Podcast
TECH ON DEMAND brought to you by GrowerTalks
Hosted by Bill Calkins · EN
Grow your best crop ever! Cultural and technical information for greenhouse professionals.
38episodes
Episodes
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Panel Discussion: Echinacea Best Practices (from 2026 Darwin Perennials Day)
2d ago00:35:41Tap to summarizeThis episode of the Tech On Demand podcast, brought to you by GrowerTalks is a special presentation from the 2026 Darwin Perennials Day event in The Gardens at Ball in West Chicago, Illinois. Darwin Perennials Day is an annual event held each summer to showcase perennial plants, breeding innovations, a huge range of suppliers and of course the growers who produce and sell perennial crops. For many years, the event has included educational sessions, panel discussions and talks by perennial experts. This year, one of the panels was moderated by GrowerTalks editor Jen Zurko with three expert panelists focused on echinacea production. Echinacea Best Practices for Spring, Summer and Fall featured Ball Seed Culture Research Manager Nathan Jahnke, Darwin Perennials Product Representative Chris Fifo and Hans Stokes, the Seedling Business Manager at Swift Greenhouses in Iowa. You’ll find this discussion interesting and packed with information to help you and your team level up your echinacea production. Darwin Perennials Day: https://www.darwinperennialsday.com/ Darwin Perennials on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@darwinperennials/videos
Transcribe →Nick's Newsletter Tip (Week 25): Proactive Poinsettia Planning
6d ago00:06:57Tap to summarizeAs temperatures rise and the heat of summer starts to set in, it’s important to periodically take a moment to pause… cool down… and think ahead. Right now it’s time to do this for poinsettias. I’ve already started to get proactive questions on poinsettias—not just about propagation, but about finished production. And while there are great resources available that cover poinsettias from start to finish, today we’re going to focus on a few key considerations that can make a big difference early in the process. Subscribe to the weekly Tech On Demand e-newsletter: https://www.growertalks.com/Newsletters/Signup/?newsletter=techondemand This episode is sponsored by Mycorrhizal Applications—master distributor of biological and botanical plant support solutions and the world’s leading supplier of mycorrhizal soil inoculants. Learn more and connect with the expert team at mycorrhizae.com.
Transcribe →The Summer of Soiree Kawaii ft. Suntory’s Lorentina Fielding
1w ago00:32:24Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we celebrate 10 years of Suntory's popular Catharanthus series, Soiree Kawaii with the company’s North American sales and product manager Lorentina Fielding. Lorentina is the perfect person to discuss this crop because she can cover crop production based on her work with growers across the continent (and her own production experience), as well as explaining how the product fits into retail programs and home and professional gardens and landscapes. And Soiree Kawaii has a place in all of these areas as you’ll hear throughout the episode. Lorentina also shares behind-the-scenes perspectives on product development, marketing strategies and the innovative promotional campaigns developed for Soiree Kawaii as it celebrates 10 years—including social media influencer campaigns, an ongoing cause-marketing partnership with Girls Inc. and a teaser of what you can expect from Suntory at this year’s Cultivate event in July. Resources: 2027 Suntory Catalog: https://suntoryflowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2027-Suntory-Catalog-web.pdf Soiree Kawaii Series: https://suntoryflowers.com/series/soiree-kawaii-catharanthus/ Happy 10th Birthday Soiree Kawaii: https://mailchi.mp/suntoryflowers/variety-view-soiree-kawaii-turns-10?e=b4b9e987f6 Suntory Flowers E-Blast (you REALLY should sign up to receive this …): https://suntoryflowers.com/marketing/newsletters/ Girls, Inc.: https://www.girlsinc.org/
Transcribe →4 Questions for Jose, a Sales & Business Manager
2w ago00:24:59Tap to summarizeThroughout 2026, host Bill Calkins has been catching up with different people in the professional horticulture space and find out a little bit about their careers, passions, journeys in the world of plants and much more. He sent each potential guest a list of 12 questions and they picked four to answer and discuss. This episode, Bill is joined by his friend Jose Sanchez, a Sales and Business Manager with Ball Seed Company in the Pacific region. It’s a fun episode that starts with major league baseball (Jose is a die-hard Dodgers fan) and then gets into a really cool career in horticulture that captures some industry history and evolution and really shows how someone’s trajectory can change as it’s influenced by mentors, curiosity and good old fashioned hard work and dedication. Jose shares a lot of wisdom in this one and you’ll want to listen all the way to the end, because it wraps up with ways to avoid burnout. Here are the four questions Jose chose to answer: Q: What was your first exposure to “horticulture” and how did you feel, react, respond? Q: If you had a free hour, what would we find you doing? Q: What advice would you give to a young person considering pursuit of a career in horticulture? Q: What advice would you give to an industry veteran currently dealing with “burnout”? This episode is sponsored by Prospiant—leaders in greenhouse design, manufacture and build. Learn more and connect with the expert team at prospiant.com.
Transcribe →Finishing SuperCal Crops for Fall ft. Sakata’s Michael Wiebe
3w ago00:56:22Tap to summarizeSakata Seed America's product and technical services manager Michael Wiebe joins host Bill Calkins to help growers produce high quality SuperCal vegetative petchoa crops in Summer for Fall sales. This can open up new seasonal opportunities for one of our industry's leading series. Resources: Sakata’s SuperCal Info SuperCal Fall Production Guide SuperCal Quart Production Guidelines SuperCal Variety Specs Chart (page 6) Sakata Playlist Collection (including summer/fall combinations)
Transcribe →Rotating from Resistance to Results ft. Envu’s Dr. Janna Beckerman
4w ago00:45:51Tap to summarizeDr. Janna Beckerman from Envu joins host Bill Calkins for this episode of the Tech On Demand podcast, brought to you by GrowerTalks magazine. Janna is here to discuss a topic that she’s very passionate about and for good reason—resistance management could be the most critical component to greenhouse production IF we want to grow healthy crops in the future and maintain a toolbox of effective chemical and biological solutions. That’s tremendously oversimplifying things but throughout this episode, Dr. Beckerman will help make sense of it all and leave you with an excellent rotation to use against multiple, common greenhouse pests. Janna Beckerman is an ornamentals technical specialist at Envu, and part of their Green Services Team. Prior to Envu, she worked at Purdue University and the University of Minnesota as a professor of plant pathology for almost 25 years. Janna continues to focus on developing environmentally sound pest management strategies that are economically feasible for growers and pest managers of specialty crops and is now excited to also focus on insect and weed management. Resources Envu Ornamentals Envu Ornamentals Team Altus insecticide Aria insecticide Kontos insecticide Podcast: The ABCs of Foliar Disease in Greenhouse & Nursery Crops Podcast: Preemergence Weed Control for Greenhouses & Nurseries
Transcribe →Nick's Newsletter Tip (Week 21): Garden Mum Prep & Production Basics
May 2000:06:30Tap to summarizeHey everyone—Nick Flax with the Ball Seed Tech Team here! Every mum season, I tend to get the same core questions from growers—especially as material starts arriving and hitting the transplant line and moving into production—so today I want to try to head some of those questions off before they turn into headaches. This week, I’ll walk through a few topics that I get questions on most often: propagation, premature budding, and disease pressure. I’ll also point you toward some additional resources if you want to go a little further down the rabbit-hole on any of these topics. Subscribe to the weekly Tech On Demand e-newsletter: https://www.growertalks.com/Newsletters/Signup/?newsletter=techondemand
Transcribe →4 Questions for Jamie, a Technical Lead
May 2000:23:22Tap to summarizeThroughout 2026 (and possibly beyond), host Bill Calkins is catching up with different people in the professional horticulture space and find out a little bit about their careers, passions, journeys in the world of plants and much more. He sent each potential guest a list of 12 questions and they picked four to answer and discuss. This episode, Bill is joined by his friend Dr. James Gibson, a technical lead at Syngenta Flowers in North America. Jamie has positively impacted countless greenhouses, crops and peers and it’s great to hear more about his horticultural story. Did you know his great grandfather was a horticulturist? Here are the four questions Jamie selected: Q: What was your first exposure to “horticulture” and how did you feel, react, respond? Q: If you won the lottery and could start a horticulture business from scratch, what would it be and what would it look like? Q: What advice would you give to a young person considering pursuit of a career in horticulture? Q: What do you love most about your job? This episode is sponsored by Mycorrhizal Applications—master distributor of biological and botanical plant support solutions and the world’s leading supplier of mycorrhizal soil inoculants. Learn more and connect with the expert team at mycorrhizae.com.
Transcribe →4 Questions for Samuel, a Grower, Retailer & Social Media Manager
May 1200:23:00Tap to summarizeHost Bill Calkins is catching up with different people in the professional horticulture space and find out a little bit about their careers, passions, journeys in the world of plants and much more. He sent each potential guest a list of 12 questions and they picked four to answer and discuss. This episode, Bill is joined by Samuel Di Rito, a grower and social media manager at Collier’s Greenhouse & Garden Center, a third-generation family-owned business in Jackson, Georgia. Follow Collier’s on Instagram @colliersgreenhouse Here are the four questions Samuel selected: Q: What was your first exposure to horticulture and how did you feel, react, respond? Q: What’s something about professional horticulture that annoys you and how would you change it? Q: What advice would you give to a young person considering pursuit of a career in horticulture? Q: What do you love most about your job? This episode is sponsored by Prospiant—leaders in greenhouse design, manufacture and build. Learn more and connect with the expert team at prospiant.com.
Transcribe →4 Questions for Susie, a Greenhouse VP
May 700:30:27Tap to summarizeThroughout 2026 (and possibly beyond), host Bill Calkins is catching up with different people in the professional horticulture space and find out a little bit about their careers, passions, journeys in the world of plants and much more. He sent each potential guest a list of 12 questions and they picked four to answer and discuss. This episode, Bill is joined by his friend Susie Raker, vice-president at Raker-Roberta’s Young plants in Litchfield, Michigan. Susie is an innovator in many ways and although some of this comes from growing up in a cutting-edge family business, she is definitely her own person and has forged an amazing path in the industry. This discussion goes in many directions, and you’ll have to listen all the way to the end, so you don’t miss anything! Here are the four questions Susie selected: Q: If you had a free hour, what would we find you doing? Q: If you won the lottery and could start a horticulture business from scratch, what would it be and what would it look like? Q: What advice would you give to a young person considering pursuit of a career in horticulture? Q: What does the future of horticulture look like? This episode is sponsored by Mycorrhizal Applications—master distributor of biological and botanical plant support solutions and the world’s leading supplier of mycorrhizal soil inoculants. Learn more and connect with the expert team at mycorrhizae.com.
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