Ball Seed Company

A fun fact about our culvert planters is that our designer, Landon, bases each giant mix around a specific color pallet that complements a couple of key new varieties in each culvert!

Our very own Cut Flower Business Manager, Joan Mazat, and Sakata Seed America’s Product Technical Manager, Bob Croft, discuss the exciting features of the F1 Anemone Gemstone series and share tips and tricks for selecting and producing top-quality crops in this podcast brought to you by Tech On Demand! https://lnkd.in/gEFZm8dq

Ball Seed Technical Services expert Nathan Jahnke explains some benefits of fog chambers for rehydrating unrooted cuttings in this #short video: https://lnkd.in/gBYX4iQ6 #greenhouse #hydration #URC #cuttings #propagation #growing #fog #ballseed #techondemand #balltechnicalservices #youtube

A unique take on a red poinsettia for your 2025 program!

This year, the Danziger bed in The Gardens at Ball featured pops of cool-toned flowers! Cubano Presidente Cuphea, Capella Rim Raspberry Petunia, and SallyFun Salvia were just a few stars in this ornamental bed!

NEW VIDEO! In STAY HYDRATED: THE KEY TO UNIFORM ROOTING OF URCs, Ball Seed Technical Services specialist and culture research manager, Dr. Nathan Jahnke, joins Ball Tech On Demand host Bill Calkins to share research-based best practices for rehydrating unrooted cuttings before sticking. Cuttings can (and will) lose water at multiple points in the supply chain—arriving at your greenhouse dehydrated by as much as 20%. As soon as harvest occurs, dehydration begins and although offshore farms have greatly improved harvest and handling processes in recent years, your young plants go through a lot before they land on your benches, ready to grow. Wilted cuttings can negatively impact production from the earliest stages, resulting in shrink and losses. Nathan walks growers through potential dehydration points in the supply chain and the challenges that result from dehydrated cuttings before explaining why water loss occurs and some of the ways farms are working to improve cutting hydration and handling. Then he moves quickly into ways you can rehydrate cuttings before sticking, from good (misting) to better (dipping) to best (fogging) practices. From arrival to inspection and staging, protocols are offered to help your production teams manage cuttings effectively. https://lnkd.in/gDtHwGFA #greenhouse #horticulture #propagation #hydration #irrigation #youngplants #ballseed #technicalservices #greenhousetechteam #techondemand

This summer's container from The Gardens features some trusty favorites and some standout NEW varieties, all coming together to create this dynamic combo! Replicate this mix for your program with NEW Interspecific Geranium Solera Red, NEW Coleus ChargedUp Marble Mania, NEW Angelonia AngelFlare Black, ColorGrass Juncus Blue Arrows, African Marigold Marvel II Gold, Begonia Whopper White With Green Leaf, and Dicondra Silver Falls.

Ball Seed Technical Services expert Nick Flax explains different types of water tests: All water quality tests are not created equal. Submit a water sample to a lab that provides agricultural water quality testing services—NOT standard drinking water quality tests. Depending on the lab, specific categories such as “greenhouse/nursery” water testing may be available. Whenever possible, choose the type of water test that is most directly applicable to what you do. Drinking water tests often offer a small handful of mineral nutrient concentrations (often calcium, magnesium, iron, and sodium) and/or “hardness,” all of which can indicate water quality concerns. However, these values only provide a partial picture of water quality and seldom provide enough actionable data to inform decisions on which fertilizers are most compatible with your water, whether acid injection is necessary, etc. Agricultural water tests (sometimes as specific as “greenhouse/nursery” water tests) are far superior to standard drinking water tests. These include alkalinity, pH, most macro- and micronutrient concentrations, nitrate and ammonium levels, electrical conductivity (EC; sometimes TDS) and sodium absorption ratio. This broad view of your water quality facilitates targeted water management decisions. It also minimizes the risk of overdoing it and spending tons of money on unnecessary measures—or worse: over-correcting something that was within ideal ranges for crop production in the first place. #greenhouse #horticulture #water #testing #laboratory #science #agriculture #floriculture #ballseed #balltechnicalservices #balltechteam #techondemand #greenhousetechteam

How frequently do you test your water? Feel free to comment below! After you weigh in, here are some tips from Ball Technical Services specialist Nick Flax. Test your water source(s) at least once per year. Depending on your operation’s water source, more frequent testing may be advisable. Municipal water sources tend to be very stable throughout the year, with the exception of municipal water collected from reservoirs in arid climates, on occasion. An annual agricultural water quality test is strongly encouraged and often provides ample information to stay on top of what’s coming out of your hose. Some providers offer periodical water quality updates free to customers, so it doesn’t hurt to ask for one. Well water quality often changes more frequently than municipal water. Testing at least twice per year and additional times shortly after extreme weather events is advisable to avoid seasonal or sudden water quality changes, respectively. If you have multiple wells on your property, the quality of water coming out of each can be drastically different, so test ALL wells—even if one of them is only used seasonally or as a backup. Surface water sources often provide the greatest number of challenges to greenhouse growers. Rainfall, snow, drought, temperature fluctuations and unforeseen events that push contaminants into your water source necessitate frequent water testing if you irrigate from sources like a river or retention pond. Ideally, water from these types of sources should be tested monthly (at minimum) or more often if severe weather or changes to the water level/flow occur. #greenhouse #waterquality #horticulture #techondemand #balltechteam #greenhousetechteam #ballseed

As many growers are approaching Poinsettia shipping and sending to retail, we want to remind you that if you encounter any challenges with finishing your Poinsettias, we have many resources and a technical team dedicated to helping you succeed! https://lnkd.in/gUuVeGmG