TECH ON DEMAND brought to you by GrowerTalks

Horticulture 2.0 (Part Two): Rethinking Our Industry with Jaime Kedrowski

Host Bill Calkins asked Jaime Kedrowski (Marketing Manager at Ball Seed Company) to join him for a discussion about the short-term future of our industry. This conversation was recorded live at the 2025 Ball Seed Customer Days open house event in West Chicago, IL.

For this episode, Bill had three “big ideas” that he introduced to Jaime one at a time to find out what she had to say about them (and if she had any even bigger ideas or approaches). There are no right answers and neither Jaime or Bill own a functional crystal ball. But the goal of this discussion was to share ideas to ponder and potential directions to steer as our industry enters a new era.

Topics discussed:

• Horticulture vs. culture
• New plants vs. new solutions
• Lifestyle vs. hobby

Horticulture 2.0 (Part One): Rethinking Our Industry with Seth Reed

Host Bill Calkins asked Seth Reed (Global Sustainability Manager at Ball Horticultural Company) to join him for a discussion about the short-term future of our industry. This conversation was recorded live at the 2025 Ball Seed Customer Days open house event in West Chicago, IL.

For this episode, Bill had three “big ideas” that he introduced to Seth one at a time to find out what he had to say about them (and if he had any even bigger ideas or approaches). There are no right answers and neither Seth or Bill own a functional crystal ball. But the goal of this discussion was to share ideas to ponder and potential directions to steer as our industry enters a new era.

Topics discussed:

• Post-pandemic growth vs. new realities
• Labor vs. labor retention
• Production vs. automation

Plant Growth Regulators ft. SePRO’s JC Chong

In this episode of the Tech On Demand podcast, brought to you by GrowerTalks, host Bill Calkins sat down with SePRO’s Technical Development Manager (and PestTalks e-newsletter editor) JC Chong to discuss plant growth regulators. PGRs are critical for greenhouse professionals but really haven’t been covered much on the podcast. Now’s the time! JC and Bill start off with a conversation about what PGRs are and what they do before jumping into a few specific products, including SePRO’s Topflor and A-Rest. Topflor is a gibberellic acid biosynthesis inhibitor (Class B)—active ingredient Flurprimidol. It offers some unique benefits in production, which JC covers in an informational way.

JC outlines crops that respond particularly well (and some that don’t) and what you can expect from crops treated with the product. JC also explains some of the more common rates and application methods and a handy tool from SePRO to take a lot of the guesswork out of PGR application.

JC is a researcher and has worked with the SePRO team and growers across North America to better use PGRs to achieve a variety of goals and has a lot of practical information to share. You’ll want to listen all the way to the end of this episode because when Bill and JC chat, you never know what to expect!

WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION!

Subscribe to JC’s PestTalks e-newsletter

Resources:

Topflor Product Overview

A-Rest Product Overview

SePRO PGR Selection Guide

SePRO Horticultural Resources & Technical Contact

Audio Files: Paying For That Efficiency Upgrade

PAYING FOR THAT EFFICIENCY UPGRADE

FROM THE SUMMER 2025 ISSUE OF INSIDE GROWER MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY DAVID KUACK

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: When it comes to lowering operating costs for controlled environment growers, energy and labor are top of mind. The cost of labor is expected to continue to increase as the availability, hiring and retention of reliable workers becomes more challenging. The cost of energy—regardless of whether it’s electricity, natural gas, fuel oil or propane—will also likely continue to increase. Growers, regardless of where they’re located, are expected to have to deal with increasing weather unpredictability. For these reasons, more growers are looking for ways to improve the energy efficiency of their facilities.

Read the Digital Edition: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/ig_25_05/index.aspx

Audio Files: Getting The Most Out Of Trials

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF TRIALS

FROM THE JUNE 2025 ISSUE OF GREEN PROFIT MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY DYLAN SEDMAK

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Modern day variety trials—side-by-side comparisons of primarily annuals (along with some perennials, vegetables and even woodies)—take place across an array of institutions in North America. Beyond universities, companies have begun opening the doors to their own personal trial grounds. Many organize annual events centered around visiting the trials, such as the Michigan Garden Tour or Southern Garden Tour (scan QR codes for links).

Read the Digital Edition: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/gp_25_07/index.aspx

Audio Files: Expand Your Candidate Pool

EXPAND YOUR CANDIDATE POOL

FROM THE JUNE 2025 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY TODD DOWNING

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Our industry is one of the most affected by the massive exit of so many retiring Baby Boomers who make up the green industry. Couple this with lower numbers of incoming talent and the demand for talent continues to far exceed the supply of candidates. While there are currently no magic answers, there are innovative and different ways of looking at the hiring process that will improve a company’s ability to attract and retain employees.

Read the Digital Edition: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/gt_25_07/index.aspx

Stop Stressing About Perennial Production! (A Panel Discussion)

This episode is a bit different—because it’s a live recording from a panel moderated by host Bill Calkins at the Darwin Perennials Day event in The Gardens at Ball on June 18, 2025. The audio quality is not as good as you’re used to hearing from this podcast, because it’s pulling from microphones in a tent with lunch being served and hundreds of growers in the background chatting about the plants they saw that morning and meetings with more than 30 leading perennial suppliers in the Ball Seed network. That said, the panelists were excellent, and the content is fantastic.

The topic was error correction—common challenges in perennial production that can be easily fixed to avoid running into the same issues year after year. The panel included Chris Fifo from Darwin and PanAmerican Perennials, Drew Koschmann from Walters Gardens and Nathan Jahnke from Ball Seed Technical Services. Some of the frequent pitfalls discussed included best practices for overwintering and bulking perennials, why input selection is critical, evaluating perennial plug and liner quality, managing tough environmental conditions and new research into no-pinch production strategies. We also solicited questions from the crowd and covered about 10 of them before closing.

If you missed this year’s event, that’s OK. Darwin hosts it every year! Mark Wednesday June 17, 2026, on your calendar and come check out the Gardens at Ball with thousands of perennial plants in bloom. As it get closer to the event, you’ll find all the details at https://www.darwinperennialsday.com/.

Preemergence Weed Control for Greenhouses & Nurseries with Janna and Steve from Envu

This episode includes critical information for both nursery and greenhouse producers! You may or may not know exactly how much time, labor and ultimately money you spend each year managing weeds in outdoor and indoor production, but chances are it’s a lot. If you don’t have protocols and strategies in place for weed control, that can lead to even bigger issues.

 

To discuss this topic, host Bill Calkins is joined by two guests from Envu—Dr. Janna Beckerman and Steve Larson—to talk through best management practices related to weed control and specifically the use of Marengo, a preemergence herbicide that not only controls more than 90 weeds (including broadleaf weeds, grasses and sedge) but also clocks in with residual activity for up to 8 months. It’s labeled for use inside greenhouses and can be a key player in your greenhouse sanitation lineup.

 

Envu’s Janna and Steve have decades of experience in our industry and bring a lot to the table when it comes to the science behind greenhouse and nursery production, as well as the real-world application of products and strategies. When it comes to weed control in production settings, Janna said it best—the greatest cost is the cost of neglect.

 

In this episode, the conversation starts with an overview of Envu’s history and innovative product range before quickly moving into weed control in nursery and greenhouse production. From regionality and seasonality of weeds and their impact to application strategies for preemergence herbicides and keys to safe use, there’s a lot to discuss. And with its residual staying power, wide range of weeds controlled and labeled indoor applications, Marengo (granular and liquid) is a product with benefits for just about every type of greenhouse and nursery operation.

 

You’ll want to listen all the way to the end of this episode to hear all the tips, tricks, research and anecdotal success stories the Envu team had to share!

 

Resources:

 

Envu’s Ornamentals Segment Website: https://www.envu.com/segments/ornamentals

 

Envu’s Products for the US Market: https://www.us.envu.com/ornamentals

 

Envu’s Products for the Canadian Market: https://www.ca.envu.com/greenhouse-and-nursery

 

Marengo Herbicide: https://www.us.envu.com/ornamentals/po/products/marengo

 

VIDEO (English)— Marengo Application/Calibration: https://youtu.be/7ZbCBCfHnb8

 

VIDEO (Spanish)—Marengo Application/Calibration: https://youtu.be/DhiSEXDGAPk

 

Envu Brochure—Nursery Weed Control: https://bynder.envu.com/m/5a01a4fcb5ddb3e7/original/Digital_TO_Nursey-Weed-Management_product-guide_NA_US_EN.pdf

 

Safely Managing Whitefly (and more) on Poinsettias with Broch Martindale

Corteva’s technical guru, flower grower and greenhouse and nursery “coach” Broch Martindale is back on the podcast to share strategies for controlling and preventing some of the more common pest and disease challenges you might face in poinsettia production—like whiteflies and powdery mildew—using chemistries like XXpire, Floxcor and Eagle.

Over the course of this episode, Broch and host Bill Calkins discuss safely using chemistries in rotation and what chemistries are appropriate for poinsettias late in production (when bracts are in color), as well as specific active ingredients that have been successfully trialed and tested to tackle common but challenging greenhouse pests. Throughout the podcast, Broch offers tips and tricks he’s turned to over the years producing crops and working with growers to manage and prevent pests when producing everyone’s favorite holiday crop.

Be sure to read Broch’s article KEEPING POINSETTIAS MERRY AND BRIGHT in the May 2025 issue of GrowerTalks magazine for even more on this topic.

 

WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION!

 

RESOURCES:

Floxcor fungicide offers ornamental growers fast uptake and broad-spectrum disease control, and is rainfast in just 15 minutes.

Floxcor Fungicide Ornamental Fact Sheet

Prevent and control virtually every major soil and foliar disease with the winning combination of Floxcor fungicide and Eagle 20EW specialty fungicide.

Floxcor + Eagle Fungicide Ornamental Fact Sheet

The two active ingredients in XXpire combine to control more than 39 insects, including 7 of the top 10 chewing or sap-feeding pests.

XXpire Insecticide Fact Sheet

Learn how XXpire insecticide can help poinsettia growers control damaging insects, without residue or phytotoxicity.

XXpire Insecticide for Poinsettias Fact Sheet

More information on XXpire insecticide

A Biological Approach to Fall IPM ft. Koppert’s Phil Gerry

This Tech On Demand podcast episode is all about fall control, integrated pest management and implementing biocontrol strategies that work. Host Bill Calkins is joined by Phil Gerry, a Technical Sales Consultant for the Northeast Region covering six states for Koppert. Koppert is a global market leader specializing in biological crop protection and team members have joined the podcast before covering biological IPM for spring crops and strategies for hybrid and truly integrated strategies. Phil was lead grower for large nurseries and greenhouses in the Northeast and Northwest before joining Koppert in 2021 and brings an incredible amount of practical knowledge and creative strategies to the topic of managing key pests in garden mum and poinsettia production.

 

In this episode Bill and Phil discuss the spring production season before jumping into the main topic—IPM for crops produced in summer for fall and holiday sales. Phil explains the importance of understanding the compatibility of biological controls and traditional chemistries, as well as why it’s critical to define what success looks like for your greenhouse or nursery before integrating biocontrols. As he reiterated, when making a move to bio-based approaches, it’s best to start slowly—choose one crop or one pest and hone skills before moving on to a more comprehensive plan.

 

When it comes to biological controls for garden mums, indoor versus outdoor production must be considered and beginning applications in propagation is the best approach for various reasons Phill addressed. Key pests discussed include aphids, thrips, fungus gnats, whiteflies and spider mites. Moving on to poinsettias, of course the main pests (whiteflies and spider mites) require diligence, scouting and early preventative controls and Phil explained some of his go-to tactics. Be sure to listen all the way to the end of this discussion because these notes barely scratch the surface!

 

RESOURCES & PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:

 

Koppert U.S.: https://bit.ly/4kR5r13

Koppert Consultants & Locations: https://bit.ly/455PYpp

Side Effects Guide: https://bit.ly/4kOoZmP

Isarid: https://bit.ly/4mASHxc

Spidex: https://bit.ly/4dHyf9S

Enermix: https://bit.ly/3SAoy3p

Swirski-Mite: https://bit.ly/3HEZOEI

Airobreez: https://bit.ly/3SAp815

 

2025 GrowerTalks Biosolutions Guide: https://www.growertalks.com/pdf/BioSolutions_Guide_2025.pdf