Before the Shoals became the go-to recording spot for rock-and-rollers, another music genre was taking shape in the mind of a young W.C. Handy who was reared in Florence. Mary Wilson brings you the toe-tapping sounds of the annual W.C. Handy Music Festival, a 10-day tribute to the city’s native son and “Father of the Blues.”

Architecture requires attention to detail, artistry and a steady hand, skills Stephen Malkoff has in spades. However, the drafting table couldn’t hold his interest as his artist heart desired to deeper connection with nature. Jim Allen finds out how Stephen turned his passion into a career that doesn’t involve sketching skyscrapers… or at least not man-made skyscrapers.

About every five years, Congress passes new legislation establishing farming and food policy in the U.S. Known as the farm bill, the 2018 law legalized the growing of industrial hemp, and Alabama farmers planted the crop for the first time in a long time in 2019. Kevin Worthington catches up with one of Alabama’s permitted farmers to learn more about what it takes to grow industrial hemp.

Sidney Phelps of Bonnie Plants is in the studio to answer viewers’ gardening questions. In this segment, he discusses:

• How to continue using self-watering grow boxes once the fertilizer strip has run out.
• What to do when garden soil + fertilizer isn’t enough to help your vegetables produce.