As Hurricane Florence approaches the Carolina coastline, South Carolinians are preparing and evacuating. South Carolina's Emergency Management Division advises having an emergency kit ready whether you are traveling to stay with friends and family, going to a shelter, or staying at home where there could be power outages and other damage. As the storm will likely not take effect in South Carolina until late Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15, there is still time to prepare.

As Hurricane Florence heads for South Carolina, the probability of many in the area losing power and flooding is high. One area that this can affect is food safety.  The USDA recommends consumers take the following steps to reduce waste and the risk of foodborne illness before, during and after the storm.

Steps to follow in advance of losing power:

Pat Henry from Roses Unlimited in Laurens, SC share with us at "Making It Grow" some tips for pruning and protecting them from voles.

Credit SC Public Radio Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Clemson’s Home and Garden Information Center has a dandy fact sheet called Planning, p-l-a-n-n-i-n-g, a garden. You still have time to put out hardier winter vegetables like kale, collards, and turnips.

Roses have always been a passion for Pat Henry in Laurens, SC. In addition to being a co-owner in Roses Unlimited, Pat has created several rose gardens around her home. She gives us at "Making It Grow" a tour and also highlights some of her favorites.

Clemson Natural Resources Agent Guinn Wallover brings some plants that help with erosion issues to the set of Making It Grow. Guinn also shares with us information about upcoming pond management trainings Clemson Extension will have this Fall.

"Making It Grow" traveled to Super Sod in Orangeburg, SC to speak with Nick Sangella on the Automower, a new innovation in lawn care. This robotic lawn mower has many benefits including recycling grass clippings and improving the quality of the soil on one’s lawn, cutting grass in either rain or shine, maintaining height of lawn and not scalping, easy mower machine maintenance, repair, and blade exchange.

Clemson Extension Agent and Host of Making It Grow, Amanda McNulty talks with Dr. John Nelson from the University of South Carolina AC Moore Herbarium about the importance of botany and taxonomy in today’s world.(MIG Extra 07)

Who does the cooking at your house? Who goes shopping? 

Christy Maloney, LD, LDN says parents can involve children of all ages in the preparation of healthy meals. By Including them in the process, from shopping to serving, the meal teaches them healthy habits. 

Host of “Making It Grow” and Clemson Extension Agent Amanda McNulty talks with fellow agent Tony Melton about the best practices for maintaining your Fall turf grass.