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


    • Aug 13, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 1m AVG DURATION
    • 586 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Making It Grow Minutes

    Wildlife guests

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2025 1:00


    Amanda McNulty reflects on the variety of animals that have visited her home throughout her lifetime.

    Ant control

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2025 1:00


    From fire ants to sugar ants, there are effective methods for controlling a variety of Formicidae.

    Enjoying and employing rice

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2025 1:00


    Rice isn't just delicious, it's functional.

    Salt is hygroscopic, but rice is a desiccant

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2025 1:00


    Has South Carolina's humidity clumped up your salt dispenser? Add some rice. Amanda McNulty explains why this household hack works.

    Salt cellars

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2025 1:00


    Have you ever used a salt cellar? Host Amanda McNulty explains how to place them on the dining table and gives some helpful information on storing salt.

    Swamp milkweed

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2025 1:00


    Monarch butterflies love swamp milkweed for egg-laying and feeding caterpillars, but find competition for food with the native swamp milkweed beetle.

    A welcome and fortuitous visitor

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2025 1:00


    'The Great Outdoors' sometimes comes indoors to the McNulty house.

    South Carolina: 'The Tastier Peach State'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2025 1:00


    California grows more peaches than South Carolina and Georgia, but South Carolina's peaches are juicier and sweeter.

    It's free stone peach season

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 1:00


    No matter which grower produced peaches near you, all of South Carolina's are delicious, and different varieties come available about every ten days.

    When it comes to controlling mosquitoes, 'BT' is your BFF

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2025 1:00


    Bacillus thuringiensis, variety israelensis, is a naturally occurring bacterium that only acts on mosquito larvae.

    Yard foggers kill more than just mosquitoes

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2025 1:00


    Since 1970, we've lost three billion North American birds and experienced declines in native bees, other beneficial insects, and our recycling decomposers in large part due to the use of pesticides.

    Mosquito foggers can lead to resistance

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2025 1:00


    Mosquitos can be a pain, but Amanda McNulty shares alternatives to fogging and pesticides to help keep mosquitos from pestering you.

    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.

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