(insects chirping) >>To be true tea, it needs to have camellia sinensis in it.

There are a lotta herbs you can add to tea, and there are herbs you can drink on their own.

(insects chirping) >>If you do grow it on the ground, they tend to rot.

A trellis is probably one of the best things for it to grow with.

(bird squawking) So this is a trellis that's made out of cattle panels.

They're very rigid, and so they can support the weight.

The luffa has an incredible amount of weight on it.

(bird squawking) >>Production funding for "Virginia Home Grown" is made possible by.

(birds chirping) (birds squawking) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) Welcome to Virginia Home Grown.

Today we are visiting specialty gardens focused on unique products.

First, Amyrose Foll visits Lara Brooks in Henrico County to learn about growing Loofah, a robust vining plant that thrives in full sun.

This subtropical gourd can be eaten when it's young and tender with a flavor and texture similar to zucchini.

Yet at maturity it can be harvested to produce a natural sponge or exfoliant.

Let's take a look.

>>So the luffa comes from the gourd family.

And it's originally from Southeast Asia, so it's kind of more tropical, but you can grow it through zone 7.

>>Very nice, what do you do with these?

I've never met anyone that grows luffa before.

>>Right, so luffa is kind of dual-purpose.

So, when it's very, very, very small, just like this one, it is edible.

But most people grow luffa because it creates a natural sponge.

This vine will grow 120 days, and after 120 days, you can harvest the fruit.

And after you harvest the fruit, then you can take off the skin, extract all the meat and seeds, and you're left with this internal xylem.

And that fiber can be dried out and used as a natural sponge, which is great because then it's compostable, and so less plastics.

And you can use it for anything really.

>>How long do they last?

>>The sponge itself can last up to a year, so as long as it dries out between uses.

Originally, I started off because I wanted to block an old fence and I was just looking for a pollinator.

Because not only does this plant do that visual barrier, which is a beautiful visual barrier, but it has these gorgeous, gorgeous yellow flowers.

And bees and wasps and ants and, you know, moss and butterflies, they're all over it all summer long.

So it has that potential too.

But they're also great, especially here in Virginia, is because they're deer-resistant.

Oh, so the deer don't bother them at all.

But you also have to think, what are you gonna do with all this luffa when you're all done?

You'll have enough sponges for the rest of your life for every kind of purpose that you would ever need.

>>That's a really interesting farm business.

And you're doing it here.

>>Yeah.

>>Right next to your house.

>>Yeah, just on, you know, this suburban lot.

>>So, when you're getting these ready for the market, are you selling the whole sponge or are you portioning them off?

>>So, I can sell them whole but they're very hard to process whole.

So normally, I sell them in five to six inches.

So it's good enough for you to hold in your hand.

>>Is this a difficult plant to grow?

>>It is not difficult in the fact that once it's growing, it just grows and grows and grows up to 30 feet.

But it is kind of hard to get it started because the seeds are hard to germinate.

It has to be started early, so that's another thing.

So you have to be ready to go.

So you have to have your site kind of decided where exactly where you want it 'cause as you can tell, that 30 feet of vines can just take over everything.

And it needs that full sun.

So, you have to kind of think about it first.

And then once you plant it, usually if you're doing a direct sow, three weeks before the last frost, and then it takes 20 days to germinate.

So you're waiting and waiting and waiting for that germination.

And then finally, the plant is germinated, starting to grow, and then another 90 days before the first fruit.

So you have to be patient with this plant.

It takes a long time to grow, but as you can tell, at the end, you can have a ton to harvest.

>>It is gorgeous.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you harvest and when to harvest.

How you know it's ready?

>>Yeah, so that's the trick with luffa because if you actually harvest it too soon, the xylem inside, 'cause it has a fiber inside, so it's a gourd.

So think about a pumpkin, it has like that pumpkin meat and seeds in it.

But it also has this internal fiber in it.

So, if you harvest it too soon, the fiber hasn't developed yet.

So it's a little tricky.

You can wait until it's completely dead on the vine, just brown and dead on the vine.

You can actually shake it and hear the seeds in there.

But if you do that, when you peel it, it's also brown and brittle and you might have to bleach it in order to get that internal sponge.

>>Okay.

>>So that's not a really great product though.

So you have to kind of play around of when you wanna then harvest.

You can harvest when the vine, it gets a little bit brown, and then the gourd itself is still green.

So you can harvest it then.

Or you can do it a little bit beforehand, which is a lot more labor-intensive but you get an amazing product.

And so, you're looking for that skin right before it pulls away from the xylem.

And then, so you can still peel it, but you're actually extracting all the meat and seeds from it.

And from doing that, then you can have that internal fiber.

>>Is it difficult to peel when you take those off when they're not quite brown?

>>They are very difficult to peel.

You actually have to, you know, stratify it and kind of pull it off.

So it is labor-intensive.

It takes about, you know, 10, 15 minutes per fruit in order to do it.

You can see some here.

Like, this luffa right here is probably, you know, a little bit too far gone.

You can see it's brown, it peels off right away.

And you can harvest that.

But if you just wait a little bit longer, or a little bit earlier, and you put in the effort, you can harvest it when it's this lighter color.

And again, I can't really pull the skin off very well right now, but you get a much stronger end product.

But luffa is actually quite interesting too because, and you have to think about this when you're growing it, is that it's a water hog.

I mean, it takes a ton of water.

So when I first started growing it a few years ago, I didn't water it enough, and you just get a few tiny little luffa on it.

So you have to kind of experiment around exactly how you're going to water it, if you have an irrigation system.

But I kind of do the flood method.

So this year I did something new and I put tree rings, and I embedded the tree rings directly into the soil and kind of pushed them in so there was a barrier there.

And then planted the luffa seeds right into those tree rings, so they had, you know, the organic matter they put in there and I usually fertilize with the duck water from the duck pond, you know, as a natural fertilizer.

But that water allows me to water every two to three days and I can flood it.

So the tree ring will hold a few gallons of water and I can just flood it in and it can do a slow drip down.

>>That is an amazing idea.

It's really beautiful.

>>It's the first year I've done that, and I think because of that and because of the trellis, I'm getting a bigger yield this year than previously.

>>There's hundreds of luffa here, it's pretty impressive.

So do you save your seeds from the ones that have gone a little bit too far to use for subsequent plantings?

>>Yes, so every one of these luffa plants, after you extract all the meat, you'll have hundreds of seeds.

So the interesting thing about luffa seeds though is that they don't have a really good germination rate.

So out of those a hundred seeds, maybe only 10 will germinate.

>>Really?

>>So I dry them.

You have to nick the seed, soak the seed for at least 24 hours before you plant them.

And then you have to kind of decide how you're going to plant them.

Are you going to direct sow them or you going to start them so you have a seedling that you can then plant.

And I've done it both ways.

And really, it doesn't really matter.

You kind of get the same results both ways.

Of course, if you do a seedling, then at least you know that that's seed actually.

But when I plant them, I actually overseed.

So you know how when you normally plant something- >>Yes, I do that too.

>>You do like one or two or three seeds.

Like, I am like putting in like, you know, 12 seeds.

So maybe I get three plants out of those 12 seeds.

>>Do you thin them at all?

>>You know what, I have not, because again, not very many of them go to germination.

So it's like you're waiting and waiting and waiting.

Like, are you doing anything, are you doing anything?

And finally, you know, finally, you get the tiny little leaves up.

>>This is amazing.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us.

>>My pleasure.

To think of a cool shade under the tall loofah tunnel Lara created with cattle fence panels.

What a great place to take a break while working in the garden.

Growing unique plants can keep gardening fun and interesting.

You can also create interest in the garden by planting traditional plants in unexpected places.

Next, Dr. Robyn Puffenbarger explains how she has integrated herbs into her landscape beds.

(playful music) >>In my vegetable garden, I have large patches of herbs.

So I have lots of fresh, beautiful herbs to bring in to use in the kitchen all summer long.

But one of the things I realized as I was doing my planting around my house more in my landscapes is that I wanted to add some other interest and I brought over the rosemary and thyme.

Rosemary is a little taller.

It has a nice silvery green leaf that's evergreen during the year.

Now I'm in garden zone six in Virginia, which is a little cool.

I'm right on the edge of the hardiness for rosemary.

So what I've done is I've placed it in a microclimate using this very nice heat island.

I'm standing on a big patch of concrete, which is part of my walkway.

And the rosemary has really liked this extra jolt of heat in the wintertime.

And I harvest it several times a year to take into the kitchen as part of my cooking and recipes.

Right next to it, I have a slightly smaller evergreen plant.

And that's thyme, has a smaller leaf, stays a little bit greener all year.

And thyme doesn't have any concerns for winter hardiness.

It's hardy throughout Virginia all year.

And that's another wonderful herb to bring into the kitchen all year to use when I cook.

Another herb I really enjoy in this landscape bed is parsley.

It has a really bright kelly green leaf that's a little larger.

And it is almost evergreen through the winter for me.

And what I do notice is as I'm working with the parsley, sometimes I will find the swallowtail caterpillars on the parsley.

They like to eat it as their host plant.

If the swallowtails begin to do a little too much damage to the parsley that I might wanna use in the kitchen, I just take the swallowtail caterpillar over to Golden Alexander, which is the native host plant which we cannot use as an herb.

And then they can munch to their heart's content.

Parsley is a biennial.

So you need to plant some every year.

So it goes through its two-year growth habit.

The parsleys I have here this year will put up flowers and then go to seed next year and die.

I just make sure I'm planting them in a rotation so I have parsley all the time coming out of the garden.

So in your landscape, think about some of these perennial herbs.

They can add interest in terms of height, color, fragrance, and just are a really different idea in your landscape, not just for your vegetable gardening.

Happy gardening.

Herbs like Rosemary have such a great fragrance.

Why not plant them in a place you walk past frequently?

There are also fragrant herbs that tolerate light foot traffic like Corsican mint and wooly thyme.

These diminutive plants are perfect for planting in walkways.

And now I met with Mark Ragland at his garden in Prince George to learn more about plants that are grown for tea.

He's an expert on the topic, so join me.

>>Peggy, welcome back to my garden.

>>Mark, it's been so long since I've been here and look how much everything's grown.

>>Everything's really gotten big.

>>It's amazing.

These crepe myrtles were just eight feet tall last time I was here.

>>I know, it's changed the garden.

It's become a primary shade garden where we used to be full sun.

>>Yes, you've had to totally change your plant inventory.

>>And still replanting as we speak and that'll be going on for a while.

>>Wow.

With so many different garden rooms which one is your favorite?

>>Ah, it's always hard to pick favorites, but I have to say herbs would probably be it.

>>Yes.

>>And, of course, tea is one of those.

>>Oh, and look at these cute little guys.

>>Yeah, these are the new plantings, the new varieties, but come look at the mature specimen over here.

>>Okay.

Oh, Mark, this is absolutely gorgeous.

And look at all those flower buds.

And look at all those flowers.

It is fall and it is a fall blooming camellia.

So what type of camellia is this?

>>This is a camellia sinensis.

And that's important to know the variety because you wouldn't wanna make tea out of another variety of camellia.

>>Oh, gosh, no, I can imagine, yes.

This is such a beautiful plant.

How do you get it to survive here?

>>There's a few things you have to do to check the boxes and make sure it's happy.

First, we get easily, the acidic soil is a necessary thing for this plant.

The other thing is water.

So we do get a lot of rain, but sometimes we don't.

And when we don't you gotta make sure and keep this wet feet.

>>Okay.

>>The third thing is winter warmth.

So I always tell people, when you're out in the garden in the winter, watch where the snow melts first, that's your warm spot.

And that's true for right here.

Plus I get the reflective heat from the gravel, the stonework in the building.

And it's all protecting this and keeping it nice and happy through the colder parts of our winters.

>>People don't realize the value of a microclimate, the reflection off of a wall, a stone, or even a walkway plus their driveway.

It just makes such a difference.

>>It's so true.

I mean, you'll have so many in your yard depending on the size of your garden.

>>Exactly, but do you have to fertilize this at all?

>>I don't.

You can fertilize it.

And sometimes I'll add compost to the top just to dress it, but generally speaking, it's perfectly happy in our soil.

>>That's fantastic.

Well, let's get back to tea, though.

What part of this tea camellia do you use to make tea?

>>So I picked a branch, I'll take this out.

So typically when tea pickers are picking they're going for just the newest leaves, the tender leaves.

You can use any of the leaves, but the reality is the best flavors are gonna be in that new growth.

These older ones at the bottom they're just a little tannic.

They've got too much of the things you don't want in your teacup.

>>Understandable.

Well, I'm gonna ask then.

You know, we have buds here.

Does this make a different tea the bud of the plant rather than the leaves of the plant?

>>So that's the amazing part.

There's so many different types of teas and people are always wondering do I grow this plant for white tea, and this plant for green tea?

And the reality is you can make all varieties of tea from the same leaf.

It's when you pick it and how you process it.

>>So when's the best time to pick tea?

>>Well, that depends on who you are.

There are people that swear by that first picking in the spring, that first flush of new growth 'cause you've got all that wonderful flavor building up all winter long and it's gonna be right in the tip.

So your first spring picking, which is called first flush, is typically your best.

>>Does that make the green tea, or what type of tea does that make typically?

>>You can make any of the teas.

White teas usually come out then 'cause that's when you're getting all these wonderful new, and the white tea is gonna be that newest little bud of growth.

>>A tiny little thing.

>>It's a little fuzzy.

And it's got a white fuzz to it which is why it's called white tea.

>>Interesting.

So black tea and green tea.

What parts of the leaf are they made out of?

>>Same leaf.

>>Okay.

>>The difference is, if I take this leaf now I've picked it it's gonna start to die.

It's a process, right?

And just like when you cut an apple, it starts to oxidize.

Tea leaves do the same thing.

So we're gonna cut this up in lots of little pieces.

And then as it oxidizes, we're counting.

As soon as it starts to oxidize you're getting away from green tea.

So you don't want it to oxidize if you want green tea.

Once it starts oxidizing, oh, then it could be in a yellow tea, I'll stop it.

No, no, we'll let it go halfway through its full process.

That's oolong.

And if it goes all the way, then we get the black tea.

>>Interesting.

So how do you stop the oxidation?

>>You need to heat it.

Heat it in some way.

And there's another great variance in the varieties of teas, right?

If you heat it with smoke, if you heat it in the oven, if you heat it in the sun.

>>So this whole plant here, we can get every type of tea we want.

A type of black tea I'll say.

>>Exactly.

When I've made tea from this myself, I like oolong.

So it's half fermented.

So I'll pick this, cut it up, and I'll let it go for just a few hours instead of a whole day.

And then I put it in the oven to stop it.

And it makes a really nice oolong.

>>So what other plants can be used to make tea with?

>>Well, let's be clear on one point.

To be true tea it needs to be camellia sinensis, but it's a modern world.

So a lot of people still call teas herbs, and things that are infused with herbs.

So we should probably go into the herb garden and look at the herbs that are growing for that.

>>Sounds great.

>>Come with me, come on.

>>Okay.

>>So this is the formal herb garden.

>>This is amazing, Mark.

I love how you've arranged the beds.

>>Well, thank you.

It's divided into different types of herbs based on their classifications.

>>Wow, how many different herbs do you have in here?

>>Usually around 200 different varieties.

>>My, my, I'm really impressed by this.

>>Thank you.

>>And I really love the fact that you've got the tea plants together.

>>So this is my OCD nature coming out.

I've got all the herbs organized by types here, the salvias, but these are the herbs for tea.

>>Ah, what a wide variety, so many different types.

>>Well, there are a lot of different types.

>>Yes.

You know, people don't realize or associate tea with grass.

>>You wouldn't normally, but this particular one is quite lemony.

Lemongrass is excellent for tea, whether it's its own brew, or you blend it with the tea for the lemon flavor.

>>A lot of people don't know that that's an annual.

>>Well, it is an annual here.

>>Yes.

>>And if we get lucky I've had it come through a couple winters.

>>Oh, wonderful.

>>So sometimes, yes, but count on replacing it.

>>Yeah.

What other lemony things do you have in here?

>>Well, there are some good herbs for that.

Lemon verbena is my personal favorite.

>>Mine too, it's so lemony.

>>It does have that great lemon flavor.

>>Yes.

>>And then there's lemon balm.

>>Oh, which we have to be careful about.

>>I saw the cringe.

Yeah, it is a little invasive.

So you wanna get those seed heads off before it gets into other areas you don't want it, but super hardy that's the good news.

>>It is, it is, but you also have another tall plant there, the hibiscus.

>>Right, my love of Egypt and hibiscus tea as a welcome drink.

>>Oh really?

>>I had to have hibiscus in the garden.

It makes a wonderful, wonderful tea all to itself, but it does blend well with tea.

>>It does.

I can't think of a better way to welcome people.

>>Yeah, exactly.

>>Oh, how sweet, yes.

Some of the other plants you have.

I'm seeing some bee balm here.

>>Yep, got the bee balm.

We also have the mints all mixed in.

As well as betony and the alpine strawberries for that tea.

>>Wonderful strawberry flavor.

>>Yes.

>>And I think people need to realize, I put my mints in a pot so that they don't wander.

>>Yes.

They're in their own little rock fortress here.

Not that they can't escape a little but I get 'em when they come out.

>>Good job.

Well, throughout the garden, what other plants do you have?

>>Well, they're spread all out, right?

So there's more.

The chamomile is over in this bed.

We've got basil here and the basil is going to bloom now because I need to help those poor pollinators at the end of the season, but I'll cut that back and get to the pesto very soon.

>>Excellent, excellent.

You know, Mark, I also know that you had some lavender in the corner too, and I love lavender tea.

>>Well, there's my favorite too.

Blending lavender with tea just makes that wonderful soothing blend, right?

You've got that tea that's calming you and then the lavender does that.

>>Ah, it's just such a- >>Perfect place to be.

>>Exactly, speaking of perfect places to be this is a perfect place to be.

And I just wanna thank you so much for having us.

>>Oh, I'm so glad you got to come back out.

You've been a longtime friend.

It's good to have you in the garden again.

>>Thank you, it's so nice to be here.

>>In fact, I should probably welcome you to a cup of tea.

Why don't we go get one now?

>>I love it, let's go.

>>Okay.

Did you know that tea brewed with Camellia Sinensis is the second most popular drink in the world after water?

It's no wonder why now, knowing all the ways it can be enjoyed.

Who knew harvesting the leaf bud or young leaves and the length of oxidation determines the type of tea you enjoy daily.

Next, Randy Battle has a tip to share on cool weather crops.

You can grow in the garden through the winter.

(lively music) >>As the weather changes and temperatures begin to drop, you can continue your gardening all season long.

So, today, we're gonna be planting three different cool weather crops.

First, you wanna start off with a nice, even soil.

This is a mixture of compost and general soil, and you wanna make sure it's nice and loose, you guys.

Make sure it's nice and loose.

So we're gonna section off an area, just like so.

You know, just take you a little garden shovel and make you a space, and I like to cut mine into squares just like that.

You see that?

You can also use a sheet of paper, eight and a half by 11, and make you a square.

So, today, we're gonna start with arugula, and what I do is I simply just take a gardening shovel.

You can use your hands, and if you get starter plants, that's great, because, at this time of year, starting from seed could be a little tricky.

So we're just gonna take our arugula.

Plop it right down in the soil.

Give it a good base, just like that, okay?

And then we're gonna do another one right here.

Easy peasy.

Gardening can be fun, simple, and easy.

We have arugula.

Next, we're gonna plant leeks.

I'm gonna make another row here, and leeks can be interjected and interplanted with a lot of different crops.

They're so easy to grow and they don't require a lot.

Loosen up the root ball.

We're gonna take our hand, put it right down in there like so, and cover it up.

Give it a nice base, a nice little soft packing like so.

And one of my most favorite things to grow is cabbage, and, today, I'm gonna be planting some purple cabbage.

These are very frost tolerant, you guys.

They will take a frost and keep on moving.

So we're gonna take our cabbage plant and just plop it.

Break the root ball down a little bit and just plop it right in the ground.

Give it a strong base, just like so.

Give it a nice pressing, and what you're gonna do is water these and give 'em a little fertilizer.

I like to use a 10, 10, 10, which is an NPK, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and just water 'em in.

So, when growing your cool weather crops, you can expect to harvest all different times of year.

Like, the arugula, I like to cut them around the edges, and the middle part will keep growing, and you'll have salad all year long.

Our leeks, we're gonna put these in the ground now, and they will be available early spring of next year.

You'll have an early harvest.

You'll be ahead of the game.

Our cabbage is gonna come in next spring as well.

So, just take your time and plant different things at different stages, like this kale.

I'm gonna plant this and this is gonna come up all year long.

My cauliflower, it's gonna come up all year long.

So, remember, grow what you can grow, eat what you can eat, and live, love, and laugh.

Garlic, spinach and rutabaga thrive during the winter months.

If you usually pack up your garden tools when cool weather arrives, then I encourage you to try winter growing.

It can be a fun new experience.

I have enjoyed sharing how tea and loofah plants can be grown in Virginia.

It is fun to grow new and sometimes exotic plants, but as you look for plants for your landscape, remember that maintaining a biomass of 60 to 70% native plants is key for a healthy environment.

See you soon.

And until then, remember gardening is for everyone.

We are all growing and learning together.

Everyone loves seeing birds in their garden.

And Jillian has asked, why aren't the birds using my new birdbath?

Well birds need a few things.

They like shelter.

So shrubbery is really good for birds because they have a spot to go in and out of.

Food.

And water.

So if you're using a birdbath, one thing to consider is the depth of the birdbath.

They really are nervous about drowning.

So a shallow birdbath really works better for them.

Or you could do like I do and add rocks to your birdbath.

This gives them a place to land and they will feel a little more comfortable.

And it also gives the pollinators, such as your bees and butterflies, a place to land too so they can get a drink while they're in your garden.

So I hope this is a helpful hint for you.

And get out there.

Enjoy birdwatching in your garden.

>>Production funding for "Virginia Home Grown" is made possible by.

(birds chirping) (birds squawking) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (bright tone)