Clemson Univesity Extension Service

Clemson Extension Agent and host of Making It Grow Amanda McNulty talks with Dr. David R. Coyle, Clemson University Assistant Professor of Forest Health and Invasive Species in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation about the history, myths and facts of Glyphosate.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Gourds were human’s earliest containers. Their diversity in size and shape let early peoples select them for a variety of purposes. Some were cut in half and filled with food, hot rocks were added to cook those contents. Others with flat bottoms and long necks held and easily dispensed liquids. Early on they were decorated as we humans want to add beauty to our homes, be they caves, teepees, or fiber covered structures.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. As a non-traditional, i.e. older, student, I took one horticulture class with David Bradshaw and my life was changed for the better. Among his infectious passions is an interest in   heirloom seeds and he helped establish an heirloom seed repository at Clemson.

Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. What in the world would we do without telephones? I can remember party lines and my husband actually remembers when calls went through central. My cousin Muff and I once used waxed string and empty cans attempting to make a private phone from her house to mine. The ancient Chimu Empire in Peru, renowned for its wealth based on agricultural canals and irrigation system, had god-like rulers.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Bottle gourds have been used by ancient and modern peoples for over ten thousand years now. For religious rites, they’ve been crafted into masks, musical instruments, or sounding devices. From a utilitarian standpoint, bottle gourd uses are incredible diversity -- a container, a dipper, wheels, even   flotation devices.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. . In many cities these evenings, people go outside  at seven and make noises to communicate their appreciation for front line workers in the covid 19 pandemic. My daughter and her boyfriend in Los Angeles have been participating. Casey, a trained saxophone player, has alternated between blowing two flutes at one time (a common ancient practice) and a digeridoo. Eliza Frezil shakes a tambourine.

Clemson Extension Agent and host of Making It Grow Amanda McNulty talks with Dr. David R. Coyle, Clemson University Assistant Professor of Forest Health and Invasive Species in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation about the pine beetle.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Many specialty good growers rely on high end restaurants to pay top dollar for their meticulously produced crops, often produced on a small acreage farm. With the ban on indoor dining, many restaurants have closed their doors as takeout orders don’t fit with their fine-dining experience. Consequently, their suppliers are taking quite a hit. Some of them are now offering ways for us to enjoy their products and help keep the afloat.

Clemson Extension Agent and host of Making It Grow Amanda McNulty talks with Dr. David R. Coyle, Clemson University Assistant Professor of Forest Health and Invasive Species in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation about Bradford Pears.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. The Clemson Extension Horticulture team interacts with professional fruit and vegetable growers as well as home-based clients. Although restricted by safety guidelines during these times, Extension office phones are working and hort agents are available to solve residential and commercial problems.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. During a recent interview, Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers detailed the breadth of agricultural activities considered essential during this time of national crisis, and that there is no evidence that food product can transmit the corona virus.

We’ve talked a good bit about how Clemson can help women get up to speed with timber property management but don’t think that’s in anyway all Clemson’s doing. If you search Clemson Extension Forestry and Wildlife Management Resources, you’ll see a variety of programs related to the forestry industry which has a 21 billion dollar impact on our state’s economy and provides close to 100,000 jobs.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. There’re many benefits to owning timberlands besides the income from harvesting your trees. Some families enjoy hunting or while others gain income by leasing hunting rights to others. Wildlife ecology goes along with hunting in some cases when owners plant food crops and conduct prescribed burns.

Driving across our state we’ve all seen places where invasive species have overwhelmed our woodlands. In the upstate, kudzu or English ivy are most likely the culprits.  In some Midlands forests, trees are completely engulfed by Asian wisteria – still sold and planted to this very day. One of the recent workshops offered by Clemson Extension at its Women Owning Woodlands events was options on controlling these plants that diminish the financial value of timberland and severely impact the environmental value of these tracts of land.

Across the United States, 30 percent of our timberlands or forests, is owned by the federal government. Ten percent is owned by local and state governments. Sixty percent is privately owned. But in South Carolina the amount privately owned is a whopping 85%! Providing education to these land owners is a critical responsibility of two state agencies -- Clemson Extension and the South Carolina Forestry Commission, aided by many highly trained private managers. Both entities offer trainings and learning opportunities to individuals.