The Doctor Is In: Recent Episodes
Dr. Greenhouse, Inc.
Dr. Nadia Sabeh is President and Founder of Dr. Greenhouse, Inc., an agricultural and mechanical engineering firm that specializes in the design of HVAC systems for indoor plant environments.
This series of podcasts she hosts invites listeners to sit in on informative, fun, and insightful conversations Dr. Sabeh has with industry professionals working in environmental sciences, agriculture, and cannabis.
We have just launched a new series, “What Plants Crave,” where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
Welcome back to our new series with several interviews discussing energy in all forms and its impact and function in CEA facilities. In this episode Nadia and Jeff Kelley of Kelley Energy Management discuss energy modeling and utility incentives for CEA facilities..Jeff is a seasoned professional in the utilities industry. With over 40 years of experience of working in the utility sector, Kelley has taken his knowledge and expertise to the cannabis industry – helping maximize utility rebates and incentives for cultivators across the country, capturing over $40M in incentives for customers. Since 2019, Jeff has been using energy modeling as a technique to leverage custom incentives not available through standard incentive processes. In addition to maximizing incentives, the energy models provide customers with clear visibility into their planned energy consumption.
Welcome back to our new series with several interviews discussing energy in all forms and its impact and function in CEA facilities. In this third episode Nadia and Dan Dettmers of Madison Air discuss energy efficiency and regulatory guidelines given by local, state, and federal agencies regulating CEA facilities.. Dan Dettmers joined the Controlled Environment Horticulture field in 2018 when he was hired by Quest, a Madison Air company. He brought over 20 years of expertise in food and pharmaceutical processing, industrial refrigeration, and HVAC infrastructure design to the industry and 15 years in Agribusiness. In particular, Dan pursued his passion for agriculture by moonlighting as the owner of a hop farm (also cannabacea family), where he and his partners built a vertically integrated business that encompassed every stage of hop production.At Madison Air and its CEH companies (Quest, Ag IQ, Conviron), Dan plays a key role in shaping standards, codes and regulations that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of indoor grow space conditioning equipment. In addition to guiding industry best practices, he is actively involved in research and development, creating new products, assisting customers with climate control solutions, and providing technical training both within and beyond the company.Stay tuned to continue exploring how energy is defined, its importance in CEA, and energy centered interviews with more industry experts. Thank you for growing with us!
Welcome back to our new series with several interviews discussing energy in all forms and its impact and function in CEA facilities. In this second episode Nadia and Rob Eddy of the Research Innovation Institute discuss energy saving best practices and tell stories about their greenhouse experiences. Stay tuned to continue exploring how energy is defined, its importance in CEA, and energy centered interviews with more industry experts.
Thank you for growing with us!
Welcome back to the lecture hall with Dr. Nadia Sabeh! This week we are beginning our new series with several interviews discussing energy in all forms and its impact and function in CEA facilities. In this first episode Nadia reviews how energy is defined, its importance in CEA, and some terms to understand as we dive in with some experts.
Thank you for growing with us!
Enjoy a host interview with Tad Hussey from KIS Organics living soils and the host of the Cannabis Cultivation and Science podcast guest hosting for this episode! This is an opportunity to learn about Nadia's background as an agricultural and HVAC engineer and how we got to 101 episodes of education and industry insider information. Thank you for growing with us.
It’s an honor to present you with a series of interviews from our time at Indoor Ag Con last week for our 100th episode! Hearing from attendees is a great insight into the content, the expo floor energy, and what’s possibly to come in the future of the conference, as well as the indoor agriculture industry as a whole. This year’s guests were:🔹 Brian Sullivan, President of Indoor Ag Con🔹 Kelley Nicholson, Automation Expert for MicrogGow and Autogrow🔹 Jim Rearden, President of Biotherm🔹 Michelle Keller, Head Grower at Living Greens🔹 Carly Becker, Program Coordinator at Ohio Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (OHCEAC)🔹 Glenn Behrman, Founder of CEA Advisors and Growtainers🔹 Henry Gordon Smith, Founder of Agritecture🔹 Austin Smith, Account Manager at Grodan🔹 Dr. Allison Justice, Founder of the Cannabis Research Center and Coalition🔹 Grant Peagler, Business Developer at Siemens🔹 Dr. Neil Mattson, Professor at Cornelll University and GLASE.The discussions cover topics such as automation, energy efficiency, crop steering, and the future of controlled environment agriculture. This milestone episode offers a comprehensive overview of current trends and innovations shaping the indoor farming industry. Thank you so much for spending 100 episodes growing with us.
As we approach our 100th episode, we are taking a look back at moments that highlight one of Nadia’s special talents: asking great questions. It’s a strength that has helped her solve many a problem for our clients, and get some great insights from our guests. What are they going to be talking about? Well, that’s a great question.
Today’s featured guests were:
Melanie Yelton of Grow Big Consulting
Bruce Bugbee, Director of the Crop Physiology Laboratory at Utah State University
Christine de Jesus Director of Cultivation and GM at Galenas
Nick Denney Senior Director of cultivation at Holistic Industries
Gary Stutte President and CEO of SyNRGE
Craig Burg President of Desert Aire
Jim Rearden and Thad Humphrey, CEO and Principal Engineer from Biotherm Solutions
Brian Anderson, Partner at Anderson Porter Design
You can find all of these guests’ full interviews in our podcast archive wherever you listen to the doctor is in. Stay tuned for our next episode which will be our hundredth! We’ll be celebrating at indoor ag con and hope to see you there. Find our table to record a segment with us and give us your conference takeaways on Wednesday March 12th. Thank you for growing with us.
In this podcast Dr. Nadia discusses 5 ways to optimize the cooling you get out of your AC this summer, including using evaporative cooling on your unit’s inlets to reduce its workload on those hot days. Listen in to hear all five! If you have questions or topics that you’d like Dr. Nadia to cover, contact us at AskNadia@doctorgreenhouse.com
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Fatemeh Sheibani. Fatemeh is a Post-doctoral Research Associate at Purdue University. Dr. Sheibani’s main research topic is “enhancing resource-utilization efficiency of indoor farming”. With an emphasis on vertical farming, she has been focused on improving the energy-utilization efficiency of light-emitting diodes as the sole-source of lighting. Optimizing environmental inputs for different stages of leafy green production through “phasic optimization” is another focus of her research area. Fatemeh completed her Ph.D. in 2023 under Dr. Cary Mitchell's supervision.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Neil Mattson. Neil is a Professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. His position is 50% research, 30% extension, and 20% teaching and he serves as a statewide greenhouse specialist. Neil joined Cornell in 2007 after completing his PhD from the University of California Davis and master’s from the University of Minnesota. Mattson is the director of Cornell’s Controlled Environment Agriculture program and co-academic principal investigator of the Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE), a public-private consortium that de-risks adoption of energy efficient greenhouse technologies. Mattson’s research is focused on optimizing performance and resource use efficiency while increasing the profitability of vegetables, small fruits, and floriculture crops in protected environments. Specific research interests include strategies to reduce energy use in lighting through LED adoption and intelligent light controls, sustainable fertilization practices, and development of new CEA crops. Mattson has authored/co-authored 72 journal articles and 30 refereed book chapters and conference proceedings. Through Mattson’s extension appointment and GLASE, the Cornell CEA program maintains direct relationships with CEA producers and allied trade across the U.S. Translating research into industry accessible bulletins and presentations is an important programmatic strength. Mattson has delivered 347 presentations and 27 webinars to more than 15,000 industry members and authored/co-authored 74 trade journal articles and 111 extension bulletins.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Neil Mattson. Neil is a Professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. His position is 50% research, 30% extension, and 20% teaching and he serves as a statewide greenhouse specialist. Neil joined Cornell in 2007 after completing his PhD from the University of California Davis and master’s from the University of Minnesota. Mattson is the director of Cornell’s Controlled Environment Agriculture program and co-academic principal investigator of the Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE), a public-private consortium that de-risks adoption of energy efficient greenhouse technologies. Mattson’s research is focused on optimizing performance and resource use efficiency while increasing the profitability of vegetables, small fruits, and floriculture crops in protected environments. Specific research interests include strategies to reduce energy use in lighting through LED adoption and intelligent light controls, sustainable fertilization practices, and development of new CEA crops. Mattson has authored/co-authored 72 journal articles and 30 refereed book chapters and conference proceedings. Through Mattson’s extension appointment and GLASE, the Cornell CEA program maintains direct relationships with CEA producers and allied trade across the U.S. Translating research into industry accessible bulletins and presentations is an important programmatic strength. Mattson has delivered 347 presentations and 27 webinars to more than 15,000 industry members and authored/co-authored 74 trade journal articles and 111 extension bulletins.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Nico Augsberger. Nico is the Head of Sales in North America for iyris. His background is in environmental science and innovation, where his graduate research focused on the treatment of wastewater intended for agricultural reuse. Upon completion of his graduate studies at KAUST, he joined the iyris team in 2021 (then Red Sea Farms) to support in product development and market research. As the SecondSky nanomaterial began demonstrating positive effects across a range of crops and conditions, Nico’s role evolved from product to business development. Nico has supported the set-up and execution of global manufacturing relationships and product trials, with a focus on the Americas. As of 2024, Nico leads the sales effort in the Americas as iyris continues to expand its impact across crops and geographies.
Outside of work, Nico enjoys planning local nature hikes with his wife and kids, baking sourdough bread, and playing tennis.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Emma Menden. Emma is a recent graduate of the University of Arizona Biosystems Engineering graduate program. Her master’s thesis is entitled “Fusarium Wilt of Lettuce Commercial Cultivar Variety Trial”. Emma was born in Virginia, where she completed an associate degree in civil engineering before transferring to the University of Arizona to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Biosystems Engineering. Her primary interests are controlled environment agriculture, vertical farming, global food systems, food accessibility, and science communication.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features John Ertle. John Ertle is a Plant Physiologist at PP Systems, specializing in the development and application of portable photosynthesis measurement instruments for studying leaf-level gas exchange. In his role, he not only conducts plant science research within the company but also collaborates with academic and industry partners to enhance research outcomes.
John's prior research initiatives include formulating methods to address lettuce tipburn, a prevalent nutrient deficiency in vertically farmed lettuce that impacts its marketability and growth. Additionally, he developed thermal time models to assess the chilling tolerance of grafted watermelon seedlings, aiding their safe transportation to open-field growers.
John earned his PhD in Horticulture and Crop Science from The Ohio State University in 2023, where he studied under Dr. Chieri Kubota. He received his MS in the same field in Dr. Kubota’s lab in 2020 and holds a BS in Biology from the University of Akron, obtained in 2017.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Paul Brentlnger. Paul is a second-generation owner of CropKing Inc and has 20+ years of experience working with controlled environment agriculture growers all over the world. He has studied best-of-breed controlled environment and hydroponic practices across the globe to apply the most efficient and cost-effective practices into optimal systems for CropKing customers. Paul leads the CropKing teams in consulting, sales and management, providing solutions for growers of all sizes.
Learn more about Crop King and their upcoming workshops.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Corenthin Chassouant. Known professionally as Felix Chassouant, he is an accomplished agronomist serving as the Director of Sales and Business Development at Harnois Industries, a prominent Canadian greenhouse manufacturer operating globally.
Felix holds a Master of Science degree in agronomy from both France and Canada. With over a decade of dedicated involvement in the greenhouse sector, including five years in South-East Asia representing a European enterprise, Felix brings a wealth of international experience to his role. His comprehensive understanding of the industry, coupled with his scientific expertise, equips him to effectively assist greenhouse growers and provide strategic guidance towards optimal solutions.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Aaron Fields, Vice President of Agriculture for Eden Green Technology. Aaron grew up in a small agricultural town in Southern Illinois, and has worked in field cultivation & greenhouses in Illinois, California, New York & Texas.
He has led greenhouse operations at Eden Green for the past 5 years. He's seen it all when it comes to commercial food production, sustainability, and R&D within the industry. Aaron lives in Texas with his wife, two daughters, and Australian Cattle Dog. He spends his time being a husband, dad, coach, old-man athlete, avid reader, gardener and beer & coffee connoisseur.
In this podcast Dr. Nadia breaks down five of the things you need to know about airflow:
The difference between airflow, air velocity, and air change rates
Why airflow is important for indoor plant environments
What airspeed to target across your plants
How to deliver airflow in the grow space
How much air to deliver to the grow space
If you have questions or topics that you’d like Dr. Nadia to cover, contact us at AskNadia@doctorgreenhouse.com
Last week Dr. Sabeh and some of her team traveled to Las Vegas for the 2024 Indoor Ag-Con. Dr. Sabeh hosted an event and workshop, Vivid Canopy, with Nona Yehia, George Carter, and Thea Isabella Otto to celebrate diversity and inclusion in our industry. The conference itself has grown immensely since its start 11 years ago, with over 1500 people in attendance this year. vNadia caught up with some attendees to get their impressions and share her own after the conference. The guests in order of their appearance are:
Karen Varga and Lauren Lewis – CEAg World
Felix Chassouant – Harnois Industries
Gretchen Schimelpfenig – GLASE and ERI
Stacia Lewis – Eden Green Technologies
Erik Reidel – Trane / KCC International
Gerardo Ceballos – Trane / KCC International
Khalil Badran – Trane
Amberley Dorrell – Clark County School District
Aaron Fields – Eden Green Technologies
Chanda Perman – Dr. Greenhouse
This episode is from the vault! It’s part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Dr. Allison Justice, founder and CEO of The Hemp Mine, and it was originally recorded at last year’s Cannabis Conference in Las Vegas. Learn more about hemp, Dr. Allison Justice’s career, growing indoors, and more.
- More about Dr. Allison Justice Dr. Allison Justice graduated Clemson University with a Ph.D. in Plant and Environmental Science. After graduation, Dr. Justice joined the cannabis industry, teaming up with OutCo LLC., a vertically integrated cannabis producer in San Diego, CA. She pioneered industry research focused on controlled agricultural lighting and post-harvest production.
Currently, Dr. Justice is founder and CEO of The Hemp Mine, a South Carolina based vertically integrated hemp company. In addition to farming 30 acres, The Hemp Mine supplies premium hemp young plants bred in house across the US. Additionally, THM conducts contract research for a wide range of vendors providing real results on a large-scale setting. The Hemp Mine produces a wide array of consumer products ranging from smokable flower to topicals to tinctures of different concentrations for both humans and animals.
Of 2022, The Hemp Mine has partnered with Clemson University to create the Cannabis Research Coalition (CRC). The CRC’s mission is to partner with cannabis-industry stakeholders to advance the exploration of the cannabis plant and implement science-based research to develop the techniques required to create a sustainable, efficient, and profitable industry.
* More about the Cannabis Research Coalition The CRC website
Jim Faust at Clemson University
In our latest episode of "What Plants Crave" Dr. Nadia Sabeh talks with Bruce Bugbee about lighting, the dangers of anthropomorphizing plants, ideal crops for space, and more.
Bruce is a Professor at Utah State University where he teaches plant nutrition, plant physiology, and environmental instrumentation. He is well known for his work with NASA to determine potential crop yield and is currently funded by NASA to study food production for a colony on Mars. He holds the Governors Medal for Science from the State of Utah and is a Fellow in both the Agronomy and Horticultural Societies.
He once summarized everything he knows in a TED talk titled, “Turning Water into Food.”
In our latest episode of "What Plants Crave" Dr. Nadia Sabeh talks with Navy veteran John Libby about his time in the military, and his transition to working in the cannabis industry. John is the general manager at Connected Cannabis, an Arizona cannabis company.
Learn more about Connected.
This week we return to our special series “What Plants Crave from Technology.” Listen in as we talk about facility design, architecture versus engineering of a facility, understanding what your why is, and much more with the principal and co-founder of Anderson Porter Design.
Brian is a founding Partner of Anderson Porter Design with over 26 years of experience in the field of architecture, and over six years of concentration in architecture for the Cannabis Industry. With combined experience working as Architects for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston during 9/11 and as Architects for MIT on 400,000sf of Neuroscience labs in Cambridge, Anderson and his firm have a deep background with integrated security, clean room and bio labs, which led them to their first medical marijuana project in 2014. Since, APD has designed 40+ retail dispensaries and over 2 million SF of cultivation and processing facilities in 14+ states and the EU. Brian has developed a proprietary stage gate project delivery tailored specific to the Cannabis Industry. Brian is an active member of the NCIA the national cannabis industry association where in 2019/20 he established and chaired the Facility Design Committee; he works with RII the Resource Innovation Institute on their Technical Advisory Council on matters of energy sustainability in the cannabis industry. He has participated with the ‘Energy and Environment Cannabis Working Group’ which advises the State of MA CCC and DOER on energy issues. Brian is also a member of the Lean Construction Institute which is a national AE&C industry group. Brian and his firm implement Lean methodologies in Controlled Environment Horticulture facilities and beyond. For more information visit AndersonPorter.com
Welcome back to the doctor is in! We are entering our fourth year of podcasting, and looking back at our start. We started the podcast during the peak of the 2020 COVID Quarantines, in an effort to continue to speak with our colleagues when we could no longer meet in person. Over the next few weeks as we return to our beginnings, we encourage you to listen to our guests’ most recent interviews after you hear their first, and see their growth and adaptation through these unprecedented times. First we have our interview with John Chandler, originally recorded in April of 2020. We have loved returning to our roots with you this summer. Join us next week for a new interview for our series “What Plants Crave”, Nadia will be interviewing Brian Anderson of Anderson Porter Design. Truly, thank you for growing with us.
Welcome back to the doctor is in! We are entering our fourth year of podcasting, and looking back at our start. We started the podcast during the peak of the 2020 COVID Quarantines, in an effort to continue to speak with our colleagues when we could no longer meet in person. Over the next few weeks as we return to our beginnings, we encourage you to listen to our guests’ most recent interviews after you hear their first, and see their growth and adaptation through these unprecedented times. First we have our interview with Dr. Mark Lefsrud, originally recorded in April of 2020. Truly, thank you for growing with us.
Welcome back to the doctor is in! We are entering our fourth year of podcasting, and looking back at our start. We started the podcast during the peak of the 2020 COVID Quarantines, in an effort to continue to speak with our colleagues when we could no longer meet in person. Over the next few weeks as we return to our beginnings, we encourage you to listen to our guests’ most recent interviews after you hear their first, and see their growth and adaptation through these unprecedented times. First we have our interview with Allison Justice, originally recorded in April of 2020. Truly, thank you for growing with us.
Welcome back to the doctor is in! We are entering our fourth year of podcasting, and looking back at our start. We started the podcast during the peak of the 2020 COVID Quarantines, in an effort to continue to speak with our colleagues when we could no longer meet in person. Over the next few weeks as we return to our beginnings, we encourage you to listen to our guests’ most recent interviews after you hear their first, and see their growth and adaptation through these unprecedented times. First we have our interview with Tom Buggia, originally recorded in April of 2020. Truly, thank you for growing with us.
Welcome back to the doctor is in! We are entering our fourth year of podcasting, and looking back at our start. We started the podcast during the peak of the 2020 COVID Quarantines, in an effort to continue to speak with our colleagues when we could no longer meet in person. Over the next few weeks as we return to our beginnings, we encourage you to listen to our guests’ most recent interviews after you hear their first, and see their growth and adaptation through these unprecedented times. First we have our interview with Chris Higgins, originally recorded in April of 2020. Truly, thank you for growing with us.
Today’s episode continues our special series “What Plants Crave.” We will be returning to an interview with Christine De Jesus to follow a side conversation about living soils.
Christine DeJesus is Director of Cultivation for Galenas, a tier-2 organic cultivation facility in Ohio. She nears twenty years of organic farming experience and directed cultivation for over a decade for Great Lakes Brewing Company's Pint Size Farm prior to transitioning to cannabis agriculture. DeJesus is a bi-monthly columnist for Cannabis Business Times magazine. She completed her undergraduate studies at Kent State University and completed a master's program at the University of Pittsburgh. She has worked in multiple volunteer and professional capacities for organizations working toward the reform of drug policy. DeJesus wrote the current horticulture curriculum for the Cleveland School of Cannabis, with a strong focus on soil health. Her agricultural style focuses on sustainability, regenerative farming, and producing nutrient-dense crops with intense and nuanced flavor profiles.
Last week we hosted our popular HVAC and Controls Workshop! Hear a little about what our attendees learned and thought about it.
This episode is part of a series of episodes that Dr. Sabeh presents as lessons, or mini lectures. They’ll cover the basics and nuances of HVAC and the importance of environmental controls. This week Dr. Sabeh reviews the three greenhouse trends that she is personally watching. You can read the article she references here. If you ever have a request for a topic for our lessons, please reach out and let us know, we love hearing from our listeners. As always, thank you for growing with us.
This episode is part of a series of episodes that Dr. Sabeh presents as lessons, or mini lectures. They’ll cover the basics and nuances of HVAC and the importance of environmental controls. This week Dr. Sabeh reviews what she heard at this year’s NGMA (National Greenhouse Management Association) Annual Meeting when she spoke there this week. She goes over four key components of improving the efficiency of your greenhouse and its resources, while also weaving in some of her own takeaways from the meeting. If you ever have a request for a topic for our lessons, please reach out and let us know, we love hearing from our listeners. As always, thank you for growing with us.
Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from STEM.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. This week our guest was Dr. Melanie Yelton, a CEA independent consultant.
Melanie Yelton works as an independent consultant across the Controlled Environment Agriculture sector building on her foundation from working as a director in plant science at Plenty, and as a researcher in the horticulture lighting industry.
In previous roles, her research has focused on optimizing plant growth, flavor and quality using light, and she holds a patent for work involving filamentous fungus. Melanie served as a lecturer and scientist at Stanford University for more than 25 years, studying plant signaling in alfalfa and corn. She also served as Director of Sequencing at the Stanford DNA Sequence and Technology Center, part of The Human Genome Project. Melanie earned her Ph. D. from the University of California, Davis, in plant molecular biology; a master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of South Carolina; and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Virginia Tech.
Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from STEM.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. This week we are continuing last week’s conversation with Craig Burg.
Craig Burg is the Vice President of Engineering for Desert Aire LLC. He has worked for Desert Aire for 24 years designing and leading product development as well as application efforts. He currently oversees research and development, custom system engineering, product testing, manufacturing engineering, and quality.
Timestamp Notes:
00:00:10 What are some of the early lessons you learned at Desert Aire?
00:05:25 What about outside air?
00:08:55 What do you see in the future of HVAC and humidity control for indoor plant environments?
00:14:00 Economies of scale
00:21:25 Do you see a future for heat pumps?
00:24:25 Energy codes in California and beyond
00:31:50 What do plants crave from technology?
00:33:18 Are plants high tech or low tech?
00:33:55 What is one piece of advice you’d give to a new grower?
00:34:45 What have indoor plant environments taught you?
00:35:45 If you could design a dehumidification system for something other than indoor plant environments, what would it be?
00:36:30 Which tool do you use the most: a ruler, a calculator, or a psychrometric chart?
Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from STEM.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. This week we are talking to Craig Burg.
Craig Burg is the Vice President of Engineering for Desert Aire LLC. He has worked for Desert Aire for 24 years designing and leading product development as well as application efforts. He currently oversees research and development, custom system engineering, product testing, manufacturing engineering, and quality.
Timestamp Notes:
0:02:55 Ho did you first get started in HVAC?
00:07:45 Why was Desert Aire interested in working in CEA?
00:09:45 How did you figure out there was a large dehumidification load for indoor crops?
00:12:20 What makes indoor plant environments so different from your other equipment applications?
00:15:46 Tell us about the equipment types you manufacture and what their differences are.
00:22:35 The benefits of an integrated system
00:27:00 What is hot gas reheat?
00:29:10 What is hot gas bypass?
00:37:55 Is this equipment specialty enough that a technician would need special training or education to service it?
00:42:30 Can you speak to the seemingly endemic problem of compressor failures?
00:46:40 Getting into superheat
00:49:50 What is so special about indoor plant environments?
00:53:30 Are you seeing better specifications or questions from design engineers?
00:56:20 If there was advice you could give to growers or their service techs on maintaining their equipment, what would it be?
Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from Technology.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. This week we are picking up where we left off last week with Dr. Gary Stutte, founder of SyNRGE.
Dr. Gary Stutte, is a horticulturist, plant physiologist and space biologist who led research efforts to develop safe, sustainable food production systems for long duration space missions to Moon, Mars and Beyond at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center for 25 years.
In 2015 he founded SyNRGE, LLC (Pronounced Synergy) to apply the knowledge and insights gained from growing plants in space to feeding people on Earth.
Dr. Stutte has been principal investigator on four experiments to the International Space Station, has published more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, and is the recipient of numerous honors and awards.
Dr. Stutte’s currently shares his expertise with commercial clients, serves as senior advisor to public and private organizations, and active in envisioning a future where controlled environment agriculture will ensure the availability of safe and nutritious food anywhere in the universe.
Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from Technology.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. This week’s guestis Dr. Gary Stutte, founder of SyNRGE.
Dr. Gary Stutte, is a horticulturist, plant physiologist and space biologist who led research efforts to develop safe, sustainable food production systems for long duration space missions to Moon, Mars and Beyond at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center for 25 years.
In 2015 he founded SyNRGE, LLC (Pronounced Synergy) to apply the knowledge and insights gained from growing plants in space to feeding people on Earth.
Dr. Stutte has been principal investigator on four experiments to the International Space Station, has published more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, and is the recipient of numerous honors and awards.
Dr. Stutte’s currently shares his expertise with commercial clients, serves as senior advisor to public and private organizations, and active in envisioning a future where controlled environment agriculture will ensure the availability of safe and nutritious food anywhere in the universe.
Visit our website for full timestamp notes!
Last week Dr. Sabeh and some of her team traveled to Las Vegas for the 2023 Indoor Ag-Con. Dr. Sabeh moderated a panel on Government Regulations with speakers Marc Oshima of Aerofarms, Tom Zoellner of Farm Tech Society, and Derek Smith of the Research Innovation Institute. The conference itself has grown immensely since its start 10 years ago, and Nadia caught up with some attendees to get their impressions and share her own after the conference. Our interviewees in order of their appearance are:
Jeffrey Landau of Agritecture
Karla Gomez of InCity Farms
Olivier Paulus and Alexandre Van Deun of Vertiberry
Joyce Rasquin of Grodan
Kyle Barnett of Cultivatd
Tom Zoellner of Farm Tech Society
Thos Gibson of RapidGrow LED
Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from Technology.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. This week’s guests are Jim Rearden and Thad Humphrey of Biotherm.
Jim Rearden has been helping greenhouse growers create optimum cultivation environments for over 40 years. As one of the founders of BioTherm, he has helped lead his company from the early days of providing innovative root zone heating systems to the expanded capabilities the company now offers, including heating, cooling, dehumidification, airflow systems, Co2 enrichment, and other key technologies for enhancing controlled environment agriculture and horticulture.
Thad Humphrey is a licensed mechanical engineer and Engineering Manager at BioTherm. With over 29 years of mechanical systems design in agricultural, municipal and mining systems, he has spent the last 13 years providing optimized controlled environment systems to greenhouse growers.
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Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from Technology.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. This week’s guest is Christine De Jesus, Director of Cultivation for Galenas.
Galenas is a tier-2 organic cultivation facility in Ohio. She nears twenty years of organic farming experience and directed cultivation for over a decade for Great Lakes Brewing Company's Pint Size Farm prior to transitioning to cannabis agriculture. DeJesus is a bi-monthly columnist for Cannabis Business Times magazine. She completed her undergraduate studies at Kent State University and completed a master's program at the University of Pittsburgh. She has worked in multiple volunteer and professional capacities for organizations working toward the reform of drug policy. DeJesus wrote the current horticulture curriculum for the Cleveland School of Cannabis, with a strong focus on soil health. Her agricultural style focuses on sustainability, regenerative farming, and producing nutrient-dense crops with intense and nuanced flavor profiles.
Timestamp Notes:
00:01:57 Tell us about your journey to Director of Cultivation for Galenas
00: 05:03 What drew you to work at a brewery?
00:08:03 is it possible to continue being a craft or artisan grower at large sale?
00:11:23 Who is driving the demand or what gets grown and sold in the cannabis industry?
00:13:51 Raspberries at pint size farm
00:18:06 Tell me about Galenas
00:21:07 Footprint loophole in state regulation for vertical farms
00:25:21 Was Galenas already set up as an operation before you came on?
00:28:42 Why Organic?
00:32:34 Neem Oil
00:35:31 Kelp and arsenic
00: 40: 13 certified KIND
00:48:58 Managing Your Environment
00:49:43 What are the biggest barriers to sustainable indoor production?
00:54:50 Postponing cannabis measures to a special ballot
01:01:48 How do you see the cannabis industry evolving in general?
01:08:23 What do plants crave?
01:17:35 Are plants introverts or extroverts?
01:17:42 Can cannabis create a more sustainable world?
01:17:50 What has the cannabis plant taught you?
01:17:58 If you could ask researchers to study one thing about cannabis cultivation, what would it be?
01:18:51 Have you ever brewed beer with cannabis?
01:19:24 If you had to pick a vegetable fruit or herb to make a flavored beer, what would you choose?
01:22:24 Thank you and closing out
Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from Technology.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. We are continuing our conversation with last week’s guest Dan Dettmers, Application Engineer with Quest Climate.
Dan Dettmers joined Quest 4 years ago with a 20+ year background in food/pharma processing, industrial refrigeration and HVAC infrastructure design. For 15 of those years Dan moonlighted at his own hop farm, the other member of the cannabacea family. With his partners, they developed a business that covered every aspect from plant propagation to final pelletization of the hops for their brewery customers. They even designed and built harvesting and drying equipment for others joining the industry.
Dan’s primary duty at Quest is to help the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry solve their climate control problems to increase the productivity of their farms and quality of their products. He also works in R&D developing new products for Quest, sits on several industry standard writing bodies, and provides technical training both in and outside of the company.
Timestamp notes:
00:00:35 Why is desiccant not more prevalent?
00:03:18 What makes them [desiccant dehumidifiers] so inefficient?
00:06:20 How have you seen dehumidification technology change over the years?
00:15:27 Why is dehumidification so energy intensive?
00:20:20 Have you had to deal with supply chain issues?
00:21:39 Why does dehumidification require so much energy versus air conditioning?
00:22:18 Does it take more energy to also produce colder refrigerant temperatures?
00:23:15 What are some of the energy code requirements around dehumidification?
00:28:04 Where does 80/60 come in?
00:33:09 What about moisture removal efficiency?
00:34:05 What do HVAC engineers not understand about CEA that you wish they did?
00:37:13 What about the dynamics of the grow room in general?
00:43:05 What is one advancement in HVAC technology that you’d like to see or that you think would have the biggest impact?
00:47:47 Can you speak to the quality of the reclaimed condensate and what it may contain?
00:51:02 What do plants crave from dehumidifiers?
00:53:45 Equipment redundancy and placement
00:56:49 Are plants high tech or low tech?
00:57:28 What has cannabis taught you?
00:58:30 What advice would you give to an engineer who is brand new in this industry?
00:58:53 What about a new grower?
01:00:38 What beer and cheese pairing would you want the most with cannabis?
Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from Technology.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. This week’s guest is Dan Dettmers, Application Engineer with Quest Climate.
Dan Dettmers joined Quest 4 years ago with a 20+ year background in food/pharma processing, industrial refrigeration and HVAC infrastructure design. For 15 of those years Dan moonlighted at his own hop farm, the other member of the cannabacea family. With his partners, they developed a business that covered every aspect from plant propagation to final pelletization of the hops for their brewery customers. They even designed and built harvesting and drying equipment for others joining the industry.
Dan’s primary duty at Quest is to help the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry solve their climate control problems to increase the productivity of their farms and quality of their products. He also works in R&D developing new products for Quest, sits on several industry standard writing bodies, and provides technical training both in and outside of the company.
Today’s episode continues our new special series “What Plants Crave from Technology.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. To help launch this new series, Dr. Sabeh invited friend and colleague Chris Higgins, President and co-founder of Hort Americas, to talk CEA tech, the needs, the challenges, and the evolution over the past 20 or so years.
Many in the industry know or have seen Chris at events and conferences, where he’s often moderating a panel, sometimes of misfits, navigating a wide range of topics around greenhouses and vertical farming, sustainability in CEA, market trends and business development, and the future of horticulture in the broader scope of agriculture and technology. As President and Co-Founder of Hort Americas, he distributes growing accessories and supplies to CEA growers. As Owner and Founder of UrbanAg News, he disseminates knowledge and know-how to the CEA community. And as an advisor to both academic and industry research pursuits, he often provides a much-needed gut check on what growers are challenged with and what they need to be successful and profitable.
Chris Higgins is President of HortAmericas, a wholesale supply company serving commercial greenhouse, nursery, and indoor farms across North America. He is also the Founder of Urban Ag News, a digital magazine designed to educate and inform the horticulture industry about new technologies, state-of-the-art research, and the current events affecting market supplies and demand.
Today’s podcast kicks off 2023 and introduces our new special series “What Plants Crave from Technology.” In this new series, Dr. Sabeh will be interviewing equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and developers about the unique technological needs for growing crops indoors and greenhouses. To help launch this new series, Dr. Sabeh invited friend and colleague Chris Higgins, President and co-founder of Hort Americas, to talk CEA tech, the needs, the challenges, and the evolution over the past 20 or so years.
Many in the industry know or have seen Chris at events and conferences, where he’s often moderating a panel, sometimes of misfits, navigating a wide range of topics around greenhouses and vertical farming, sustainability in CEA, market trends and business development, and the future of horticulture in the broader scope of agriculture and technology. As President and Co-Founder of Hort Americas, he distributes growing accessories and supplies to CEA growers. As Owner and Founder of UrbanAg News, he disseminates knowledge and know-how to the CEA community. And as an advisor to both academic and industry research pursuits, he often provides a much-needed gut check on what growers are challenged with and what they need to be successful and profitable.
Chris Higgins is President of HortAmericas, a wholesale supply company serving commercial greenhouse, nursery, and indoor farms across North America. He is also the Founder of Urban Ag News, a digital magazine designed to educate and inform the horticulture industry about new technologies, state-of-the-art research, and the current events affecting market supplies and demand.
This episode is special! It’s the second part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s episode features Chris Chapdelaine and Andrew Alfred of Pharmacann. Chris is Director of Control Systems and Andrew is Director of Cultivation Research and Development. This interview is our 50th episode, and it was important to us to sit down with Chris and Andrew to round out a year full of incredible guests with valuable experiences to share with growers and the CEA industry. Thank you for growing with us.
This episode is special! It’s a part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s episode features Chris Chapdelaine and Andrew Alfred of Pharmacann. Chris is Director of Control Systems and Andrew is Director of Cultivation Research and Development. This interview is our 50th episode, and it was important to us to sit down with Chris and Andrew to round out a year full of incredible guests with valuable experiences to share with growers and the CEA industry. Tune in next week to hear the rest of this great interview, and thank you for growing with us.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s episode features Jesce Horton, CEO of Lowd Premium Cannabis. Jesce founded LOWD after experiencing successes in medical cannabis cultivation, where he began growing medical cannabis in his home for two elderly patients who were suffering with cancer, pain and insomnia. Jesce then co-founded the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA), the first and largest non-profit organization developed to create equal access and economic empowerment for cannabis businesses, their patients, and the communities most affected by the war on drugs.
Salpy Boyajian officially joined Flower One in October of 2018 following the acquisition of NLVO, which she co-founded in 2014. She currently serves as Flower One’s Executive Vice President and Board Chairman, and was one of the original winning applicants granted cannabis licenses by the State of Nevada. Ms. Boyajian is an established member of the Nevada cannabis industry and well respected as one of the top female founders in cannabis with extensive relationships across the industry. A serial entrepreneur and business operator, Ms. Boyajian received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from USC, and then went on to Pepperdine University where she earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and a second Master’s degree from the School of Law in Dispute Resolution. She has held her license as a Marriage and Family Therapist since 1996.
Happy Grower’s Appreciation Week! Growers are the foundation of every cultivation operation. Your dedication and love of growing plants is essential to your company’s success and brand. During Grower’s Appreciation Week (#GAW), we focus on you, your plants, and your drive to grow better. We will share educational content, inspirational stories, and industry insights. This week’s episode is with Shannon Parkhill, a cannabis job recruiter with Vangst. We got to talk to her about her own start in cannabis, the diversity of jobs related to cannabis, and her advice for women in the industry. Thank you for growing with us!
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s episode features Kelley Nicholson, Sales Director with Bluelab / Autogrow.
Kelley Nicholson has been involved in the cannabis space since 2000. Based in Humboldt County, California for the last 25 years, Kelley has supported cannabis growers worldwide, from Macedonia to New Zealand and across North America. With a background in hydroponics, Kelley has worked with all different types of growing methods and environments, from indoor to greenhouse to vertical. She has worked with growers of all sizes, helping them to design their growing space for optimal efficiency and highest yields.
A specialist in commercial and hobby automation, Kelley helps clients to determine the perfect fit solution for their environmental controls, plant nutrient management and irrigation.
Last week some of our team was in Las Vegas for the Cannabis Conference, hosted by Cannabis Business Times Magazine. We learned a lot in our time there and wanted to see what our colleagues learned too. Join Dr. Nadia Sabeh on the expo floor to hear the answers of consultants, equipment manufacturers, and event organizers about our time at the conference and what they learned. The questions we asked were:
1) What brought you here?
2) What have you learned while here?
3) What has you excited for the future of the industry?
Alexandra Carver is a Clemson University graduate student working with Dr. Allison justice and the Cannabis Research Coalition.
Elmar Mair is co-founder of neatleaf.
Heather Zindash is an Integrated Pest Management Consultant with The Soulful Gardener.
Taylor Kirk is a horticulture Service Specialist with Fluence Bioengineering.
Zach Mentz is a Senior Editor for Cannabis Business Times.
Noelle Skodzinski is Editorial Director for Cannabis Business Times and organizer of the Cannabis Conference.
To get our weekly updates, subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for growing with us.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s episode features Dr. Allison Justice, founder and CEO of The Hemp Mine.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s episode features Dan Albert, VP of Unfold and Founder of Farmbox Greens.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s episode features Ian Baker of Joyn Bio. Ian is the head of the Controlled Environment Platform at Joyn Bio, building infrastructure and running greenhouse operations to enable Joyn’s microbe screening pipeline. Having experience working at Plenty and UC Davis, he brings together production techniques with scientific rigor to optimize plant science objectives. Ian is driven by understanding the inner workings and engineering of the systems that enable modern life. No button is left unpressed or wire untraced until he unravels the operation of a system. Beyond high tech agriculture, Ian is passionate about bonsai, gardening, fine home cooking-baking-canning-preserving, photography, writing, adventure, marketing, mobility, social systems, and probably a couple of other things.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s episode is the second part of our conversation with Joe Swartz, Vice President for AmHydro and co-host of the Polygreens podcast with Nick Greens.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s guest is Joe Swartz, Vice President for AmHydro and co-host of the Polygreens podcast with Nick Greens.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features the conclusion of our conversation with Tad Hussey! Thank you for growing with us.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features the first half of our conversation with Tad Hussey! Join us next week to learn more from the co-founder of KIS Organics and the host of the Cannabis Cultivation and Science podcast.
- More about Tad
Tad received his BA from the University of Washington in 2000 and his Masters from Macquarie University in Australia in 2005. Upon returning to the States, Tad took over running the online business and also the research, microscope testing, and consulting for the company. In 2011, due to an interest in urban farming, chickens and indoor growing, Tad decided to take the business in a new direction which evolved into KIS Farm. During his free time, Tad also coaches a club volleyball team (www.moxiejuniors.com) and manages an edible landscape in his front yard.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week's interview is with Emily Churchill, Director of Growing and Food Safety at Vertical Harvest Farms. Vertical Harvest builods and runs multistory greenhouses in urban areas with a model intended for replication in a multitude of socioeconomic and environmental landscapes.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
Kathleen DeBrota is the Director of Horticulture Operations at AeroFarms, a leading indoor vertical farming company transforming agriculture and championing innovation in the space. As a Certified B Corporation, AeroFarms was honored on Fast Company's World Changing Ideas list four years in a row and was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions.
Ms. DeBrota oversees crop cultivation and works to continuously improve grow operations at all AeroFarms facilities. She works with a cross-functional team to research and test new techniques and technologies aimed toward improving yield, quality, resource-use efficiency, and diversity of produce offerings.
Following her B.S. in biology from Indiana University, Ms. DeBrota earned both a Master of Science in environmental engineering from Georgia Tech, where she focused on aquaponic nutrient dynamics modeling, and a Master of Science in data science from Indiana University. 1:53 Kathleen's path to Aerofarms 4:00 The legacy of the late Ed Harwood, co-founder of Aerofarms 5:50 Fitting R&D into the bigger operations puzzle 7:35 What does Aerofarms grow? 10:00 What are the benefits of growing indoors? 12:30 Do you always want plants to be "happy"? 16:10 Keeping the indoor farm clean to preclude the use of pesticides 18:15 Using R&D to inform Operations 21:15 Data management and organization: understanding granularity 24:30 Data visualization and correlation: creating information 27:00 The importance of controlling for individual variables 29:45 How will AI and machine vision impact CEA? 32:00 How does indoor agriculture improve efficiency in the food system? 37:00 Data integrity: system response and remediation 39:30 Using Operations to inform R&D 40:30 The value of academic research and partnerships 45:45 Why grow hops and other crops indoors? 52:20 The flavor spectrum of plants 57:50 The difference between heat and spicy 1:01:30 Collaborating as an industry toward common goals 1:03:00 What advice would you give others who want to get into this industry? 1:06:00 Our industry’s future: Economies of scale, crop diversity, and the circular economy 1:13:00 What is next for Aerofarms? 1:16:45 What do plants crave? 1:17:30 Rapid fire questions 1:23:00 What is Kathleen’s favorite plant and flavor profiles?
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week’s episode is extra special, because we interviewed a few attendees of our Spring workshop at the Clunie Center in Sacramento. The workshop is an HVAC Intensive lecture series that Dr. Sabeh has been perfecting for growers and engineers working in all kinds of indoor grows. A little bit about them, in their order of appearance:
Joe Saito is Regional Sales Manager for Anden, which provides environmental control for indoor grows. Nick Demello is a mechanical engineer, and Thad Humphrey is the engineering manager, both with Biotherm Solutions, which provides environmental control for indoor grows. Kelley Nicholson is the Sales Manager for Autogrow America, which provides monitoring and controls systems for indoor farms. Ashley Pursglove is the director of engineering for Red Sea Farms. He came to our workshop all the way from Saudi Arabia, where Red Sea Farms grows organic produce, and consults on agriculture solutions for harsh climates and limited resources. Ian Baker is the greenhouse manager for JoynBio, supporting plant science research, and heading their controlled environment platform in nearby Woodland, CA. The Dr. Greenhouse team wants to give a special thanks to our guest speakers Dr. Alex Guenther and Dr. Hope Jones, whose sessions added invaluable insights to the material, to Anden who sponsored our workshop lunches, and of course to our attendees, who we love to do all of this for. Join us next week to get back to what plants crave! Thank you for listening!
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. Starting in 2018, our CEO Wayne Bishop worked with a talented local grower, the City of Woodlake, and mutual contacts to find a space and build a team that would later become the 7 Points we know today. The concept of starting a fully legal cannabis cultivation business was inspired by the passing of a close family member who had used cannabis found on the black market to treat his ailments caused by paraplegia. Bishop took it upon himself, with the help of others, to use his knowledge and experience in other fields to venture into a new world of agriculture that would help give people in need the help they deserve.
-15 degrees Celsius is 5 degrees Fahrenheit, and 47 Celsius is 116, almost 117 degrees Fahrenheit.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week we’re speaking to Dr. Mark Lefsrud of McGill University. Timestamp Notes: 2:00 The Salad Machine and NASA 8:00 The awareness of plants 12:15 Instantaneous vs longterm plant responses 20:00 Do plants have a brain? 22:30 Growing food indoors in extreme cold 26:30 Why do greenhouses work well in Canada? 31:00 Heating the greenhouse 34:30 Canadian support of horticulture production 39:00 Cannabis research in Canada 43:30 Red light, blue light, and amber light 47:45 Widening the PAR spectrum 58:00 Energy saving tip: Measure and track the variables 1:09:00 Everything isn't all a trade secret and more sharing would help operators save millions of dollars and solve common challenges more quickly. 1:15:00 The resurgence of agriculture and the future of CEA 1:19:45 What do plants crave? 1:21:00 Rapid fire questions
A short and sweet interview with Merle Jensen, a forefather of the CEA industry and project leader in the design and development of the agricultural systems for ‘The Land’ EPCOT, Walt Disney World. ‘The Land’ was a $52 million project which has had over 200 million visitors since opening in 1982. Merle Jensen helped make the University of Arizona's CEAC a reality, and is Professor Emeritus of Plant Science there now. Learn more about Merle on our website. Timestamp Notes: 2:10 The path to Arizona 5:30 The industry's 60-year evolution 6:45 Lessons VF growers can learn from greenhouse 8:10 Were there naysayers early in the greenhouse industry? 9:05 What inspired CEAC at University of Arizona? 10:05 Insights into the future of CEA 13:15 Advice for the industry
Recently Dr. Greenhouse attended the University of Arizona’s CEAC Short Course, and got the chance to catch up with a few of the students and speakers about their work in Controlled Environment Agriculture. This week we’re sharing her conversation with Calder Bethke, a Biosystems Engineering Masters student. Unfortunately we did lose a part of Calder’s interview to the wind, but it’s all the reason more to have him return as a guest someday and tell us more about his research and work in cost efficient greenhouses for arid climates. Thank you for listening.
Recently Dr. Greenhouse attended the University of Arizona’s CEAC Short Course, and got the chance to catch up with a few of the students and speakers about their work in Controlled Environment Agriculture. This week we’re sharing her conversation with KC Shasteen and Chris Kaufmann in the University’s research vertical farm. KC Shasteen is a Biosystems Engineering Masters student, and Chris Kaufmann is a Biosystems Senior undergrad, and a first year student in the accelerated Masters program. Thank you for listening.
Recently Dr. Greenhouse attended the University of Arizona’s CEAC Short Course, and got the chance to catch up with a few of the students and speakers about their work in Controlled Environment Agriculture. This week we’re sharing her conversation with Max Smith and Michael Blum in the University’s teaching greenhouse. Michael is a second year Biosystems Engineering Graduate student, studying plant lighting and quantum dot films. Max is a first year Graduate student in the Applied Biosciences program doing research for their saltwater greenhouse project. Thank you for listening.
Last week Dr. Greenhouse attended Univesity of Arizona’s CEAC Short Course, and after accepting this year’s Mission Award, she got the chance to catch up with a few of the students and speakers about their work in CEA. This week we’re sharing her interview with Megan Kane, PhD student working in the Lunar Mars Greenhouse. Thank you for listening.
For today’s episode, the doctor will be in the expo hall. Last week we attended Indoor Ag Con in Las Vegas, with more than 800 people in attendance. We got the chance to catch up with a few of them on the expo floor, and asked them about their insights and hopes for the indoor agriculture industry. Keep an ear out for Nadia’s own thoughts on the event before we flew home.
Our interviewees, in order of appearance, were:
Glenn Ford, CEO InCity Farms Neda Vaseghi, CEO and Founder of Microclimates Marc Paynter of Argus Controls Dan Albert, VP of Plant Performance with Unfold Bio Brian Harris, East Coast Sales for HortAmericas Andrew Carter Co-founder of Smallhold Jim Pantaleo, Business Development Coordinator for the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week we’re speaking to Nick Denney of Holistic Industries.
Nick is the Director of Cultivation for Holistic Industries, a multi-state cannabis operator based in Washington DC. Nick began his career growing leafy greens, fruits, and vegetables in South FL where he managed a hydroponic greenhouse and started a small farm that sold specialty produce to the area's top chefs.
During that time, he also earned his M.S. in Agronomy from the University of Florida, focusing on crop physiology and sustainable agricultural practices. He made the transition to cannabis in early 2018 when he joined Holistic Industries and currently oversees all Holistic cultivation operations, which has now expanded to 7 states (DC, MD, MA, PA, MI, MO, WV). His main duties include supporting the Cultivation Managers in each state to maximize efficiency and output, overseeing the company's genetics program, and leading the cultivation design and equipment selections for renovations or new construction.
He currently resides in Maryland, just outside of Washington DC, with his wife Vanessa and 2 beagles, Chili and Pachita. 1:30 Operating Holistic Industries across different states 4:50 Quitting law and growing plants 9:30 Aquaponics and black soldier fly larvae 11:00 Learning to grow leafies, tomatoes, and berries in a hydroponic greenhouse 13:00 Were you able to grow in a greenhouse year-round in Florida? 15:00 Have you ever eaten a cucumber blossom? 15:30 How did you get to cannabis? 20:00 Are the benefits of growing indoors the same across all states? 21:00 Biggest learning curve going from greenhouse to indoor: Learning how all the different variables interact with each other 23:30 Biggest learning curve going from tomatoes to cannabis: Growing indeterminate vs determinate plant, postharvest, and growing a diecious plant 25:45 What is a diecious plant? 27:00 Are there similarities between the vegetative stage of cannabis and vegetative crops like lettuce? 30:10 Choosing the cultivar based on season 32:20 What does it mean to steer a plant? 37:15 Having so much variety in cannabis is one of the most exciting parts of the industry 40:45 Which environmental cues can you adjust to steer multiple types of plants in the same space? 44:00 What are irrigation cues you can use to steer the plant? 48:00 The importance of crop registration to steer the plant 49:00 Is there such thing as Indica and Sativa varieties? 51:30 Dial back foxtailing with more generative cues 53:30 Has serendipity ever struck? 56:00 What goes into registering a crop? 58:30 Data can never replace a grower’s intuition 59:30 The sales-production feedback loop and the perpetual dominance of potency 1:03:30 Who reviews environmental data? 1:04:30 What has been your experience switching from HPS to LED? 1:10:30 Less canopy = more control, more canopy = less control 1:11:20 What does efficiency mean to you? 1:12:40 The importance of growers sharing information with each other 1:16:00 Do not ignore the legacy growers 1:17:00 The Hydro Store as Cooperative Extension 1:20:20 How do you see the cannabis industry evolving over the next 5-10 years? 1:21:50 What do plants crave? 1:23:00 Rapid fire questions 1:26:00 Nick’s favorite plant to garden
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. This week we're speaking to Mallory Quinn, Director of Cultivation for Medmen.
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
Born and raised in Salinas in a family of entrepreneurs and having a degree from Saint Mary's CA in Business, Sales and Marketing as well as extensive knowledge of Agriculture, it is no wonder she is a true Leader and a success story. Michelle is the President of the largest female minority owned cannabis company in the world that is fully vertically integrated, with 75% of company’s workforce being minority women.
Riverview Farms was established in 2016 and is the first Cannabis operation in the Salinas Valley to get the exemption to grow within Monterey county, Michelle was first exposed to Agriculture in college and continued her path by interning and working for various companies, until she joined her father Mike, the founder of RVF to run the sales division and eventually taking over the company’s full operation.
Michelle has been able to make connections with some of the largest brands, distributors, and retail outlets in the state, and have made them both clients and friends. Her “take no prisoners” attitude and drive has earned her a real name in the Cannabis industry. She has broken many barriers and continues to challenge the county to help improve it's rules and regulations and adapt new ways of doing business. Michelle enjoys the cannabis industry due to the fact that she is able to learn something new everyday, and being at the starting point to the industry makes her able to influence it and set trends and be apart of the evolution of this fast passed growing market. She credits her family and RVF team, the most amazing staff of hardworking and dedicated people that treat her and her family like their own for all the success that she has been able to accomplish thus far. Michelle is also a current board member of MCCIA. In Part 2 of my conversation with Michelle Hackett, we talk about efficiency and how investing in more automation and technology doesn’t necessarily translate to lower costs of production. We take a deep dive into the current challenges faced by California cannabis cultivators in today’s market and why local stakeholder meetings and collaboration with like-minded individuals will be the saving grace for this new farming industry. Plus, find out which lettuce gets a shout out!
Part 2 - Timestamp 03:30 Investing in automation and people 06:00 Efficiency = The best cannabis for the lowest cost inputs 10:20 Cross-training employees to improve collaboration 16:15 Challenges of the California cannabis market 23:00 Taxes! 28:30 Finding a voice in government 30:45 Locally communicative, but widely cut-throat 35:00 Collaborating with like-minded individuals 38:30 The future of cannabis 40:50 Reaching for the sun! 44:00 Rapid fire questions
Join me as I talk to Michelle Hackett, President of Riverview Farms, a family-owned and vertically-integrated cannabis business in Monterey County. In Part 1, we talk about her experience of starting and operating a cannabis greenhouse operation in Salinas, California, the Salad Bowl of the nation, and how best practices learned from commodity field agriculture can be applied to cannabis.
02:00 Family Matters: Building a family-owned and operated cannabis business
06:30 Sisters!
10:00 Finding purpose in retrofitting old existing, wood-framed greenhouses
13:00 Controlling the greenhouse environment in a climate that is essentially perfect
16:45 Fake tits.
19:30 Consumer demand and education
23:45 Cultivating cannabis in country’s “salad bowl”
28:30 Regulatory double standards
32:30 Agricultural jobs 365 days a year
37:30 Applying skills and technology from field agriculture
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave. Travis Higginbotham Jr. joined Harborside Inc. in 2021 as Vice President of Production, where he spearheads production and product distribution to expand access to Harborside products and better serve customers as demand for high-quality cannabis continues to rise.Higginbotham is a commercial cultivation specialist and business owner within the global horticulture market. He is Founder and Owner of a horticultural consultancy, Due Diligence Horticulture, LLC, where he took on personal clients before working with Harborside.
Most recently, Higginbotham was VP of Sales and Business Development at The Hemp Mine, a vertically integrated producer of hemp genetics and hemp-derived products, out of the South East, U.S.Higginbotham began his career, serving as Director of Research and Development for Battlefield Farms, a 1.8 million sq. ft. greenhouse operation named one of the top 100 growers in the country. While there, Higginbotham managed partnerships with 28 global floricultural breeding companies and advised big-box retailers on crop performance, genetic selection and product development nationwide, gaining a first-hand understanding of complex sales channels and agricultural production.
Higginbotham later served as Global Technical Support Director (Horticulture Service) for Fluence Bioengineering, a global creator of lighting solutions for controlled environment commercial crop production. In his role, he built a technical support team to work with Fluence’s top customers in all horticultural markets throughout Europe and North America. He graduated from Clemson University with a BS in Environmental Horticulture and received his MS in Environmental Horticulture from Virginia Tech. Timestamp Notes: 01:30 Travis's horticultural path 06:00 Growing flowers vs cannabis 10:45 Why grow cannabis in a greenhouse? 15:45 Plant stress, acclimation, and hardening 21:00 Scheduling crop cycles and harvest times 25:30 What are the biggest challenges of growing in a greenhouse? 28:00 The cues of a "happy" or stressed plant 31:00 Using LED lights in a greenhouse 34:30 Wet growing vs Dry growing 38:00 The added-value of research 44:00 Defining efficiency 46:45 Manipulating moisture content of final product 51:30 Is it easier to decrease your inputs or increase your outputs? 56:30 COVID and automation 1:02:30 Data and experience 1:06:30 Moving from confidentiality to collaboration to stay competitive 1:10:30 Expanding beyond THC 1:13:00 What do plants crave? 1:14:00 Rapid fire questions
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s episode features Jeremy Shechter. Jeremy is a Senior Partner at Bickel Consulting, focusing on design/ build and management for cannabis facilities across the country. He studied Agricultural Engineering at The Ohio State University and has spent his career working in controlled environment agriculture with an emphasis on aquaponic food production in greenhouses and hydroponic cannabis production in indoor facilities. Before launching his skill set nationally, he was a leader in the Ohio medical marijuana industry as VP of Operations for one of the state’s most successful grows: Buckeye Relief. Bickel Consulting about cultivating medicinal cannabis in Ohio. He shares his experience growing high-quality product under LED lights in a double-tier system, the importance of tracking data, and the need and challenge of finding talented staff with a diverse set of skills and strengths. As former Director of Cultivation at Buckeye Relief, he learned the importance of fostering a sense of community and shared goals and that “no matter how good you are, stuff is going to break.” Stick around to the end to find out: Does tilapia prefer cannabis or pizza?
Timestamp Notes 1:45 From wastewater to aquaculture to cannabis 5:00 Growing indoors: better control, but stuff breaks 10:15 The need and challenge of finding skilled and qualified talent 16:10 What data is important to monitor 18:45 The coolest metric to measure: Carbon dioxide 24:00 How frequently should growers spot-check gauges and sensors? 28:30 Tracking the plant from clone through lab test 31:00 The balance of plant pruning and yield 38:30 The most important efficiency metric 43:00 Double-stack LED cannabis grows 47:30 Creating a culture of clean 52:45 Do aquaponic cannabis farms exist? 01:00:00 The value of specialized staff and knowing how to use Excel 01:04:30 “There are no secrets in cannabis. Only egos.” 01:08:20 The future of cannabis: consolidation, federal deregulation, and automation 01:13:00 What do plants crave? 01:13:40 Rapid fire questions
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week’s guest is Tyler Baras, the chief science officer and co-founder of Area 2 Farms in Arlington, Virginia. Tyler has a range of urban agricultural experience from homesteading to commercial hydroponics. While completing his B.S. in Horticultural Sciences at the University of Florida, he traveled overseas to study Organic Agriculture in Spain and Protected Agriculture (greenhouse production) in China. After graduation, he worked as a grower for 3 Boys Farm Inc., one of the first certified organic hydroponic farms in the United States. In 2013, Tyler moved to Denver, Colorado where he worked as the hydroponic farm manager at The GrowHaus. He managed a profitable urban farm while creating a successful hydroponic internship program with a 90% job placement rate for graduates.
While at The GrowHaus, Tyler started creating educational videos and blog posts about farm tech which are available on his website FarmerTyler.com. In 2015, Tyler moved to Dallas, Texas where he managed the Dallas Grown hydroponic greenhouse and worked as Special Projects Manager for Hort Americas, a commercial hydroponic equipment distributor.
While in Dallas, Tyler wrote one of the best-selling hobby hydroponic books, DIY Hydroponic Gardens: How to Design and Build an Inexpensive System for Growing Plants in Water. In 2017, Tyler wrote Roadmap to Growing Leafy Greens and Herbs, an educational book for new growers and investors interested in commercial hydroponic production of leafy greens in greenhouses and indoor farms. In 2018, Tyler moved to San Francisco, California where he worked as the New Product Development Senior Grower at the indoor vertical farming company Plenty. In 2021, Tyler wrote Home Hydroponics: Small-space DIY growing systems for the kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom, and bath. For more on Tyler Baras please visit FarmerTyler.com.
03:00 From student to urban farmer 08:20 Becoming Farmer Tyler 12:30 The problem with large-scale indoor farms 15:00 Working in an indoor farm 20:00 Why go monoculture indoors? 21:45 What is the value proposition of indoor ag? 24:30 Collaboration through grower networks 27:00 Growing plants indoors vs. outdoors 33:30 Breeding vs screening for indoor conditions 37:30 The intricacies and efficiencies of horticultural lighting 45:00 Academic guidelines vs. boundaries 46:30 Growing under consistent indoor conditions vs. variable greenhouse conditions 50:50 Killing lettuce plants in 2 hours 53:20 Which is Tyler’s favorite and least favorite plant to grow? 58:40 What is the biggest difference of home-grown vs. commercial hydroponics? 1:00:00 Improving efficiency by reducing waste 1:02:20 Will automation replace human growers? 1:05:20 The role of education and connection to the success of indoor farming 1:10:00 How will the industry evolve in the near future? 1:12:00 Supply chain in farming and horticulture and why indoor lettuce farmers aren’t vertically integrated 1:17:00 Connoisseurs of lettuce and tomato 1:18:00 What do plants crave?
The farmer wears many hats. As a farmer we need to be just as concerned about the 50% of the plant below the ground as we do the 50% above ground.
This podcast is full of pro tips and horticultural insights from a grower who knows his stuff! Learn why he has a love/hate relationship with root aphids and how in-house experiments and research can increase efficiency and production. Join me as we discuss the production of cannabis oil in the great oil state of Texas.
“Everything I learned as a farmer, I learned from someone else or I learned from experience.”
Jason Sanders, CCTX
02:30 Cannabis: gateway horticultural crop
05:20 Why grow cannabis indoors and year-round, rather than outdoors and seasonally?
10:30 Growing media, soil biology, and the lessons learned from root aphids
15:30 Medicinal, recreational, and hemp, what’s the difference?
19:50 Can you graft cannabis?
24:15 Root aphids are evil! Or are they?
31:25 Breeding for genetics that work with the environment
35:00 In-house research: LEDs, VPD, and air temperature
41:30 Efficiency, water, carbon footprint and APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients)
47:45 The collaborative, competitive, and compassionate nature of CEA and cannabis
51:15 Looking into the crystal ball future of the cannabis industry
54:30 Tractors?!
55:40 What do plants crave?
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in other engineers, growers, and manufacturers who work in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
On today’s episode we’re speaking to Michelle Keller, Head Grower at Living Greens Farm. Michelle Keller knows and loves lettuce. Listen in as we discuss her journey from hydroponic greenhouse grower to aeroponic vertical farmer. Learn how she’s using aeroponics to simulate field agriculture and produce sweet, crunchy romaine year-round and using a fraction of the water.
Michelle grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and was active in FFA (Future Farmers of America) in middle school through college. After Michelle graduated with a Plant Biology degree from UW, she also completed all course work in the Plant Pathology program from the University of Minnesota. From 2003 to 2013, Michelle was the owner and operator of LaBore Farms Hydroponic Lettuce. In 2013, Michelle started full time at Living Greens Farm as Head Grower with accountability for research and development of production systems. This includes recipe development, system development, and production parameters for baby greens, herbs, teen lettuce and full size lettuce . Thank you for listening.
02:00 working in hydronponics and aeroponics before they were cool 04:15 The birth and uniqueness of Living Greens 07:30 Going from greenhouse to indoor production 11:00 Winter heating and venting the greenhouse 14:00 Experimenting with different crops 16:30 Aeroponics: Putting roots to work 23:30 Loving and listening to lettuce to learn what they want 28:00 Building the better mousetrap through in-house experimenting 30:45 Tracking energy and water use to improve COGS 38:15 Growing from a niche market to industry-changing entities 41:30 Being local in multiple locations 47:20 The Leafy Green Future: “We the Industry” 51:30 Growing 20,000 plants on 800 gallons of water! 55:10 HVAC: The biggest challenge of growing lettuce indoors 58:15 Should we manage the environment to VPD? 1:02:00 Yield and quality can respond positively together 1:04:30 What do plants crave?
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
This week Nadia spoke with Steve Squaglia of Amplified Farms and Cultivated California. Steve Squaglia puts his 20 years of cannabis industry experience to use as the Co-founder of Amplified Farms, Cultivated California and most recently Friendo Flower. His daily tasks involve designing, building and generating operations for cultivation facilities and harvesting relationships with industry specialists. He has utilized his background as a general contractor to work with SMUD, a local utility company, on designing new facilities with LED lighting, embarking on the forefront of a revolutionary idea that will undoubtably change the future of cultivation.
Timestamp notes:
00:04:00 The history of cannabis licensing in Sacramento, CA
00:06:15 Boutique growing compared to commercial growing
00:08:45 The standard of cannabis is growing all the time
00:10:15 More collaboration of growers can help increase business success and have greater impact on the economic development and sustainability.
00:15:40 The importance and difficulty of managing the indoor plant environment, including HVAC tips and strategies
00:24:40 Gas Pedal Growing: The philosophy of 75%, 100% of the time.
00:29:30 “Guinea Pig Farms”: The value of experimentation in the farm.
00:36:20 Observations of growing under LED lights
00:37:20 Why grow cannabis indoors?
00:41:30 Why purchase legal cannabis, when it’s so much cheaper on the black market?
00:47:40 What is exciting about the future of the cannabis industry?
00:51:20 How can regional growers emulate Sacramento’s close cannabis grower network ?
00:55:10 What do you love about cannabis?
01:03:30 Feeling it: the value of failure
01:05:00 The challenge finding good and talented team members
01:07:00 Measuring success as a cannabis cultivator
01:13:40 What do plants crave?
This episode is part of our “What Plants Crave” series, where Dr. Sabeh speaks with growers, researchers, and other experts in controlled environment agriculture, to get their insights about the direction of the industry, and of course, what exactly it is that plants crave.
Dr. Hope Jones is Co-Founder and President of Superior Phenos, LLC, a cannabis biotech & hemp young plant production company based in Arizona . Superior Phenos is a team of seasoned plant scientists and commercial professionals coming together to raise the cannabis industry standards of science, business practices and product quality. She is also CEO of Emergent Cannabis Sciences, an international cannabis and micropropagation consulting company.
In her time as a NASA scientist, Dr. Jones developed technologies and protocols to grow crops for deep space missions. Dr. Jones’ current work focuses on optimizing micropropagation protocols and facilities for the cannabis industry. In this podcast, we talk to Dr. Hope Jones, CEO of Emergent Cannabis Sciences, about the importance of taking the grower’s perspective and how tissue culture can help maximize a plant’s full genetic potential. We discuss how creating consistent crop stocks can help with disease eradication, product labeling and lab testing, reducing energy use, and avoiding overregulation. We also learn that growing plants in space has many benefits that go beyond simply producing calories.
-TIMESTAMP NOTES-
00:04:45 How a non-traditional career path led her to plants 00:07:50 “I want to grow plants in space.” 00:16:00 There’s more to growing plants than just calories 00:19:00 Does a DLI of 90 exist on Earth? 00:24:00 What is Tissue Culture? 00:45:00 Mother plants and Tissue Culture (don't stop growing Moms) "Full genetic potential" of plants started with TC. 00:56:00 Lab and Consumer Safety Testing and Product Labeling 1:00:00 Importance of getting involved in advocacy 1:05:00 "Trust but verify" 1:08:00 Let's approach it from the growers perspective" 1:09:00 what we regulate for right now might be different 10 years from now
Join Dr. Nadia Sabeh on the expo floor at the 2021 Cannabis Conference in Las Vegas to hear from consultants, equipment manufacturers, and event organizers from the cannabis industry.
Dr. Nadia Sabeh returns with a discussion about air quality recommendations for COVID and for the CEA industry, where they overlap and how they differ. Find more on air quality, the importance of CO2, and more on the Dr. Greenhouse blog, where you'll also find our ongoing series on carbon dioxide.
Dr. Nadia (A.K.A. “Dr. Greenhouse”) is President and Founder of Dr. Greenhouse, Inc., an agricultural and mechanical engineering firm that specializes in the design of HVAC systems for indoor plant environments.
John Chandler is a cultivation consultant with over 10 years of designing and managing large-scale cannabis cultivation facilities. Prior to specializing in cannabis, Chandler consulted for tomato greenhouse growers, using both certified organic and conventional hydroponic methods, managed several certified organic farms in Texas, and even interned at the Rodale Institute. Chandler is a California Certified Crop Adviser by the American Society of Agronomy. Conversation recorded April 1, 2020 Conversation recorded March 30, 2020 Conversation recorded March 31, 2020
Dr. Mark Lefsrud is an Associate Professor at McGill University and leads the Biomass Production Laboratory. The Biomass Production Laboratory focused on developing methods and technologies to improve environmental control, energy efficiency, harvesting and post-harvest handling and to help unearth the bioprocesses of living organisms. Mark grew up on a farm in Alberta, Canada, where he learned the value of shortening the nutrient cycle between production and waste. Conversation recorded March 30, 2020 Conversation recorded March 31, 2020
Dr. Allison Justice owns and operates The Hemp Mine, a 40-acre hemp farm in South Carolina. Prior to starting The Hemp Mine, Dr. Justice was VP of Cultivation for OutCo, a vertically integrated cannabis producer in San Diego, CA. She is well-known throughout the cannabis industry for her research-based approach to optimizing cultivation practices and her willingness to share the results and help other cultivators dealing with similar challenges. Conversation recorded March 30, 2020
Tom Buggia is an outdoor and greenhouse cannabis cultivator in Central Washington State. He manages 16 cultivation licenses. In a typical season, the farms grow a combined total of 30,000 pounds of cannabis, which serves both the flower and oil markets. Tom is also actively engaged in breeding research to optimize the production of CBDs and other cannabinoids. Conversation recorded March 31, 2020
Chris Higgins is President of HortAmericas, a wholesale supply company serving commercial greenhouse, nursery, and indoor farms across North America. He is also the Founder of Urban Ag News, a digital magazine designed to educate and inform the horticulture industry about new technologies, state-of-the-art research, and the current events affecting market supplies and demand.