Making It Grow Minutes

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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.

Alfred Turner


    • Jun 14, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 1m AVG DURATION
    • 574 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Making It Grow Minutes

    Why bees are so busy around watermelons

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2025 1:00


    A lot goes into getting watermelons from seed to a tasty treat in your refrigerator.

    South Carolina's Watermelon Queen shares the health benefits of watermelon

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 1:00


    Gracen Vaughn hands out watermelon slices at school field days, farmers markets, grocery stores, festivals, and other gatherings to tell people about the health benefits of watermelons.

    When you think watermelon, think Gilbert Miller

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2025 1:00


    Gilbert Miller of Clemson's Edisto Research and Education Center is not only a Doctor of Plant and Environmental Sciences, but also president of the South Carolina Watermelon Association.

    When it comes to watermelons, variety is the 'slice' of life

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 1:00


    Watermelon breeders are developing new varieties each year, with over 1,200 different kinds currently grown around the world.

    The sound of a ripe watermelon

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2025 1:00


    Amanda McNulty explains the trick to picking the perfect melon when giving it the "thump" test.

    If your yard's big enough, plant an oak tree.

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2025 1:00


    Oak trees serve as the larval food source for almost a thousand different caterpillars.

    You are nature's best hope.

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2025 1:00


    Amanda McNulty explains how making space for native plants in your yard can help restore North America's declining nesting bird population.

    Birds are having trouble finding enough caterpillars to raise their young.

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2025 1:00


    Caterpillars can only eat the leaves of certain native plants. Amanda McNulty offers ways to help build back North America's rapidly declining nesting bird population.

    Larval food plants

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2025 1:00


    Boxwoods, azaleas, and crepe myrtles are lovely to look at, but are dead zones for caterpillars.

    What does entomology have to do with bird decline?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2025 1:00


    Host Amanda McNulty shares a shocking statistic regarding North America's bird population.

    'Listen to the Mockingbird'

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2025 1:00


    For those grieving the loss of a loved one, Amanda McNulty shares song lyrics that offer comfort and hope.

    The significance of the mockingbird in American literature

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 1:00


    Host Amanda McNulty explores the significance of literary character Atticus Finch saying, 'It's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

    Why Texas chose the northern mockingbird as its state bird

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2025 1:00


    Amanda McNulty shares some U.S. history, as well as some family history, about the northern mockingbird.

    Mocking birds: the many-tongued mimics

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2025 1:00


    Mocking birds get their name honestly – they can repeat all sorts of sounds, from creaking gates opening to dogs and sirens.

    The fiercely protective mockingbird

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2025 1:00


    Mockingbirds are especially protective of their nests and remember the faces of those who agitate them.

    Fun with anoles

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2025 1:00


    Amanda McNulty shares tips on where to spot anoles, and how to coax one into performing an amusing parlor trick.

    The courtship of green anoles

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2025 1:00


    The male green anole is very territorial and puts on a showy display to attract his mates.

    To catch an anole

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 1:00


    Host Amanda McNulty of "Making It Grow" explains how minding "tail autotomy" is key in catching an anole.

    anole making it grow
    Anole season

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2025 1:00


    As spring arrives in South Carolina, our state's native lizard emerges in search of warm spots, which include the inside of Amanda McNulty's house.

    Uninvited house guests

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2025 1:00


    Amanda McNulty's 19th-century home draws a variety of uninvited visitors, who are sometimes discovered in the most unusual places.

    Varieties of Yellow Jessamine

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2025 1:00


    From the 'Pride of Augusta' to the swamp, there's a species of Yellow Jessamine for every occasion.

    Landscaping with Yellow Jessamine

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2025 1:00


    If you have a sunny area that needs a screen, look no further than our state flower, Carolina or yellow jessamine.

    South Carolina's state flower is beautiful, but deadly.

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2025 1:00


    The flowers of yellow jessamine are powerfully sweet in fragrance, but deadly poisonous to many animals, including humans, and not a favorite of invertebrates.

    The glory of Carolina jessamine is on full display across S.C.

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2025 1:00


    Spring has sprung, and so has South Carolina's state flower.

    Ode to the Yellow Jessamine

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 1:00


    South Carolina's state flower is in full bloom, announcing spring's glorious arrival.

    Delicious dandelions

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2025 1:00


    Dandelion leaves are packed full of nutrients, as many as are in kale.

    "Tell Times"

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2025 1:00


    Amanda McNulty shares some charming childhood memories about dandelions.

    In defense of the dandelion

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2025 1:00


    What some consider a weed is a lovely flower in the eyes of others.

    “Tis better to put out your feeders early to the delight of every returning birdy"

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2025 1:00


    Amanda McNulty shares a poem to prompt bird-lovers to set up their hummingbird feeders as these lovely little creatures return from their winter retreats.

    Hummingbirds are returning to South Carolina

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2025 1:00


    The birds will be arriving any day now, expecting you to help them fatten up after their thousands of miles' flights home from Mexico and South America.

    Amaryllis forcing

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2025 1:00


    Bulbs from the amaryllidaceae family can be coaxed to bloom early, but host Amanda McNulty advises against using wax in the forcing process.

    Safety tips on transplanting rain lilies

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2025 1:00


    Zephyranthes are beautiful but can be fatal to your furry friends.

    Other names for Zephyranthes

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2025 1:00


    Myriad common names never stop for Zephyranthes, but according to Amanda McNulty, a couple make some sense.

    What's in a name? That which we call a rain lily by any other name would smell as sweet

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2025 1:00


    Host Amanda McNulty explains the charming origins of the rain lily names 'Zephyranthes' and 'Atamasco.'

    Where the rain lilies bloom

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2025 1:00


    Host Amanda McNulty reflects on the beauty of one of the New World's native plants that is a member of the Amaryllis family

    How to rid your home of brown marmorated stink bugs

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2025 1:00


    First, pick up a pair of knee-high stockings...

    Though the Samurai wasp be but little, it is fierce

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2025 1:00


    Discover how a wasp that doesn't sting and is the size of a sesame seed does grave damage to the invasive stinkbug.

    discover fierce samurai wasp
    Marmorated stink bugs are relatively new to the U.S.

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2025 1:00


    The brown marmorated stink bug was first found on the East Coast in Pennsylvania in 2001.

    How marmorated stink bugs survive the winter

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2025 1:00


    An insect that's invasive to crops also invades structures, like Amanda McNulty's home.

    The Pitfalls of Painting

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2025 1:00


    Host Amanda McNulty discovers she's not the only one who finds her exterior paint color attractive

    The industry of Spanish moss

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2024 1:00


    Learn how Spanish moss was an integral part of the automotive industry, and in particular, World War II.

    Life in the clouds

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2024 1:00


    Discover how the roots of epiphytic orchids function without the need for soil.

    How resurrection ferns live up to their name

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 26, 2024 1:00


    Amanda McNulty continues her look at epiphytes and demonstrates her skill in pronouncing genus names.

    What's an epiphyte?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 25, 2024 1:00


    Host Amanda McNulty shares how a plant with no roots helps its host plant conserve water and energy.

    epiphyte

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