughter] Amanda> Well, we're still... enjoying and adding all these up, so let's go and see what Hannah has for us and then we'll come back and have the scores.

How does that sound?

Daniel> That sounds great.

Amanda> Alrighty.

♪ > Hi, I'm Hannah Mikell, Agronomy Agent for Clemson Extension.

Today I have the pleasure of being at Sandhill Research and Education Center with Dr.

Cory Heaton.

Cory it's so good to see you.

Cory> Good to see you.

Hannah> Yeah, we've had the opportunity to work together now for 13, 14 years I think.

Cory> Something like that.

Hannah> Yeah.

And in that time you have done extensive research on deer depredation and all sorts of things.

But today, we have the opportunity to see some of that firsthand.

<Right> Hannah> Tell us about where we're at now.

Cory> So today, we're looking at right now some fences that we put in for the South Carolina Soybean Board.

And, they were interested in ways to stop deer damage in some of their fields.

And so we developed a few different designs that are, you know, common out there.

And we're just testing them to see which ones work.

And as you can see, this one doesn't work very well.

Hannah> No, let's take a look at these, because these are some astronomically short beans.

Typically they'd be squatting down at this level.

They'd be right at head high, Right?

Cory> Right.

Yeah.

And we'll see that in some other fields.

One of the big problems we have when deer are browsing beans is they continue to browse them.

And so the soybean, plants put on their node spacing really close together.

<Right> So each one of these bracts should be, you know, further apart six, eight, ten inches apart.

And here you see they're not even an inch apart.

So it makes it really difficult, even if you were able to make beans to get them in a harvester.

<Right> You know, we'd want to start harvesting beans somewhere around in here, and these plants would never see that.

Hannah> And this is happening because the deer have continued to browse.

As the plant's grown they've just clipped all the, the leaves off.

Cory> Right.

Yeah and you know, some fields we see where they browse it early and then they go somewhere else and feed.

and you get a semi-normal looking plant.

But when they continue to browse you get these very compact plants, that are really difficult to harvest, if you did make a crop.

Hannah> Yeah.

And as you all well know, I mean, you have to have leaves in order to give the plant enough energy to actually reproduce.

And, what we're seeing here, are these little bitty, tiny pods, where our soybeans should be, you know, three and four pods in some cases.

But I don't see hardly any on any of these plants out here.

So the, the yield would be basically zero, right?

Cory> Yeah, the yield on this field is zero.

It's zero.

And that's, you know, not every field in South Carolina gets hit this hard, but a lot of them do.

Hannah> Yeah I get calls.

Cory> And a lot of pieces of fields get this hard.

So you know like, maybe the whole field isn't damaged, but 10 percent, 20 percent of it is damaged at this level.

Hannah> Yeah, I know I've had phone calls where we've had a 40 acre field they've planted twice and both times they cleared the whole field, <Absolutely> where there's nothing out there.

Cory> Yeah.

And then we have a handful of fields that get no damage.

<Yeah> You know, so it's kind of all over the board.

Hannah> It's relative depending on their hunting styles and what they're doing as far as deer management, too.

<Absolutely> So Cory, behind us are some nice growthy looking beans.

Let's go take a look at those.

<Alright> ♪ Hannah> Okay, Cory we made it from the split wire fence to this slanted fence.

We were able to make it through something the deer haven't, obviously been able to do.

<Right> Tell us about these beans and why they look so good.

Cory> Right.

So both of the fences that we've been in, are designed to work off a deer's depth perception.

<Oh!> Right, And so it's, it's making that deer think, he can't cross it.

They're perfectly capable of crossing either one of these fences.

Hannah> These are about, what, five foot, six foot tall?

Cory> Yeah, somewhere in that neighborhood.

But, you know, the first year, the fence we were in with all the damage looked just like this, but in year two, you see what happened.

Hannah> They figured it out.

Cory> Right.

Right.

And so when we come over to this fence, it's been effective two years in a row.

So this is a much better solution for a permanent fence.

<Okay> The fence we were in earlier would be a good fence for a temporary fence, like for guys doing dove fields or duck impoundments or wildlife food plots.

It would be a good option for that, where are you going to take it down at the end of the year.

Hannah> Right, not just for soybeans, maybe sunflowers or various other crops.

Cory> Right, right.

So, a lot of options there.

But for a permanent fence to keep deer out of an area, this slanted fence works extremely well.

<Yeah> And these beans were planted the same day as the fence, we were just in, same seed, same fertility, same insect control.

You know, everything's identical.

<Yeah> Cory> Except for, deer aren't in this fence.

We pulled the leaves off just to show you how these things are spaced.

<Yeah> But on the, on the plants in the other field, you know, this is the top of that plant.

<Yeah> And so in here where we've stopped deer damage, this is where we start to set pods, and then it goes up in a way that the harvester can actually get to.

<Yeah> And it spreads them out, you know.

Hannah> Yeah, that header will come through and pick up that bottom node with that being that started to set fruit and that's excellent.

So for those that are wanting to hunt obviously they do need some type of stand to let the deer feed on it.

<Sure> How do they go about doing that?

Cory> So I work with a lot of guys that are doing just that.

You know, I work with farmers trying to stop deer damage, but I work with a lot of guys who are trying to grow deer.

And what we do is fence out some of these areas, just like what you see here.

<Right> To allow some volume to get in there.

You know, if they continue to eat that plant and never let it get taller than this.

Hannah> Yeah, there's nothing.

Cory> There's not a lot of volume to that feed.

But here you have tonnage.

<Yeah> And tonnage feeds deer.

Hannah> Yeah.

So if we're planting in a, like in a row crop situation, like the growers I work with, we're in like, late April, May, "June-ish" depending on what variety they're planting, what group they are of soybean, but for a food plot type situation, they're planting... Cory> It's all over the board, Hannah.

I have, guys that are doing the same thing as us.

They're coming out in May with a group four, And then I have guys that are planting in July.

And, you know, I'm telling those guys to go with a late six or early seven variety.

<Right> And it works.

It works.

You just got to make sure you get the right variety for the time that you're planting.

Hannah> Yeah.

It's so interesting.

So the fencing cost, tell me where we are with that.

Cory> Yeah, so on this fence, you're looking at about $1.25, a linear foot.

And I've talked to some growers that put these in.

And my question is, how many seasons is it going to take to pay for that fence?

<Yeah> And so far it looks like one growing season more than pays for it.

Hannah> That's excellent, but they're probably going to want to put that on land that they own, not land that they're renting.

Cory> You know, if you work out that lease agreement on that rental where you can do ten years or 12 years or 15... how do you do that, possibly, but you're right, more so on owned land than rented land.

The other things too, is you judge that based on the level of deer damage.

You know, on one of these high damage fields, this fence pays for itself in a year.

<Right> So you could justify putting it on, on a one year rental, you know, if you had to.

<Right> Hannah> Really trust in the person who owns the field there.

Sometimes I get phone calls from people that are out of town that own family land, still.

They no longer utilize it, but they rent it.

If there's a communication there between the person renting it and the owner of deer depredation of sorts, they might not even have to do this fencing scenario, right?

Cory> Right.

Yeah.

We have other options.

You know, we have a lot of work going on looking at deer repellents.

Hannah> Oh, tell me about all that.

Cory> And I can show you plots where, you know, right here on this farm where we're using deer repellents and getting the exact same results this fence gave us.

<Right> You know, the farmers going to have to make multiple trips across a field, and that is not cheap.

You know.

Hannah> They can take and mix with like an insecticide or something like that, right?

Cory> Yeah.

Most of these products blend well with insecticides with your herbicides.

They fit into our normal program.

<Right> But it might require an extra trip or two.

Hannah> And costs.

<And costs> Yeah, so you kind of have to weigh one or the other if you're going to take two trips across the field, to save or salvage a field with deer damage in it, where does that equate to a fencing costs, possibly?

Cory> Yeah.

And you know, that's going to be on a case by case basis.

Hannah> Yeah.

Cory> You know.

You can't make those decisions for them.

Cory> No.

You can't make those decisions for them, but you can give them the options.

And those are the options we have.

<Yeah> And they're pretty good options.

Most of the ones that I've seen to be the most effective were soap based, like an insecticidal soap product.

We've had really good luck out of several of those.

Essential oils have become really common in deer repellent.

Hannah> It would take a boatload of essential oils.

Cory> Yeah, it's a lot of plant based oils, garlic oils, peppermint oils.

<Really> Clove oils, you know, all these different, plant oils.

They're pretty effective.

And then we have other things like, there's a product on the market now that's emulsified sheep fat.

<What> And it works phenomenally.

Hannah> Cory, come on.

Cory> There's dehydrated blood products that work really well, you know- Hannah> Like blood meal, from?

Cory> Like blood meal, kind of.

<Wow> Yeah.

So we have a lot of different options there.

Some are more effective than others.

One of the things we've studied this year is how do they perform under the same conditions.

So, like if you put these different products out on the same day and they experience the same weather- Like, the oil products don't perform as well, when we're 90 plus degrees when we put them out.

They just kind of volatilize and go away.

The soap products work really great in hot weather, but they don't work really great when we have rainy weather.

Hannah> Yeah.

Cory> So, you know, it's kind of a balancing act of which product to use, when.

Hannah> Yeah.

Yeah.

I think some growers end up kind of disillusioned by the fact that, oh, I put it out, you know, when they came up to protect them.

<Right> But now those soybeans are up, like, you know, a foot tall.

And now I'm seeing an astronomical amount of deer damage in the middle of the day.

<Yes> So it's not a one shot stops all the deer, right?

Cory> No, I, I've tested literally every product that's on the market.

None of them are single application products.

You're going to have to go- I think it's really important, right when we come out of the ground, when we got uniform emergence, we need to spray, because if they get hit during that cotyledon stage, you're going to lose a lot of plants, right?

And then after that it's going to be case by case like, sometimes they'll last two weeks, sometimes they'll last two months.

You just got to watch that crop and see.

But as soon as you see damage in the field again, go spray again.

Hannah> Yeah.

Yeah.

So we've talked about the fencing, the growth habits of the soybeans, both for, you know, people who are growing them for profit and not, but we haven't touched on the fact of how do you measure the deer density.

I know we can count tracks.

<Sure> But what else is beneficial?

Cory> So there's basically two methods that people use.

You can do it with trail camera surveys and you can do it with spotlight surveys.

Hannah> Like the old-timey.

Cory> Yeah.

Old-timey.

That's the way I still do it.

I like spotlight surveys.

You just develop a route, estimate the distance that you're looking at, and count the deer.

And it works really well.

Spotlight surveys, anybody can do, you know, trail camera surveys work really well, but you're going to spend a lot of time looking at those cameras and trying to identify deer to actually determine how many you have.

There's a ton of information online on how to do those.

Hannah> But at the end of the day, there was a study done of what, how many, 4 or 5 years ago now, maybe about deer pressure and what the loss was just in soybeans.

Cory> Sure.

Yeah.

So we worked on that for like, 4 or 5 years now.

And, we're estimating how much deer are costing us in soybeans and it's a lot more than you would think.

But roughly 25 percent of our soybean yield across the whole state is leaving with deer.

Hannah> What does that equate to in dollars?

Cory> Around 50 million dollars every year.

Hannah> 50 Million.

Cory> Yeah.

Walking off with deer.

Somewhere in that- I mean, that's extrapolated from, you know, the fields in the study.

But that's the best estimate we have.

Hannah> You know, thank you so much for all that you've given to our growers, all the, the knowledge that you just possess individually.

I know you're always available when I give you a call, and I certainly appreciate it.

Cory> You're very welcome.

I think we need to really thank the people that funded all this research and that are trying to find these answers for our farmers.

So... <Yeah> South Carolina Cotton Board, South Carolina Soybean Board, South Carolina Peanut Board, all the commodity boards, have been, you know, they're fully in it.

And then they've worked with us every way they could, to start answering some of these problems with deer.

Hannah> Yeah.

Well, you know, the farmers make up all those boards, and it's important to them.

It's important to us, and we want to be there for them to make sure we're getting all their questions answered.

> All their questions answered.

And we're trying, you know, we're trying and we're getting good information.

I mean, this is the difference between a farmer being in business, and not being in business.

Hannah> That's right.

Yeah.

We just need some of those commodity prices to go up.

Right?

Cory> Yes.

Hannah> Thank you again, Cory, so much I appreciate it.

Cory> You're very welcome.

Thank you for coming.

♪ Amanda> That was one of the most fun things we've done in a while.

What were the results.

Daniel> So I've got the results here.

<Yes> In first place- And here's our key which I have not looked at yet, is Medallion.

Medallion is... actually developed by the University of Florida.

It's one that's not really common to be grown here.

In second, we have "D" Camarosa, actually.

Is a large berry firm, fresh has a good shelf life.

So it's good for, commercial production.

<Good> And developed by UC Davis in California.

And then in third, we got a tie between "B" and "E" which is Fronteras and Camino Real.

Fronteras is developed by UC Davis in California and Camino Real, also developed by UC Davis in California.

Both good for U-pick and commercial production.

And then in last place, bringing up the rear is "C" which is Ruby June.

Which is probably pretty surprising to some people.

It's a really common variety for, again, commercial and U-pick production.

Amanda> What a fun, fun thing to do.

If there's something else we can do a taste test on, please come back and bring some more things for us to try.

And, thanks, everybody, for being with us.

And thank you at home for being with us.

We hope you'll join us next week.

Night night.

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

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

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

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

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

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