This is my favorite country meal time of year.  My mouth waters just thinking about Mama scratching around those Irish potato plants to get enough red and golden jewels to boil a pot.  The skins were easy to remove with that special potato scraping do-hicky (Mama had - I think since the beginning of time) so we wouldn’t have to waste any with the peels.  Then she would cover them with water, plop in a whole stick of butter, and boil them until they started to fall apart which made what we called the pot liquor thick with the potato starch.  http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1638,131181-252199,00.html

While they were boiling she would have me slice the squash, mince the scallions, and coat them with a thin layer of cornmeal.  After heating the oil in the fry pan, she gently rolled this glorious mixture into the hot grease --   I can still remember the sizzle  By the way, today for health purposes, I leave out the cornmeal.  Then, I helped by slicing an entire fresh cabbage, nothing was wasted --  I would even eat the raw core.  Again she would heat oil but this time in a deep pot and sizzle the cabbage – what we called frying the cabbage – before adding water to boil.  

            After grabbing a piece of Mama’s pan-fried chicken (if only the Colonel knew how to cook chicken that good), a handful of Mama’s hot biscuits, and a fresh scallion, I would sit down and totally lose myself in a country-boy’s heaven.   

            Yesterday, I got, as Mama would say, “a mess” of new potatoes, squash, and scallions from a local farmer and  now I am waiting for enough time to fix and enjoy my slice of heaven – how did Mama and Daddy ever have enough time to grow and fix enough to feed all nine of us kids.   Today I am thankful for Certified SC Grown – Nothing Fresher Nothing Finer.  We have an abundance of great SC farmers ready to provide us with the freshest locally grown produce. It’s simple  -- always look for the Certified SC Grown sign and ask, “Is this locally grown?” when you are buying produce.   Also, we now have a new website called SC MarketMaker (www.scmarketmaker.com) that connects folks interested in the SC food supply chain. http://sc.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/index.php

The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political belief, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer. http://www.clemson.edu/extension/

   It is Palm Sunday a time for triumphant entrances and I am ready to make one into my vegetable garden.  It has been a cold, dark, nasty winter and frankly I have done a pitiful job on my winter garden. In fact, the only winter garden I have is a late planted demonstration garden at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center, my home garden is bare except for (of course) the occasional weed.  I don’t know about you but I need a “gardening pick-me-up.”

   Hallelujah, next week is Easter the traditional start of the gardening season.   Call it natural, spiritual or whatever.  Easter is thought of as a new beginning - the beginning of spring, the beginning of growth, the beginning of life, and etc.  It seems to be indwelt into our nature that nothing is planted until Easter.  I guess this is why the Spring Flower Festival at the Pee Dee Farmers Market is always the week following Easter (April 16-19 this year) and draws some 50,000 people each year.

   In some instances, planting at Easter is beneficial.  First, in most years the threat of frost is generally past because our average last frost date is April 1st.  Next, planting early in the spring is very beneficial in South Carolina.  It gets very hot quickly.  Spring must be one of the few things unionized in S.C because many years it goes on strike and we head straight into summer.  Plants started early have a better chance of developing properly before it gets real hot.  Finally, insects and disease problems are generally not as bad when you plant early.  Most insect and disease problems tend to build and get worse throughout the summer.  As summer progresses cornearworms, pickleworms, aphids, whiteflies, etc. are worse.  Diseases like early blight, viruses, fungal leafspots, etc. increase.  However, there are some noted exceptions to this generality.

   In some instances, Easter is not the optimum time to plant. First of all, most trees, shrubs, and perennials do better if planted in the fall.  Fall planting allows these plants to develop an adequate root system to stand heat the next summer.   Next, cool season vegetables and ornamentals need to be planted in the fall or much earlier in the spring.  One lady called about how she could keep her snapdragons and pansies from dying in the summer; however, since they are cool- season annuals this is natural.  Finally, some plants do better if planted later when the soil is warm for the seed to germinate properly, including okra, peanuts, cotton, and etc.

   The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political belief, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.

It is butterbean and pea season and the demand for fresh locally grown is ballooning.  Of course this inflates the local supply and is good both for you the consumer and the local farmers.  Like the old saying "Butterbeans are good for your heart because they make you ---
swell with pride for feeding your family something that is good for you:"

Fresh. The Certified South Carolina Fresh movement is growing, becoming more popular, and of course there is "Nothing Fresher, Nothing Finer."  Folks want, request, and seek out high quality, fresh, locally grown produce.  You can find it at all types of outlets including
public, private, and on farm markets.  Public Farmers Markets include the Pee Dee State Farmers' Market, the National Historic Bean Museum Farmers' Market in Lake City, the Marion Farmers' Market, the Manning Farmers' Market, and others.

I'm not going to list the private or on-farm markets because I would surely forget at least one and they  would be mad at me.  But one of the easiest ways to find them is to ask  your friends and neighbors; word of mouth has always been the best marketing device.  A  flavor-filled plate of good' ole butterbeans with all the amenities has a way of opening many a folk's mouth. Anti-oxidant, vitamin, and mineral filled. We've all heard about the need to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.  If I were a nutritionist I could taut their praises all article long but all I can say is, "I wish I were as healthy today as I was when I was growing-up in McBee eating a daily diet including butterbeans or peas."

Reminds us of our heritage and keeps us connected to our southern agricultural roots.  In fact, this Tuesday, August 12th at 7:00 p.m., we will have a segment on Making It Grow about the South Carolina Farmers' Festival which took place at National Historic Bean Market Museum on June 21st.  In the past, Lake City was known as the Bean Capital of the World, and with thousands of acre of beans it is still the center for bean production in South Carolina.  Today I am thankful for the farmers picking and shelling the beans for us because I don't want to be reminded about my aching back while picking and my sore thumbs while shelling.

Tasteful.   If you've never had a plate of fresh-picked, slow-cooked butterbeans you are missing out on life.  This is southern living at its finest.

Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to
people of all ages, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.  If you enjoy gardening and using flowers and plants in decorations, please watch Down Home with Tony and Amanda on Thursday nights at 8:00 pm on the SC Channel (ETV's digital station). If you don't get that channel, you can go to www.mig.org, select streaming video, and scroll down to where our shows are archived.