Ball Seed Technical Services Specialist Nick Flax breaks down the key environmental and cultural adjustments your production team should make as temperatures drop. The focus starts with dewpoint management. Warm days followed by cool nights can quickly create condensation inside the greenhouse, increasing the risk of fungal diseases like Botrytis and Pythium. Nick explains practical strategies to stay ahead of humidity, including dehumidification cycles, greenhouse "burping," temperature setpoint adjustments and controller checks.

The discussion also covers crop culture changes that often accompany fall weather. As plants use water more slowly, irrigation practices may need to be adjusted to avoid overly wet conditions. Nick shares tips on irrigation timing, crop spacing, air movement and using objective measurements such as water-by-weight to guide decisions.

Finally, the audio tip reviews some disease prevention strategies for high-risk crops (like poinsettias) and highlights the importance of maintaining a proactive fungicide program as environmental conditions become more favorable for disease development.

Now that you're transitioning from summer to fall production, this week’s tech tip offers practical reminders to help protect crop quality and reduce disease pressure during the season ahead. By now, you’ve realized my man Nick is pretty good at that!

This episode is sponsored by Prospiant—leaders in greenhouse design, manufacture and build. Learn more and connect with the expert team at prospiant.com.  

Throughout 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 one of his mentors, Sid Raisch—the Swiss Army knife of horticulture consultants! Sid is one of the most thoughtful and wise people in or industry and throughout the episode, the depth of his passion for coaching green industry businesses becomes more and more evident, as does his principled approach to continuous improvement.

One theme that weaves through this episode is the importance of letting people grow—and how this approach by owners and managers not only sets their operation up for success but also helps them avoid burnout and get the most from their team. Be sure to stick around all the way to the end because the wisdom just keep coming! And keep an eye out for a future Part 2 to this episode. Bill and Sid definitely have more to discuss.

Here are the four questions Sid 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 advice would you give to an industry veteran currently dealing with “burnout”?

This episode is sponsored by NurseryGuide.com. Whether you’re sourcing for a garden center, landscape project, nursery or growing operation, NurseryGuide.com puts one of the industry’s most trusted sourcing resources right at your fingertips. NurseryGuide.com—powered by the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

For episode 273, host Bill Calkins talks with IM Digital’s Justin Ragsdale about how greenhouses, garden centers and nurseries can use AI and other emerging technologies without getting lost in hype. The conversation focuses on practical use cases, from automating repetitive work to improving year-round customer engagement and building stronger digital systems. Justin explains how to think about AI as a tool, not a magic wand, and why the best results come from adding context, data and clear business goals.

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE 5 STEP AI PLAYBOOK FROM IM DIGITAL HERE: https://www.imdigital.com/insights/five-pillars-enterprise-ai-strategy 

There’s a lot covered in this episode. Here are a few of the topics Bill and Justin discussed:

The conversation closes with a look at the future, where the most advanced garden centers will be available across digital channels, in customers’ pockets and responsive 24/7, while still protecting the human expertise that makes garden centers valuable.

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE 5 STEP AI PLAYBOOK FROM IM DIGITAL HERE: https://www.imdigital.com/insights/five-pillars-enterprise-ai-strategy 

WHAT PLANTS ARE CUSTOMERS SEARCHING FOR & WHERE IS BREEDING STILL OPEN?

FROM THE SEPTEMBER 2026 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY CHI NGUYEN, SETH WANNEMUEHLER AND MIKE SCHNELLE

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

EXCERPT: Every breeding program eventually faces the same difficult question: Where should the next five to 10 years of effort go? Grower experience, customer requests and historical sales remain essential, but they mostly describe what’s already known. They may not reveal where consumer attention is building or where the competitive space is already crowded.

A recent HortScience study developed a Breeding Opportunity Index (BOI) to add that missing layer by combining U.S. Google Trends data with U.S. plant patent records. USDA production data provided the geographic context. The goal was to screen genera and traits before committing years of breeding, trial space or licensing resources.

Read the Digital Edition: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/gt_26_09/index.aspx

This episode is sponsored by Prospiant—leaders in greenhouse design, manufacture and build. Learn more and connect with the expert team at prospiant.com.

WATCH THE VIDEO PRESENTATION

Dave spent more than two decades growing cut flowers before moving to the supply side, and he brings that field-tested perspective to everything from low-cost startup advice to the realities of selling top-quality stems. If you're thinking about adding cuts to your operation, or you've already planted them and want to protect your investment, this conversation gives you the practical playbook.

Some of what Dave covers in this 30-minute discussion includes:

Dave also breaks down the hidden traps that catch new growers off guard, like introducing beneficial insects too late, using Japanese beetle traps in the wrong place or overlooking early damage that won't show up until weeks later—when blooms are ruined and the crop is lost. Dave explains how small decisions at the start of the season can determine whether you harvest a clean, salable crop or lose your crop and your profits.

This is essential listening for greenhouse growers, cut flower farmers and anyone expanding into a new product line without wanting to learn the hard way. If you grow cut flowers for profit, the advice in this episode can help you protect your crop, your customers and your bottom line.

WATCH THE VIDEO PRESENTATION

Resources

Ball Seed Cut Flowers

Greenhouse Tech Team Facebook Group

Throughout 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 Coy Butner, a Sales Representative with Ball Seed Company in the Midwest. It’s a fun episode because Coy is not only a fantastic partner to his customers (greenhouses of every size and shape) but also a great storyteller with a long history in horticulture that spans more than three decades and includes owing a retail greenhouse and then as a sales rep for more than 20 years. But Coy didn’t start off in hort, which is where the episode begins.

Coy shares the importance of listening, working with customers to identify challenges and bring solutions, what he looks for in new varieties (and some of his favorite plants like gomphrena, zinnia and echinacea) and how to stay engaged and enthused. He also makes an analogy comparing growing vegetative annuals to raising hogs. You’ve got to hear this!

Here are the four questions Coy chose to answer:

Q: How do you explain our industry to strangers, friends, family?

Q: What are your top 3 favorite annuals? And perennials?

Q: What advice would you give to an industry veteran currently dealing with burnout?

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.  

Host Bill Calkins was joined for this episode by Steve Larson from Envu. Steve and Bill sat down to chat about something that just about every greenhouse owner and manager deals with each year—but a topic that probably doesn’t get the press it deserves (probably because it doesn’t generate the same level of excitement as new plant varieties ...) But when it comes to saving money and securing the crop protection products needed for a successful season—Early Order Programs (EOPs) are definitely one of the most critical topics.

Steve and Bill talked about the history of EOPs, why growers should be motivated to buy from an EOP, tips for making smart purchase decisions (not over-buying or under-buying) and the importance of leveraging the terms that often come from early order programs.

Steve also discussed Envu’s EOP program, which kicks off on September 1, 2026. Everything you need to know about this program can be found at https://www.us.envu.com/ornamentals/programs - including the EOP calculator Steve mentioned in the podcast.

Resources

Envu Early Order Program for 2026: https://www.us.envu.com/ornamentals/programs

Envu Ornamentals: https://www.us.envu.com/ornamentals

Envu Ornamentals Team: https://www.us.envu.com/ornamentals/find-your-envu-rep

ADAPT OR DIE: RECONNECT YOUR WEBSITE

ADAPT OR DIE: CONNECT ONLINE SHOPPING TO YOUR STORE

FROM THE JULY AND AUGUST 2026 ISSUES OF GREEN PROFIT MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY JOHN STANLEY, SID RAISCH & DRIES JANSEN

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

EXCERPTS: Your website isn’t a brochure; it’s your store open 24 hours a day and now it’s also your application for AI recommendation. Most importantly, begin with connecting your email, text and every other marketing effort to the customer with the invitation to learn, be inspired and buy. If your customers are arriving at dead ends on your website right now, fix them and make it easy to click to send you money. 

Before you sell a single plant online, your shop is already talking. A site with stale photos from two springs ago, no way to buy anything and an “Under Construction” page tells customers loud and clear: “We are not ready for you.” A clean, current online shop with real products, real prices and a “Buy Online, Pick Up In Store” button tells them the opposite: “We’re open for business, we respect your time and we’re ready to serve you right now.”

Read the Digital Editions:

This episode is sponsored by Prospiant—leaders in greenhouse design, manufacture and build. Learn more and connect with the expert team at prospiant.com.

FROM HOME GARDENS TO MARKET INSIGHTS

FROM THE AUGUST 2026 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY CELINA GOMEZ

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

EXCERPT: One of the most exciting takeaways from our latest study is the ability to quantify the benefits of gardening on human wellbeing. We often say that plants make people feel better. Now we’re starting to build the data to support that claim. Our findings show measurable improvements in mood, confidence and engagement, all tied to a relatively simple gardening experience. This opens the door for growers and retailers to incorporate wellbeing-focused messaging into their marketing and outreach.

Read the Digital Edition: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/gt_26_08/index.aspx

GrowerTalks Senior Editor Bill Calkins sits down with JC Chong and Dennis Bunkley from SePRO Land to talk about two of the company’s newest crop protection products. BattleLine is a new fungicide effective on a wide range of pathogens and offers long residual activity and flexible application options. Barracuda is a new insecticide with fast knockdown and 21- to 28-day residual activity and is effective on mites at all life stages.

In this recording from Cultivate ’26, JC and Dennis share all the details you need to know and talk through trial results and benefits growers should expect with these new products.

Resources:

SePRO Land

BattleLine Fungicide

Barracuda Insecticide/Miticide

SePRO Technical Specialist Contact