The STEM Podcast

We’re back! Like I said last time, for our 45th and 46th Episodes, I wanted to stop and take a moment to express our appreciation for you as listeners. If you haven’t listened to STEM Episode 45, Greatest Hits Part One, I suggest you stop and listen. This one doesn’t necessarily build on it but it’s certainly a follow up. For the STEM Greenhouse Podcast, these two episodes wrap up our second year bringing you timely and relevant content – Insider Tips for Greenhouse Pros as our tagline says. And over these two years and 44 episodes, you’ve downloaded us more than 15,500 times and for that I’m very grateful. One question I often get when attending events or suggesting folks subscribe to STEM is – what are the best episodes to start with? Well, I definitely have my favorites but the most objective way for me to answer is to look at the download numbers. When I see a spike, I know listeners are sharing the episode. And that tells me the topic is trending. So, over the course of this episode and the last, shorter, holiday episodes I will share the STEM greenhouse podcast greatest hits – the 12 most downloaded episodes, which account for more than 6,000 downloads. I’ll touch on some of the highlights, in terms of what the guests and I discussed, as well as why I felt each episode made the list. All past episode links will be in the show notes so you can go back and check them out.

Once again, I am thankful for our guests! I’m thankful for our listeners. I’m thankful for our industry. And I’m thankful we have opportunities like this for life-long learning. Without further ado, here are the Top 12 STEM Greenhouse Podcast Episodes as chosen by our listeners – Part Two.

EPISODE 7 – New Innovations for 2019 & Beyond: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/new-innovations-for-2019-beyond/

EPISODE 15 – Poinsettia Selection & Production: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/poinsettia-selection-production/

EPISODE 40 – Success with Poinsettias (Part 1): https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/success-with-poinsettias-part-1/

EPISODE 41 – Success with Poinsettias (Part 2): https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/insider-tips-for-greenhouse-pros-success-with-poinsettias-part-2/

EPISODE 30 – Your Best Mum Crop Ever (Part 1): https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/your-best-mum-crop-ever-part-1/

EPISODE 35 – Your Best Mum Crop Ever (Part 2): https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/stem-podcast-insider-tips-for-greenhouse-pros-your-best-mum-crop-ever-part-2/

EPISODE 37 – Your Best Mum Crop Ever (Part 3): https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/your-best-mum-crop-ever-part-3/

EPISODE 23 – Tanya Brings the WOW!: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/tanya-brings-the-wow/

EPISODE 1 – Drama in the Garden: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/drama-in-the-garden/

Contact Links:

Host Bill Calkins: [email protected]

For our 45th and 46th Episodes, I wanted to stop and take a moment to express our appreciation for you as listeners. If you’re listening in real time, it’s the holiday season – in Hort terms, it’s weeks 49-52, the end of 2019. For the STEM Greenhouse Podcast, these two episodes wrap up our second year bringing you timely and relevant content – Insider Tips for Greenhouse Pros as our tagline says. And over these two years and 44 episodes, you’ve downloaded us more than 15,000 times and for that I’m very grateful. One question I often get when attending events or suggesting folks subscribe to STEM is – what are the best episodes to start with? Well, I definitely have my favorites, but the most objective way for me to answer is to look at the download numbers. When I see a spike, I know listeners are sharing the episode. And that tells me the topic is trending. So, over the course of the next two, shorter, holiday episodes I will share the STEM greenhouse podcast greatest hits – the 12 most downloaded episodes, which account for more than 6,000 downloads. I’ll touch on some of the highlights, in terms of what the guests and I discussed, as well as why I felt each episode made the list. All episode links are below so you can go back and check them out.

Once again, I am thankful for our guests. I’m thankful for our listeners. I’m thankful for our industry. And I’m thankful we have opportunities like this for life-long learning. Without further ado, here are the Top 12 STEM Greenhouse Podcast Episodes as chosen by our listeners – Part One.

EPISODE 21 – The Language of Watering: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/the-language-of-watering/

EPISODE 22 – Watering: The Rest of the Story: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/watering-the-rest-of-the-story/

EPISODE 14 – Grow More and Grow Better with LED Toplighting: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/grow-more-grow-better-with-leds/

EPISODE 10 – Wave Petunias: Past, Present and Future: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/wave-past-present-future/

EPISODE 5 – Plant Breeding: From Concept to Commercial: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/plant-breeding-from-concept-to-commercial/

EPISODE 2 – Getting Off to a Great Start: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/getting-off-to-a-great-start-1518718142/

EPISODE 38 – Leslie Halleck on Women in Horticulture: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/leslie-halleck-on-women-in-horticulture/

Contact Links:

Host Bill Calkins: [email protected]

NEW! Connect on Instagram - @STEMGreenhousePodcast

#STEMGreenhousePodcast

Tweet Host Bill Calkins: @billcalkins

Connect with Ball Seed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ball-seed-co/

See Ball Seed Videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BallSeedVideo

This episode, I’m joined for the third time by Mason Day, Co-Founder of GrowIt! Mobile. GrowIt! is a digital plant community that helps users connect with other local plant people. With almost one million users across North America, it’s quickly become THE place for social plant conversations.

The GrowIt! team recently released a very in-depth Houseplant Report that captured tons of information and data to better understand the houseplant trend that’s been all the talk lately. We’ve discussed this trend on STEM in the past and referenced many articles from mass media that characterize the way people, mainly millennials, are seeking out indoor plants with a fervor not seen in decades. We’ve speculated about the reasons behind the trend and expressed excitement about the uptick in sales many growers and retailers have experienced. But we haven’t really seen much data and certainly haven’t explored the topic in depth. Until now.

In this episode, Mason shares the top findings from the GrowIt’s Houseplant Report – from confusion around light requirements and how to apply supplemental lighting to an emerging sub-trend related to large plants and unique foliage patterns. We spend some time discussing the pots indoor plants are sold in, as well as a term new to both Mason and me, Double-Pots. With each of these findings, Mason is quick to offer suggestions from a plantsman’s point of view, as well as tips for growers and retailers looking to capitalize on the wants and needs of real consumers. Some of the other topics we touch on include pricing – how NOT to leave money on the table via across-the-board pricing – and a newly identified shopper wish for more indoor trees and shrubs. Would you have guessed people want indoor Weeping Willows, yeah… me neither. But they do!

We wrap things up by discussing big plans for the GrowIt! Mobile community in 2020 and beyond. When I say big things, I mean big things for growers, retailers and other hort professionals. Armed with tons of data, expect more detailed reports and information from GrowIt! In the very near future.

Mason is a terrific guest and brimming with ideas – all couched in a holistic understanding of the industry. As I always say, GrowIt! isn’t a tech company trying to plug into horticulture, it’s a hort company bringing cutting-edge technology and predictive analytics to industry. You’re going to want to listen all the way to the end of the interview because it’s truly an action-oriented conversation.

GrowIt! 2020 Houseplant Report: https://www.growitmobile.com/houseplantreport

Download the GrowIt! Mobile App and learn more about this tech company: https://www.growitmobile.com/

Past Episodes with GrowIt!

Episode 8: What Today’s Shopper Wants: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/what-today%E2%80%99s-shopper-wants/

Episode 28: Consumer Insights from GrowIt!: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/consumer-insights-from-growit/

Contact Links:

Guest Mason Day: [email protected]

Host Bill Calkins: [email protected]

NEW! Connect on Instagram - @STEMGreenhousePodcast

#STEMGreenhousePodcast

Tweet Host Bill Calkins: @billcalkins

Connect with Ball Seed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ball-seed-co/

See Ball Seed Videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BallSeedVideo

This episode, we’re joined by Gary Vollmer, Product & Technical Manager for Selecta One. Selecta’s portfolio includes many best-in-class products but for this episode we’re focusing on dahlias.

We’ve covered a lot of crops over the course of 42 STEM episodes – from seasonal must-haves like poinsettias and mums to calibrachoa, lavender, Wave petunias and more. These deep dives tend to be some of the most downloaded and when I was putting together plans for future episodes earlier in 2019, dahlias came to mind almost immediately. We’ve seen many new series come to market in the past couple seasons, watched the class grow in popularity with home gardeners and spotted thousands of dahlia pics pop up on social media. It’s pretty clear this is a hot crop – for breeders AND consumers. It’s not a new crop by any means – dahlias have been popular for decades and have specialist groups and clubs in just about every state. But new developments in breeding and supply chain dynamics are opening these beautiful bloomers up to the mass public for many reasons. I also knew our guest, Gary, is a true expert on dahlias and has grown them for years and now is helping lead some of the latest developments.

Get ready to learn why dahlias are gaining in popularity. From diversity in color, form and size options to ongoing, cutting-edge research in modern production strategies, Gary will share reasons he and many others believe this crop is on the verge of a breakthrough. We discuss the trends but spend most of our time on selecting the best series and type for different uses and tips and tricks for producing a spectacular crop. Gary shares some specific dahlia challenges and how to avoid them and wraps up with best practices to put in place that will ensure the beautiful plants you ship out will perform at retail and ensure high sell through. And of course, he also calls out some of his favorite series, varieties and colors for quarts, gallons and larger formats. You’re definitely going to want to listen all the way to the end of this one.

Resource Links:

Contact Links:

#STEMGreenhousePodcast

Connect with Ball Seed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ball-seed-co/

(INTERVIEW STARTS AT 7:27) This episode of STEM is true Breaking News! A new business unit at Ball Horticultural Company was launched and the name revealed within days of this podcast’s release! In fact, my guest and I recorded this beforehand - only after I was sworn to secrecy. But now that internal announcements have been made, the logo has been unveiled and everything is off and running, I’m thrilled to welcome you to BloomStudios!

In this episode, general manager Scott Rusch shares exactly why Ball has entered the global cut flower space in this new and exciting way, how BloomStudios got its name, how critical collaboration will be as this new unit evolves and a bit about his team. Then, we get into macro trends in the cut flower and indoor plant market and some top varieties for growers to consider when approaching this expanding category. Next, Scott shares resources to help greenhouse growers of any size get started in cuts – there are a ton! – and we wrap up with a look at some goals for BloomStudios over the next 3 years.

There’s so much great information packed into this episode and Scott is such a fantastic guest – I’m really psyched for you to hear all about BloomStudios!

Connect Four Articles:

Previous STEM Podcasts that discuss Cut Flowers:

Resource Links:

 Contact Links:

NEW! Connect on Instagram - @STEMGreenhousePodcast

#STEMGreenhousePodcast

Connect with Ball Seed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ball-seed-co/

(INTERVIEW STARTS AT 5:24) Our guest today is Dr. Todd Cavins, who’s been a guest twice before covering seed propagation and vegetative propagation and this time he’s back to finish up our two-part episode on poinsettias. Dr. Will Healy kicked off the topic last episode focusing on nutrition, explaining that when it comes to poinsettias, if you have the nutrition right, most of your problems will be greatly reduced. If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, I suggest stopping this one and going back to Success with Poinsettias (Part 1). See link in the show notes. If you have listened, great! Todd is going to pick up where Will left off and wrap the topic up by covering tools for height measurement and management, as well as pest monitoring and control strategies. If you are listening in real time, you know it’s week 39 or 40 and it’s a critical juncture for this important crop. As Todd tells us, it’s transition and adjustment time and he’s going to share knowledge, tips and tricks to help you make the most of your poinsettia crop, how to use a new graphical tracking tool available from Ball Seed, determining your optimal PGR regime and even some postharvest tricks to maximize sell through at retail. We have a lot to cover this time and Todd certainly lives up to the challenge.

Previous STEM Podcasts on Poinsettias:

Resources:

Contact Links:

NEW! Connect on Instagram - @STEMGreenhousePodcast

#STEMGreenhousePodcast

Our guest today is Dr. Will Healy returning to cover another seasonal crop. Our three-part miniseries on Garden Mums has had hundreds (if not thousands) of downloads and we’ve heard tremendous feedback. So, I couldn’t wait to have Will back to kick off a two-parter on Poinsettias. If you are listening in real time, you know it’s week 37/38 and your greenhouse is full of poinsettias. If you aren’t listening in real time, that’s great because the tips and strategies shared over the next two episodes will be invaluable as you start planning your next poinsettia crop.

In this first part, Dr. Healy takes a deep dive into Nutrition. As he explains, when it comes to poinsettias, if you have the nutrition right, most of your problems will be greatly reduced. We start with an overview of the importance of monitoring EC and pH and quickly get into the nitty gritty details of how to approach feeding your crop, the benefits of front-loading fertilizer and even why withholding feed is a bad strategy. Will does a great job explaining how your feeding decisions impact the EC of the crop, as well as how feed leads to excellent or poor crop presentation at retail. If you are wondering what to do if EC starts to creep up, be sure to listen all the way to the end.

We also spend time on pH and what can be gained by staying in the optimal 5.8 to 6.2 range. One of the most applicable parts of this episode is Dr. Healy’s explanation of how to determine crop needs based on the size of leaves on the plant and how you can effectively measure them using your two hands! As we wrap the episode up, Will talks about watering and shares some poinsettia specific watering strategies. As I mentioned before, you are going to want to listen this one all the way to the end. And also, share it with your entire poinsettia team because when you’re all on the same page, good things will happen.

Resources:

EC Monitor: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VVVEUI?pf_rd_p=2edffb5d-036e-4cd0-bc77-99980e2d4856&pf_rd_r=0BYNK2B0GCMMRYBKW6K9

Dr. Healy’s Past Episodes:

STEM Episode 30: Your Best Mum Crop Ever (Part 1) - https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/your-best-mum-crop-ever-part-1/

 Contact Links:

Email Guest Dr. Will Healy: [email protected]

NEW! Connect on Instagram - @STEMGreenhousePodcast

#STEMGreenhousePodcast

Tweet Host Bill Calkins: @billcalkins

Interview starts at 5:03 – My guest this episode is Diane Blazek, Executive Director of All-America Selections (AAS) and National Garden Bureau (NGB). During my 20 years in horticulture, I’ve encountered All-America Selections and National Garden Bureau on many occasions, at events, in trial gardens, in trade articles, through the consumer press and even while visiting garden centers and greenhouses. These days, I see both organizations all over social media and digital media. It’s this relentless dedication to plant promotion, as well as exciting recent growth that inspired me to reach out to Diane to talk about the goals and missions of each organization and more importantly ways everyone in the horticulture industry can get involved and leverage the power of AAS and NGB to connect and inspire today’s gardeners – our customers.

During this episode, Diane and I discuss how these two venerable organizations are structured, the goals of each, key activities and how they work together, factors behind recent growth and what to expect in the near future. With the trialing expertise of AAS and the consumer engagement driven by NGB, there is an awful lot of firepower here and major opportunities to get involved and capitalize on the power of plant promotion. NGB’s “Year Of” programs are some of the easiest to start using in your own marketing. From the history of each organization and their phenomenal growth over the past decade to tips and tricks to use digital media and tangible ways to leverage existing marketing campaigns, there are ideas in this episode that will be relevant to everyone. Be sure to listen all the way to the end because we spend a lot of time on the specific tools available from AAS and NGB for all green industry businesses.

Resource Links for All-America Selections and National Garden Bureau:

All-America Selections website: https://all-americaselections.org/

National Garden Bureau website: https://ngb.org/

Social Media links:

Facebook:

Instagram:

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nationalgarden/pins/

Slide Share (downloadable presentations)

Twitter:

Contact Links:

Interview starts at 7:58 – My guest this episode is Leslie Halleck and you can find her online at https://lesliehalleck.com/ or live an in person at many industry events. Leslie and I have known each other for many years and I’ve always thought of her as a leader – in terms of management when she was in her role as GM of a leading garden center, leadership in terms of ideas and strategies as a consultant and as a leader when it comes to trends demonstrated by her books and speaking topics. This episode of the STEM greenhouse podcast, we’ll tap into all of those leadership areas and more. Our driving topic today is the role of, challenges facing, skill sets related to and opportunities available for women in horticulture. As Leslie will explain, she’s in a very good place to bring this topic forward – as a business owner, a female and someone who isn’t known to pull punches.

During this episode, we’ll discuss the big picture fact that the work world was built by men for men, stereotyping in its many forms, strengths and skills women bring to management, the importance of self evaluation and also why women in horticulture must support one another. And we will also address harassment and the fact women often feel like prey – even in a work setting – and Leslie’s “best practices” for women when harassment situations arise, as well as for all green industry companies because reporting and documenting are actions that require processes and practice. We wrap it all up with a discussion about how women are and could be working together to make improvements, share information and raise the tide for all.

At times, you might disagree, at times you might not or shake your head in disbelief but at the end of the episode I expect you will have learned a lot and no matter your gender will come away with new ideas, new strategies and a new appreciation for what is a reality for many people in our great industry.

Connect Four – Garden Center Group Retailer Awards from Cultivate 2019:

https://www.greenhousegrower.com/management/15-innovative-products-that-grower-retailers-loved-at-cultivate19/

Contact Links:

Leslie Halleck Contact Info and Social Media: https://lesliehalleck.com/

Email Host Bill Calkins: [email protected]

NEW! Connect on Instagram - @STEMGreenhousePodcast

#STEMGreenhousePodcast

Tweet Host Bill Calkins: @billcalkins

Connect with Ball Seed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ball-seed-co/

Follow The Gardens at Ball on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GardensAtBall/

See Ball Seed Videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BallSeedVideo

Interview starts at 3:45 - Our guest today our guest today is Dr. Will Healy who returns to wrap up a three-part miniseries focused on garden mum production intended to help you produce the absolute best mum crops you possibly can – using the most effective strategies. This time, Dr. Healy is back to guide you from the core production season to the end of the process – finishing strong and timing your crop for prime retail appearance and sell through. We start by checking in on the crop growing in real time and what any early-season, natural season mums should look like above the pot and below the pot. Then we revisit thermoperiodicity and how to time your crop during hot days in the field. The Will discusses what to do if the crop is too big or not big enough. We cover black cloth techniques and Will’s tips and tricks for getting that right. Finally, we conclude with a number of quick hit topics from pests and disease to speeding up and slowing down a crop in an effort to send the absolute best garden mums to market on time. Like I mentioned back in Episode 30 – part one of this series - we’re not releasing these episodes back to back to back but instead when they are most relevant – because many of you listen in real time. As with the first two – episodes 30 and 35, this is a great episode to share with your entire team – because keeping mums on schedule and in line requires a team effort. So grab a notebook, sit back and enjoy the last in a three-part miniseries to lead you to mum stardom.

Resources:

NEW Ball Mums Page with Graphical Tracking Tool: https://www.ballseed.com/gardenmums/

Dr. Healy’s Past Episodes:

Contact Links:

Email Guest Dr. Will Healy: [email protected]

NEW! Connect on Instagram - @STEMGreenhousePodcast

#STEMGreenhousePodcast

Tweet Host Bill Calkins: @billcalkins