How to Tackle the Season Ahead - Tips from Your ICL TMs

Craig Whatley , ICL Growing Solutions, Americas - North American Business Lead for Turf and Ornamental Horticulture, told us last summer that he?no longer has a working crystal ball. But what he and the rest of our ICL Growing Solutions Americas Territory Managers?do?have are their fingers on the industry’s pulse and growing expertise that transcends the season or the year.

For tips to help you prepare for the next stage of the “new normal”—whatever that may be—we turned to three members of our North American ICL Growing Solutions sales team. Here’s what they had to say.

Ian Bateman , ICL Growing Solutions, Americas - Western Region Territory Manager, draws on his background in research, #hydroponics, and #CEA (#controlledenvironmentagriculture) to help growers excel. He offers these tips for success:

• Manage water alkalinity.?“The pH of your nutrient solution or irrigation water is fleeting. Don’t worry too much about those readings,” Ian says. “What’s important to your crops is the long-term pH of the growing substrate.” He explains?managing water alkalinity?is the best way to manage media pH over time: “There’s a sweet spot that’s unique to every grower and their needs and source water. My suggestion is to?conduct regular water tests?and find out what’s going on under the hood.”
• Stop biofilm’s advance.?“Biofilm is the sludgy bacterial gunk that can develop in your irrigation lines, sprinkler heads, and drip emitters. Not only can biofilm clog your lines, potentially leading to crop losses, but biofilm also can eat up valuable fertilizers dissolved in your drip lines,” Ian says. Selecting the right fertilizers for your application is critical. “Here at ICL, we use a variety of chemistries, so it’s important to reach out to your local rep and get the right tool for the job,” he says.
• Optimize water usage.?“These days in California, water is getting harder and harder to come by. And here’s the truth: You’re likely using more water than you need to irrigate your crops,” Ian says. Wetting agents can help your growing mix absorb water and help spread water uniformly through your pots, minimizing runoff and waste. “At ICL, we have the right wetting agent for the job—specifically designed and engineered for the horticultural mixes you are using right now,” he adds.

John Hoban , ICL Growing Solutions, Americas - Upper Midwest Territory Manager, has extensive experience in the nation’s short-season heartland. He offers this advice for your growing success:

• Don’t wait for bargains.?Shortages across the horticulture industry and beyond have impacted everything from plants and containers to media and fertilizers. “I get questions from pretty much every stop I make on what’s going to happen with pricing,” John says. “My assessment is, at least for growing season 2023, pricing isn’t going down.” He advises growers not to wait things out in hopes that bargains are down the line.
• Grow more efficiently.?“Growers should be looking at different products to make them more efficient,” John says. “For greenhouses, that would be a mix of wetting agents, controlled-release fertilizers (#CRFs), and lower but more frequent doses of their water-soluble fertilizer (#WSF) regimen.”?For nursery growers, most of whom already use CRFs, he points to wetting agents: “Definitely look at adding in wetting agents to improve water use efficiency as well as to improve the quality of your media.”
• Make pre-COVID comparisons.?“We had some out-of-this-world years due to COVID. It’s unrealistic to expect that kind of growth and that kind of market to sustain itself into the future,” John says. “That doesn’t mean 2023 will be bad. It just means people have to temper their expectations to something more historically accurate.” He suggests comparing your numbers to 2018 or 2019.

Tom Contrisciano , ICL Growing Solutions, Americas - Northeast Territory Manager, works a region rich with 100-year-old businesses and independent garden centers. He offers these insights for your success:

• Leverage fall sales.?Tom notes that springs are getting “colder, wetter and nastier,” while fall frosts come later each year. “People are taking advantage of the really nice fall weather to get out and enjoy their garden and their outdoor spaces,” Tom says. “Traditionally, everybody thinks about spring and planting and getting everything sold before Memorial Day or Mother’s Day. Fall is becoming a more significant portion of annual sales at the grower level than it has been before.”
• Bring the market something new.?When everybody grows something—like fall mums—it drives prices down. “When you’re bringing something new to market, there’s not that preconceived idea of value,” Tom says. As an example, he suggests complementing fall sales with plants like celosia, ornamental peppers, ornamental grasses, and autumn-colored rudbeckias and marigolds. And, with extended falls, don’t limit yourself to frost-hardy plants. Even if plants last two months, consumers see the value.?
• Dial in sustainability.?“More-aware growers are trying to reduce their pesticide use and reduce fertilizer runoff from their crops—both inside a greenhouse and for outdoor-produced plants like perennials and woody trees and shrubs,” Tom says. The wide variety of?Osmocote?and?Peters?options let growers zero in. “You can dial it in to whatever crop you’re specifically growing and what your goals are on that sustainability plan,” he says.

At ICL, we’re here to help you optimize your growing operation and grow your business as you do. With trusted products, product training, lab services, and expert advice, we can help you put actionable tips like these to work for you. It’s true—we mean it when we say your success is our success. So?call, text, or email?us—whatever works best for you. We look forward to hearing from you soon.