In this episode of Tech On Demand, host Bill Calkins sits down with Susannah Ball, fourth-generation owner of Ball Horticultural Company, and Seth Reed, Ball’s Global Sustainability Manager, for an inspiring conversation about what it really means to “do better” when it comes to sustainability in horticulture. They break down how a 120-year-old global company focuses on people, community and the planet—from aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to empowering the launch of impactful initiatives at Ball companies around the world. You’ll hear how teamwork drives innovation, how smart sustainability can lead to resilience and why Ball chose this moment to release its 2025 sustainability report titled “Sowing Sustainability.” Whether you manage a greenhouse or garden center, lead a team or just want to make your business more future-focused, this episode offers practical insights and plenty of inspiration to grow greener and stronger—together. WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION! Read the 2025 Ball Sustainability Report (English & Spanish)

In exactly 30 minutes, Ball Seed Technical Services specialist Dr. Josh Henry covers garden mum production best practices, tips and tricks to help you avoid common issues experienced by growers. He basically offers concise “checklists” for you and your team to use during mum production—from propagation to finish. From managing all stages of prop to crop nutrition and environmental management to disease/insect control, this is an excellent overview that offers tactical solutions to help you produce your best mums ever.WATCH THE VIDEO! https://youtu.be/nNlrEREN7lo Josh mentions many Tech On Demand resources, linked below. Many of these and more can be found at https://www.ballseed.com/Products/Mums. Scroll to the bottom of the page for an Excel-based Growth Tracking Tool! RESOURCES: Mum Video Playlist Properly Conducting a Pour-Thru Test for pH and EC (Video) Why Mum Foliage Turns Purple (Video Short) Fast-cropping Fall Mums (Video) Garden Mum Podcast Miniseries PART ONE Garden Mum Podcast Miniseries PART TWO Garden Mum Podcast Miniseries PART THREE At Risk Crops—Garden Mums (Chrysanthemum White Rust)

Ball Technical Services specialist Dr. Josh Henry joins host Bill Calkins to share best practices for producing ornamental peppers as part of the Tech On Demand series covering crop culture for key annuals and perennials. From the importance of sanitation and purchasing tested seed to keeping temperature, light and nutrition up, Josh takes ornamental peppers from propagation through to finish to help you achieve success. He spends time on protocols for preventing INSV and TSWV as key diseases to watch out for, as well as bacterial leaf spot. WATCH THE VIDEO!  Resources: At Risk Crops—Peppers (Bacterial Leaf Spot) TSWV & INSV Management Properly Conducting a Pour-Thru Test for pH & EC (VIDEO)

Ball Seed Technical Services Specialist Chris Ferguson joined host Bill Calkins to share 5 tips to help you take calibrachoa production to the next level—and avoid some common pitfalls. Irrigation—water by weight Pinching—chemical vs. mechanical pH Management—not above 6.2! Thielaviopsis—know your spores Tobacco Budworm—scout and treat ASAP WATCH THE VIDEO! Resources: AlkCalc from e-GRO: https://e-gro.org/alkcalc/dist/index.html Understanding Water Levels 1-5 (VIDEO): https://youtu.be/LBhc8_KlEBE?si=SimY3iTv72Izp9Rw

In this episode, host Bill Calkins is joined by industry strategist and co-founder of A24 Consulting, Clint Albin, to discuss the artificial intelligence (AI) in the greenhouse and garden center industry. Bill and Clint explore the challenges faced by green industry businesses, including seasonal fluctuations and changing consumer behaviors and how AI can provide solutions to enhance customer engagement and streamline operations—what Clint refers to as “the front door and the overhead door”. The conversation emphasizes the importance of integrating AI thoughtfully and creatively into existing processes, the need for immediate customer feedback and some potential risks associated with AI implementation. Clint shares insights on future Green Profit article and podcast topics related to procurement and local marketing strategies, highlighting the significance of innovation in the horticulture sector. Some key takeaways from this episode: AI can empower businesses of all shapes and sizes. Our industry faces challenges due to seasonal business cycles. Customer visits to garden centers need to be increased. Immediate customer feedback is crucial for improvement. AI should not be applied to broken systems. The essence of abundance in AI can save time or make money. A policy on AI usage is necessary for each business. Understanding customer needs is always a key to success. This podcast supplements an article series in Green Profit magazine. Why You Need AI, No Matter Your Size (September 2025)

Syngenta Flowers’ Dr. Brian Krug and Dr. Jamie Gibson join Tech On Demand host Bill Calkins to discuss the exciting world of begonias, focusing on both vegetative and seed varieties. They explore the latest introductions, production best practices and the importance of lighting and PGRs in growing high-quality begonias. The discussion highlights the growing popularity of begonias in gardening and their versatility in various applications. One of the top new introductions at California Spring Trials in 2025 was iCandy, a vegetative series of hybrid begonias for quarts and up—with double flowers and dark foliage—and Brian spends time detailing production best practices before moving on to other vegetative series including Adora (perfect for baskets), Birthday Bash (more traditional, waxy foliage and double flowers) and Florencio (a boliviensis hybrid). Then Jamie goes through tips and tricks for producing a few newer seed-raised series from Syngenta including Bossa Nova (boliviensis types), Bionic (large, interspecific landscape type) Tophat (early-to-flower interspecifics with huge flowers) and Limitless (tuberous). For each series, Brian and Jamie discuss production recommendations from propagation through finish—including lighting protocols, PGR regimes, temperature requirements and much more. Strategies to reduce the risk of blind cuttings are also shared. WATCH THE VIDEO! Resources: Syngenta Flowers Website Syngenta Flowers Technical Library (Search “Begonias” for culture on all varieties!) Vegetative Begonia Photoperiod Effects

Syngenta Flowers’ Dr. Jamie Gibson joins Tech On Demand host Bill Calkins to discuss best practices for growing high quality pentas—both seed and vegetative varieties. As Jamie said multiple times, one of the biggest keys to getting the most out of pentas is keeping them warm. But there’s a lot more to maximizing production and there are nuances to understand with vegetative types, like Syngenta’s Starcluster and Starcluster Cascades, as well as the seed range, which includes Beehive, BeeBright and HoneyCluster. Jamie and Bill kick off the discussion with vegetative pentas in the Syngenta range—Starcluster and Starcluster Cascade. Jamie calls out some key attributes like huge umbels, thick foliage and major pollinator attraction before digging into propagation from URCs or callused cuttings. If you’re concerned about propagating pentas from cuttings, a good idea might be to bring in liners and just finish them in about 8 weeks or even start from enhanced, larger liners to cut off a few more weeks in production. Another tip is for growers in Northern climates to bring in cuttings after week 6 to reduce the risk of cold-chain damage. Remember, it’s a heat loving crop and receiving vegetative pentas after week 6 still gives plenty of time to finish the crop for Mother’s Day. Jamie follows production through finish and even teaches Bill a new term, “Xanthophyll,” the yellow pigmentation that sometimes makes pentas roots look like they’re struggling even though they’re completely healthy. Then Jamie and Bill turn the page and start on the seed-raised types. Jamie suggests buying in plugs from experienced pentas propagators because nailing pentas plug production can be quite tricky. Transplanted plugs still need to be grown warm (66-75F), and it’s recommended to consistently test pH and make sure it stays above 6.2 and also consider adding calcium nitrate to keep the pH up and tone the crop. In terms of positioning the seed-raised series from Syngenta, Jamie suggests BeeBright for packs and smaller pots, HoneyCluster for quarts and Beehive for baskets. WATCH THE VIDEO!   Resources: Syngenta Flowers Website Syngenta Flowers Technical Library (Search “Pentas” for culture on all varieties!) Patio Playbook Guide

This Tech On Demand podcast episode is all about propagation, biosolutions and starting your crops strong from the earliest stages. Host Bill Calkins is joined by Kristen Fowler, a technical sales consultant with Koppert who not only works with propagators but spent many years in leading propagation greenhouses as a grower—so she’s no stranger to the importance of optimizing plants at the most critical times during production.   In this episode Bill and Kristen discuss the importance of cleanliness before and after young plants are received, tips for assessing cuttings when they arrive at your greenhouse (you don’t want to push poor product onto your benches), consistent scouting and working with suppliers to understand what’s been applied to young plants before they come through your door. They also dig deep into what biological products can be used during each propagation stage (some products work well under mist, and some do not) and a roadmap to follow for protection when roots emerge, mitigating insect and mite pest pressure early on and biosolutions to apply at the time of transplant. With such a strong understanding of the propagation environment, Kristen is keenly aware that the best way to introduce many biological strategies and hybrid approaches is to work within existing propagation processes and not change too many protocols—think tank mixes, boom applications and different options for different systems.   RESOURCES: Koppert U.S. Koppert Consultants & Locations Koppert Crop Protection Products Koppert’s Side Effects Guide App2026 GrowerTalks Insecticide, Miticide & Fungicide Guide (English) 2026 GrowerTalks Insecticide, Miticide & Fungicide Guide (Spanish)

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

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.

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/

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    

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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/.