GrowerTalks

October 2024 Issue

Vol. 88 No. 6

See the Digital Edition

Rethinking Your Fertilizer

by Grant Johnson & Bruno J.L. Pitton

NEWSLETTERS

Read and subscribe to a variety of Newsletters tailored to your industry interests.

COVER STORY

Making the Greenhouse Leaner & Meaner

Jennifer Zurko

A quick check-in on what some of your peers are implementing in their own operations to help them be more efficient.

FEATURES

A Sweet Dream Realized

Jennifer Zurko

Marryn Mathis, owner of The Farmhouse Flower Farm, was going on 21 years of slogging away at a corporate job. But it was the birth of her son Finn that opened the door to the possibility of finding her true passion.

Don’t Forget About Magnesium

Lynn Griffith

NPK may be what’s always on your mind when it comes to your crops’ nutrition, but magnesium is an element that also plays an important role in chlorophyll production.

Growing Your Business—For the Right Reasons

Mike Gooder

With interest rates high, raw materials expensive and profit margins thin, it’s more challenging than ever to know when—or even if—you should expand your business. To offer some guidance with this tough question, we turn back to the fundamentals, as found in Chapter 12 of the Ball RedBook.

Is Your Light Right?

Bill Calkins

Do you really know what your light levels are? Think about light like irrigation—it’s all about accumulation and how much is actually making it to the crop.

Rebates Sweeten the Deal

Kerstin Poehlmann

A look at rebates and incentives available for growers who make the switch to LED lighting.

Remote Greenhouse Monitoring Road Map

Rob Fusco

Maintaining the right microclimate is crucial for plant protection within your greenhouse.

Rethinking Your Fertilizer

Grant Johnson & Bruno J.L. Pitton

Why mechanical controlled-release fertilizer mixing may be costing you nutrients.

What We Can Learn from Proven Winners’ Customers

Chris Beytes

What are consumers thinking about gardening in general and our products specifically? It’s what we all want to know! But how do we reach them to ask our burning questions? Proven Winners has spent years building an online presence and a large database of garden consumers, so they have the means to ask. And they did, this summer, with their 2024 Proven Winners Consumer Data Report.

CULTURE NOTES

Growers Talk Production

It’s a Matter of Trust

Albert Grimm

The prerequisite for a culture of responsibility is a culture of trust.

PEST MANAGEMENT

Shining a Light on New Technology for Thrips Management

Laura Barth

How UV-C light technology is emerging as a promising tool in the fight against WFT, providing growers with a novel approach to pest management.

COLUMNS

Inside Look

Left Behind in Lingo Limbo

Jennifer Zurko

I’ve realized that no amount of hair color or expensive eye cream can stop me from being left behind on the latest lingo.

Acres & Acres

The Generations

Chris Beytes

We’ve been waiting for the bump in retail sales to come since going through the Gen-X dip, and we should be there now, with plenty of Millennials in the 28 to 43 age bracket.

Paul's Pointers

Failing in the Fall is Not an Option

Paul Pilon

Growers who fail to monitor roots in the fall and take steps to maximize their health are at a great disadvantage.

Growers Talk Business

Keeping a To-Do List Can Transform Your Greenhouse Business

Amy Morris

In the competitive and labor-intensive world of a greenhouse business, the humble to-do list becomes a powerful tool to manage complexities and ensure operational efficiency.

Guest Column

Pycnanthe-whom?

Lowell Halvorson

For the mainstream American garden, this year’s Perennial Plant of the Year shows a rising desire to integrate the garden into the local ecosystem.

DEPARTMENTS

JZ on D.C.

Important H-2A Program Update!

Jennifer Zurko

Earlier this year, 17 states and two organizations filed suit against the Department of Labor over the final H-2A rule titled Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States (Final Rule).

GT IN BRIEF

A New Way to Register for CAST

Changes at FNGLA

In Memoriam: Flower Time’s Bob Ench

Industry Veterans Form New Greenhouse Company

New AAS Winners for 2025

On the Move

RoBoCut: Autonomous Tissue Culture Propagation

Why Sun Valley Closed its Doors

COLUMNISTS

Chris Beytes

Jennifer Zurko

Albert Grimm

Art Parkerson

Paul Pilon

Bill Swanekamp

Amy Morris

Terri McEnaney

Stan Vander Waal

Austin Bryant

Stephanie Saccomano

VIDEOS

Watch More

The Robo Cut Autonomous Tissue Culture Propagation Robot

Ball Seed Customer Days 2024!

Critical Chemistries (Recorded Live at Cultivate’24) with JC Chong

What's New From the Cultivate'24 Trade Show

Trending Now: Ball Seed & Philips Lighting Solutions

Trending Now: Floxcor Fungicide from Corteva

Trending Now: PDSI’s Better Boxwood

Darwin Perennials Day 2024

The Best Poinsettia for ... Part 2 - Whites, Novelties, and the Best of All Time

The Best Poinsettia for ... Part 1 - the REDS

Proven Winner Color Choice Shrubs for 2025

Proven Winners Perennials for 2025

Proven Winner Annuals for 2025

CAST 2024: Jaldety

CAST 2024: PRUDAC

CAST 2024: Hishtil

CAST 2024: Cohen

CAST 2024: Benary

CAST 2024: Takii

CAST 2024: Danziger

CAST 2024: HilverdaFlorist

CAST 2024: Syngenta

CAST 2024: Kientzler North America

CAST 2024: Dümmen Orange Perennials

CAST 2024: Dümmen Orange Annuals

CAST 2024: Sakata Seed Annuals

CAST 2024: Schoneveld

CAST 2024: Hem Genetics

CAST 2024: Westhoff

CAST 2024: Green Fuse Botanicals

CAST 2024: Plant Development Services, Inc.

CAST 2024: PlantHaven

CAST 2024: Pacific Plug & Liner

CAST 2024: Beekenkamp

CAST 2024: Suntory

CAST 2024: PanAmerican Seed

CAST 2024: Ball FloraPlant

CAST 2024: Selecta One

CAST 2024: Morel Cyclamen

CAST 2024: Burpee

A Tour of IPM 2024—the World's Largest Horticulture Trade Show

Trending Now: PDSI

Trending Now: Darwin Perennials

Marvin Teaches Us a New Word - Cyathium

Poinsettias are NOT Poisonous! A public service announcement from GrowerTalks magazine

GrowerTalks at the Heimos Poinsettia Open House 2023

TRENDING NOW

A.M.A. Horticulture Inc.
Original V-Feet Rack

Ball Seed
Philips Lighting Solutions

Prospiant
Vail Greenhouse

Jolly Farmer
Lobelia Jolly Delft Blue

Suntory Flowers Ltd.
Surfinia Heavenly Series

Green Solutions LLC
Stockosorb

Nominate a Young Grower Today!

Congrats to the 2024 GrowerTalks/Ball Horticultural Company Young Grower Award winner, Drew Groezinger from Clara Joyce Flowers, Stockton, Illinois!

Do you know of an excellent, hard-working professional under the age of 35? You should nominate them for the 2025 GrowerTalks/Ball Horticultural Company Young Grower Award! For the last 20 years, we’ve recognized young horticulturists for standing out from the crowd in this tough business, who—for whatever noble reasons—have chosen to have a career in this industry.

After three finalists are chosen, each is asked to write guest editorials for the June issue of GrowerTalks, gets a free trip to Cultivate’25 and, while they’re in Columbus, attend a special dinner with Anna Ball and other industry luminaries. The winner is announced at the Unplugged event during Cultivate’25, will be the subject of our September issue cover story and serve as one of our judges for next year’s award.

An extra special thanks goes to Ball Horticultural Company, BASF and AmericanHort for sponsoring this year’s award!

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Rethinking Your Fertilizer