TECH ON DEMAND brought to you by GrowerTalks

Grow Your Sustainable Future with Proven Winners

Sustainability and environmental responsibility are high on the priority list for the Proven Winners team and their partners. Their new Eco+ plastic-free and industrial compostable pots are a key part of this plant powered package. Host Bill Calkins caught up with Proven Winners’ director of sales, Dave Konsoer and Danny Mishek, president of VistaTek—the award-winning manufacturing company behind the new pots and other plant-based, compostable products making their way into many industries.

Danny, Dave and Bill discussed all aspects of the new packaging from manufacturing and trialing to ensure integrity in greenhouse environments to seamless integration into crop production systems and the strong, branded retail presence for which Proven Winners is known. Dave clearly explains the reasons Proven Winners invested in the move to sustainable packaging and Danny articulated why a zero-plastic approach is not only responsible but becoming necessary due to new regulations being implemented in many states very soon.

Of course, the pots went through many iterations in development and functionality in greenhouse production and retail settings was non-negotiable and Dave stated there are no changes to how crops are grown in Eco+ pots and the brand messaging remains crisp and clear on the plastic-free material.

Danny explained regulatory changes coming quickly in many states and why bio-based materials and plastic-free pots like Proven Winners’ Eco+ will help growers stay ahead of “extended producer responsibility” laws. Plus, as Dave explained, consumers clearly want responsible packaging and look to Proven Winners as a leader in the gardening space. The company’s social media pages for gardeners are filled with positive comments about the new plastic-free packaging.

There’s so much fantastic information in this podcast and excellent discussion around the topic of sustainability. It’s steeped in real-world horticultural knowledge of supply chains, price sensitivity, production situations, tolerance for change and future plans. You really have to listen all the way to the end because the ideas and info just keep coming.

Resources:

What Environmental Sustainability Looks Like for Proven Winners

Proven Winners Eco+ Containers FAQ

Eco+ Grande Pot Manufacturing (Video)

Eco+ Grande Pot Manufacturing (Video 2)

VistaTek Sustainable Manufacturing

Grower Math: Greenhouse Cost Accounting ft. Stephen Steiner

Cost accounting is the process of calculating your fixed and variable costs of production and identifying on what products and activities you are spending your resources. It may not be glamorous, but taking the time for cost accounting can dramatically improve your business’s profitability.

Ball Seed’s senior business analyst Stephen Steiner joins host Bill Calkins for a quick crash course in “grower math.” Stephen discusses simple ways to calculate costs (fixed and variable) by sharing greenhouse production-based examples. Knowing the true cost to produce various inputs will help you and your team make the smartest—and most profitable—decisions.

WATCH THE VIDEO!

This discussion is a condensed version of a much more in-depth presentation you can find HERE.

Stephen also recommends a series of GrowerTalks’ articles digging deeper into greenhouse cost accounting from many angles. You can find all of these resources and more HERE.

The Power of Seed ft. Josh Kirschenbaum

Warning: You’re going to hear the word SEED a lot in the next half hour or so, because our guest this episode is Josh Kirschenbaum, the seed supply manager at Ball Seed Company. He’s a seed guy all the way. In previous roles, Josh was PanAmerican Seed’s business and portfolio manager for the company’s vegetable lineup and before that was product development director at Territorial Seed Company in Oregon.

 

Here’s what you can expect from host Bill Calkins and Josh this episode:

 

Their shared fascination with the new OPEX Perfect Pick machine Ball introduced earlier this year. Josh describes it as a climate-controlled vending machine for seed packets that can pull 20 orders at a time, resulting in speedy service and increased accuracy in order fulfillment. (Check out the video and article link in the resources below to see the machine in action.)

 

Bill challenged Josh to come up with three reasons why seed solves problems and why it’s still a preferred way to produce crops. Josh explains the economic benefits, why flexibility and efficiency are optimized when starting from seeds or plugs and finally the amazing innovation and quality of genetics available from seed.

 

Throughout the conversation, Bill and Josh touch on many more aspects of seed crops that have been at the core of Ball’s business for more than a century. Josh discusses the global nature of our industry, how innovative breeding drives our future, the importance of quality seed in large-scale plug production and the legacy seed has in horticulture.

 

Resources:

 

Ball Seed Company Website: https://ballseed.com/

 

Ball Seed Product Forms & Premier Line Seed List: https://ballseed.com/Products/Seed

 

OPEX Perfect Pick—From Grocery Store to Vending Machine (Article): https://www.growertalks.com/Article/?articleid=27411

 

OPEX Perfect Pick (Facebook Video): https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19SiAULR35/

The ABCs of Foliar Disease in Greenhouse & Nursery Crops ft. Janna from Envu

This episode includes critical information for both nursery and greenhouse producers!

 

To discuss this episode’s topic, host Bill Calkins was joined by a fantastic guest from Envu—Dr. Janna Beckerman—who’s an experienced plant pathologist at heart and wanted to discuss three key diseases commonly encountered in greenhouse and nursery crop production. Conveniently for the podcast title, these diseases begin with the letters A, B and C—anthracnose, Botrytis and cercospora.

 

In this episode, the conversation starts with a brief recap of some diseases Dr. Beckerman saw a lot of in the spring, like rusts and Pythium and then the conversation moved quickly to the topic at hand—foliar diseases. Bill and Janna took the three ABCs in order talking through the main crops impacted by each one, symptoms to watch for and control methods. Although Dr. Beckerman mentioned one of Envu’s flagship fungicides, Broadform (a unique chemical class with two modes of action to control more than 50 pathogens), her rotation recommendations and application best practices were extremely in-depth and user-friendly. She also went through strategies to mitigate the risk from these three diseases using good sanitation practices and greenhouse and nursery environmental management.

 

Bill and Janna closed out the conversation with the importance of resistance management—a topic that cannot be overstated. Keeping our toolboxes full and giving all growers the best chance for controlling diseases (and insect/mite pests) requires diligence and intelligent approaches to chemical rotation and application.

 

You’ll want to listen all the way to the end of this episode, because Dr. Beckerman is a true expert and offers countless tips and tricks to help you and your production team up the game season after season.

 

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

 

Broadform Fungicide Product Information: https://www.us.envu.com/ornamentals/po/products/broadform  

 

Pre-emergence Herbicide Tips & Tricks for Perennial Production

Corteva’s technical guru, flower grower and greenhouse and nursery “coach” Broch Martindale is back on the podcast to share strategies for controlling weeds in perennial production using products like Gallery, Dimension and Snapshot. Bill and Broch recorded this episode live in The Gardens at Ball.

Over the course of this episode, Broch and host Bill Calkins discuss selecting the best products to control specific weeds impacting crops each season. They dive deep into weeds that can take over when temps drop and why fall applications of pre-emergence herbicides can be critical. General “best practices” are shared that will not only keep weeds at bay but also reduce costs associated with labor and product purchase.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Gallery® specialty herbicide.

Learn more about Dimension® specialty herbicide.

Learn more about Snapshot® specialty herbicide.

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