Making It Grow Minutes

Amanda McNulty

About

Gardening and horticulture news and tips, as well as agricultural information from Amanda McNulty, the host of SCETV's "Making It Grow" and Clemson University Extension Agent. Produced by South Carolina Public Radio.Making It Grow Minutes are produced by South Carolina Public Radio, in partnership with Clemson University's Extension Service.

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404 episodes

The South Carolina Botanical Garden at Clemson University is a State Treasure

The South Carolina Botanical Garden is a treasure located on the campus of Clemson University.

1m
Mar 23
Pine Trees are Likely not Making You Sneeze

If you can eat those delicious pine nuts without trouble, you probably aren’t allergic to pine pollen.

1m
Mar 22
Why Yellow Means Green for South Carolina

Agriculture is the largest industry in South Carolina, with timber being by far the most valuable crop, and pines are the largest component of that.

1m
Mar 21
The Biology of Pine Cones

Pine trees produce male pine cones on the lower part of the tree and female ones towards the top, a clever way to prevent self-fertilization.

1m
Mar 20
The Science of Calculating Pine Tree Pollen

There’s actually a scientific method to establish when pines will be releasing pollen: by keeping a record of the number of degree-days above 55° Fahrenheit after February 1st.

1m
Mar 18
Our cavity-nesting birds are running out of places to have babies. Here's how you can help.

If you can safely leave dead branches or even a dead tree on your property, you could end up with at-risk birds happily cohabitating with you.

1m
Mar 09
The Importance of Snags

In part of our large yard, one area has three dozen mature pines. Occasionally one gets hit by lightning and dies, becoming a snag, and we leave them up.

1m
Mar 08
Flight of the Kestrel

The American kestrel, our smallest falcon, is a handsome bird easily seen as they perch on power lines looking for prey on the ground below or flying past them.

1m
Mar 07
The crisis for cavity-nesting birds

We know about the crisis of people without homes but there is also a crisis for cavity-nesting birds.

1m
Mar 06
The difference between kestrels and hawks

Host Amanda McNulty of Making It Grow sees the natural beauty of the Wateree floodplain during her daily commute.

1m
Mar 06
Distinguishing a Pest-Controller from a Pest Among Ladybugs

Ladybug larvae, both native and imported, are described as looking like alligators. But, there's an important difference between the two...

1m
Feb 10
How to Rid Your Home of Asian Ladybug Beetles

Asian ladybug beetles prefer to come inside the part of the house that gets afternoon sun.

1m
Feb 09
Asian ladybug beetles

Asian ladybug beetles will eat damaged apples, grapes, or other fruits, sometimes creating ladybug wine taint.

1m
Feb 08
The Dangers of Planting Chinese Wisteria

If you have Chinese wisteria, please be a steward of the environment and eliminate it.

1m
Feb 07
Tallow Trees

Benjamin Franklin brought the tallow tree to the U.S.

1m
Feb 07
Collard green USDA seed bank

Two vegetable scientists, Powell Smith and Mark Fortnum, traveled through South Carolina and Georgia on a search for old timey collard plants, especially ones in flower.

1m
Dec 27, 2023
Collards

At the Coastal Research and Development Center 2023 brassica field day we saw a field with several hundred different collard green plants growing in it. There’re two major types of collards.

1m
Dec 26, 2023
Brassica field day

Nationally, South Carolina is the top state for producing turnips greens and second in collards, kale and mustard greens.

1m
Dec 25, 2023
Cotton species

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. There are 50 species of cotton in the genus Gossypium — basically they’re seeds with fibers attached. Only a few are commercially important.

1m
Dec 16, 2023
Packaged cotton

I visually see changes in agriculture and society on my daily commute to Sumter. From the older compressed modular storage units of cotton, today’s extraordinarily complex cotton picking machines press the cotton into round units and wrap them in a protective covering before depositing them in the field, all the while continuing to pick cotton from the plants at the front of the machine.

1m
Dec 15, 2023
Rowland Alston and 30 years of Making It Grow

Making It Grow celebrated thirty years of being on air with SCETV this year. The show was developed and hosted for much of that time by Rowland Alston, a Clemson Extension agent and son of an agent.

1m
Dec 14, 2023
Early mechanical cotton pickers

The early mechanical cotton pickers dumped their filled bins into carriers which were then emptied into wagons in the field. Workers drove these wagons to the gin daily and waited for hours as each was emptied and credited to the farmer.

1m
Dec 13, 2023
Cotton

This year's cotton crop seems phenomenal. It’s the closest thing to a snow-covered landscape I’m likely to see in these days of changing weather patterns.

1m
Dec 11, 2023
Hickory trees feed regal moths

Hickory tree leaves are the larval food source of two hundred moths or butterflies; and one is particular is spectacular in both the larval and adult stage.

1m
Dec 09, 2023
Shelling hickory nuts is a tough job

For people, shelling them is a laborious process and the tools used include hammers, vises, and a peculiar item called the Texas York Nut Sheller.

1m
Dec 07, 2023
Hickory nut oil

It's hard to harvest at home.

1m
Dec 06, 2023
Memories of a hickory tree

Twenty some odd years ago, Edward and I dug up a hickory seedling on his family’s farm. The foot tall seedling had a six-foot long tap root that fortunately took a turn and didn’t go straight down. We brought it home and heeled it in near the house.

1m
Dec 05, 2023
Hickory trees in fall

One of the most beautiful of fall trees is the hickory. With leaves the color of slightly browned butter it is quite a standout.

1m
Dec 04, 2023
Southern magnolias during the holidays

Magnolia grandiflora, our southern magnolia with large, glossy leaves is part of many nature-based decorations for holidays and special occasions.

1m
Nov 18, 2023
Holidays at the Robert Mills House

The relatively modest Christmas decorations at Historic Columbia’s Robert Mills House reflect what would have been accurate during the 1820’s.

1m
Nov 17, 2023