The Pots of Possibilities Series is a container gardening program designed to help combat food insecurity and promote sustainability in Fairfield County.
Offering classes each spring and fall, this initiative provides residents of all ages with the tools and knowledge to grow their own food in small spaces. The program is completely free of charge, but spots are limited, so be sure to reserve your place in this hands-on, community-driven experience.
For more information, check out The Pots of Possibilities Series Flyer
We’re thrilled to announce the addition of several new 4-H clubs, offering even more opportunities for our youth to grow, learn, and engage in hands-on experiences in various fields of interest.
1. Horse Club – Hosted by Joyner Family Horse Farms This exciting new club provides youth with the chance to connect with horses and develop their skills in equestrian activities. From interactions with horses to learning about horse care, this club offers an invaluable experience for young people passionate about animals. A special thank you to our volunteer, Mr. Jimmy Joyner, for opening his barn and sharing his experience and expertise with our youth.
2. Farm & Family Club – Hosted by Crazy Chic Heritage Farms The Farm & Family Club is all about fostering a love for agriculture and understanding the importance of farming in our communities. This club focuses on the showmanship of poultry and encouraging youth to build strong family connections through farm-related activities. 4-H volunteers Abbie & Shaun Kowalke do a phenomenal job of helping to foster the love for agriculture and poultry.
3. Midlands STEM Charter School 4-H Club The Midlands STEM Charter School 4-H Club focuses on hands-on learning projects and exploration of all that 4-H has to offer. The youth in this club have already been very busy planting a tree at the school for Arbor Day, working on passion projects, and will soon begin planting seeds to help with our Fairfield Container Gardening classes. Teachers, Courtney Corby and Lauren Beck, do a miraculous job of organizing, fundraising, and hosting the club.
4. Farm Animals & Sustainability Club – Hosted by Set in Stone Sustainability Farm This club is dedicated to educating our youth on sustainable farming practices, the importance of environmental stewardship, and the showmanship of swine. Youth will gain firsthand experience in managing farm animals while learning how sustainable practices can protect our planet for future generations. A special thank you for SeVen Stone for opening her farm and heart to the youth of Fairfield County.
5. Homeschool Club Recognizing the diversity of learning environments, the Homeschool Club brings together 4-H members who are homeschooled for community building, learning, and shared experiences. While this club is titled “Homeschool Club”, it is open to all youth. This club is a great opportunity for homeschool families to engage with one another and the broader 4-H community.
As we embrace the start of 2025, we are excited to share some wonderful updates and accomplishments from our Fairfield County 4-H program. The fall of 2024 brought new opportunities, clubs, and enthusiastic youth working hard to make a difference. Here’s a look at the latest highlights and events that are shaping the future of 4-H in our community.
Cookie Co-Op Series – September 2024
In September, four talented young ladies participated in the Cookie Co-Op Series, a program designed to sharpen baking skills and build teamwork. After a series of workshops and practice sessions, these young bakers entered the South Carolina State Fair Cookie Competition. Their hard work and creativity paid off, as the group earned impressive results: two red ribbons and two blue ribbons! This achievement is a testament to their dedication and baking expertise. Congratulations to all participants – we are so proud of your accomplishments!
Cookie Co-Op Winners
Gingerbread Competition – December 2024
In December, Fairfield County 4-H hosted the Gingerbread Competition at Christmas, where families came together to compete in decorating the most imaginative and festive gingerbread house. The event was a fun-filled evening of creativity, laughter, and holiday cheer. A special congratulations to Benjamin Lewis, the winner of the competition, for his impressive design and attention to detail. Thank you to all the families who participated – your teamwork and holiday spirit made this event a memorable one! We cannot wait to host the competition again next year!
Richard Winn Shooting Sports Achievements
We are incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication shown by our youth in the Richard Winn Shooting Sports program. This team continues to excel, with many participants achieving new personal bests and showing impressive growth in their skills.
In addition to improving shooting accuracy, our young athletes have demonstrated leadership, responsibility, and sportsmanship in all their practices and competitions. These achievements speak to the perseverance and commitment of our youth, and we look forward to seeing even more progress in the coming months.
Looking Ahead to 2025
As we look ahead to the spring and summer, we are excited for all the upcoming events and opportunities for our members. Be sure to stay tuned for more details on upcoming workshops, 4-H camps, and special events. Whether your child is interested in animals, STEM, sustainability, or leadership, there’s a place for them to thrive in Fairfield County 4-H.
Thank you to our volunteers, mentors, and families who continue to make Fairfield County 4-H a thriving community. Your support is crucial in helping our youth achieve success and reach their full potential. Together, we are shaping the leaders of tomorrow and making the best, better!
Stay connected, stay involved, and let’s continue to make 2025 a year of growth and achievement for our Fairfield County 4-H members!
Jackie has served as the horticulture agent and Master Gardener Coordinator for Kershaw, Fairfield, and Richland Counties for the past 11 years and serves as a resource for local plant nurseries, flower farmers, Christmas tree farms and homeowners in Fairfield County. Jackie recently partnered with the Council on Aging to offer a hands-on microgreens workshop.
Microgreens Workshop at Council on Aging
For the past five years, Jackie has partnered with the Camden Library to offer a monthly garden program. Topics are based on the season with input from the attendees on what they wish to learn. The programs are offered the second Tuesday of the month at 2:00pm.
Some favorite topics (in alphabetic order) are: Beds and Walkways, Caring for the Winter Garden, Container Gardening, Drought-Tolerant Perennials, Peace through Gardening, Sound and Touch (Sensory Gardens), Permaculture Basics, Pollinator Gardening, Plant Propagation, Rejuvenating Soil, Seed Starting, Selecting and Planting Trees, Succulents and Cacti, Summer Cut Flower Gardens, Tomatoes, Water Gardens, Xeriscaping, Rock Gardens, and Vegetable Gardening.
Are you a pond owner who always seems to struggle with algae or other aquatic weeds? It can seem like an ongoing battle each year that rears its head at the first sign of warm weather. Fortunately, there are strategies you can employ to help manage aggressive plant growth! Step one is always IDENTIFICATION! With a correct ID of the species(s), your local Extension agent can help match management strategies for you!
Also, make sure to check out the new Harmful Algal Blooms Online Course, to help better understand how to recognize, prevent, and treat these algal blooms that can often interfere with water use and pose potential harm to people, pets, livestock, and wildlife.
Lastly, a Pond Management Workshop will be held on April 2nd at Sandhill Rec as a part of the SC New and Beginning Farmer Program Advanced Workshop Series! Click here for more information or to register.
If you have questions regarding your pond or other water-related topics, please contact Charly Greenthaler at charlym@clemson.edu or (803) 520-1679.
Ask anyone with a diagnosis of diabetes, and they’ll tell you that blood sugar management is a full-time job. Doctor visits, medications, blood sugar monitoring, and diet are just some of the pieces that make up living with diabetes. Diabetes is also a condition that can feel isolating and lonely and can lead to burnout. However, a strong, positive support network can help those with diabetes live a longer, healthier life.
Studies show that diabetes support groups improve understanding of both diabetes and participants’ mental health. Social support for diabetes has also been found to improve participants’ capability, confidence, and control in managing their blood sugar. Having a strong social network can help individuals make and maintain the lifestyle changes necessary for long-term diabetes management. Diabetes support groups also provide local resources that can help lead to better diabetes self-management, such as food assistance programs and exercise opportunities. Many support groups welcome the friends and family members of participants so they can better support you with accurate information on managing diabetes.
Clemson Extension offers a free diabetes self-management and support program called Health Extension for Diabetes. Health Extension for Diabetes is specifically designed for those living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and is offered online or in person. Through this program, participants learn about self-care behaviors and lifestyle changes they can make to better self-manage their blood sugar. For more information about all programs offered by the Clemson Extension Rural Health and Nutrition team, visit Clemson.edu/extension/health.
Silvopasture is a land management system that combines trees, forage, and livestock to produce income from livestock and trees while providing environmental benefits. The livestock or poultry can provide short-term income while the trees provide long-term income. This can be established as a new stand of trees or existing stands can be thinned for silvopasture. Enough sunlight is permitted to reach the ground for planted or natural forage to prosper while shade is provided for animals. The shade reduces heat stress on the animals and reduces soil evaporation providing for green forage for a longer period of time.
The days are beginning to warm up with increasing daylight levels to dispel the depths of winter. With the changes in the year, our thoughts as commercial growers or as home gardeners turn to thoughts for the upcoming year.
From either perspective, February is a great time to start vegetable transplants or to sow more cold, hardy crops directly. Of course, while browsing the glossy seed catalogs, it is a good time to review crop rotations and where we had successes or failures.
A little taste of Spring. R. Last 2024
For home gardeners, The HGIC factsheet, Planning a Garden, can be a valuable resource for crop rotations, planting times, and depth of planting for seeds.
The South Eastern 2025 Vegetable Crop Handbook is available electronically only.
Some useful commercial fruit and vegetable resources:
MyIpm Apps for both fruit and vegetables are available free of charge from Google Play and the Apple Store.
Also, look into the South Carolina Grower blog and Podcasts where there are a large number of resources, including fruit and vegetable meetings.
Hannah Conover recently joined the Livestock and Forages Team as the agent covering Greenville County, as well as Anderson and Pickens counties. A native of Starr, SC, she is proud to serve the communities where she grew up.
After graduating from Crescent High School, Hannah attended Clemson University, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Animal and Veterinary Science with a minor in Business. After completing her degree, she served as an AmeriCorps member with the Georgia 4-H program in Banks County. During this time, she helped foster agricultural education and youth development through various programs and events. Hannah also spent several years showing cattle across the state and nation, and she was a junior member of multiple breed associations, including Shorthorn, Angus, Gelbvieh, and Charolais.
As the Livestock and Forages Agent for Greenville County, Hannah looks forward to serving as a resource for a variety of folks in the industry, from large-scale cattle producers to those with backyard poultry flocks and homesteading goals. She is excited to begin offering programs and workshops pertaining to community needs as well. Be on the lookout for updates on events via the Clemson Events Calendar and social media, and feel free to reach out to her at (864) 359-3382 or hfwoote@clemson.edu.
Greenville County 4-H is excited to introduce the Greenville 4-H Club, a new general-interest club open to all 4-H ages! This club brings back the tradition of community-based 4-H clubs, a structure that has historically been the foundation of 4-H across the country. Unlike the recent trend in South Carolina 4-H of offering primarily Special Interest (SPIN) clubs, the Greenville 4-H Club provides a broad range of activities designed to engage members in hands-on learning while building a sense of community.
Camille Hoover from Sustaining Way lead 4-Her’s and their families through a tour of their gardens.
The club’s first meeting was held in early February at Annie’s House, hosted by the local nonprofit Sustaining Way. Members enjoyed a tour of their sustainable gardens and then got creative making seed paper valentines—a fun and eco-friendly way to spread kindness and encourage upcycling.
Looking ahead, the next meeting is set for March 8th at Annie’s House, where members will continue to explore new skills and experiences. As more families move to the Upstate, we hope clubs like these will provide a welcoming space for youth to learn, grow, and thrive in Greenville County 4-H.
Want to get involved? Contact the Greenville County 4-H Agent, Amie Mabe to learn more and join the fun!
