Don Marshall has dedicated his life to teaching students about how plants grow and bridging the gap between botany and practical horticultural applications. Don is the founder of the Environmental Horticulture program at Lake Washington College, where he taught for over 40 years.  In addition to teaching, Don is a Certified Professional Horticulturalist, ecoPro, and Certified Arborist. He owns and operates Plant Designs, a landscape design, installation and maintenance firm specializing in organic fine gardening.  Don co-authored Home Landscaping, Northwest Region published by Creative Homeowner, now in its 4th printing.

Virginia Emery is founder and CEO of Beta Hatch, a pioneering insect farming company that is industrializing insects for agriculture. Beta Hatch is fueled by a passion to see insects reach their true potential in our food systems. The company has grown to be internationally recognized for its scientific approach to scaling insect production and operates North America’s largest mealworm farm for animal feed production in Washington. Virginia is the country’s most innovative insect entrepreneur, recently recognized as a Visionary Grist 50 Fixer. Virginia has a PhD in entomology from the University of California, Berkeley, has been awarded over 20 grants and honors, and has published on subjects ranging from chemical communication to genetics to insect behavior. Her life’s mission is to breed a bug that tastes like bacon.

In this episode I interview Dr. Ben Higgins and he shares the results of the research he did at Gold Leaf Gardens that helped increase yields dramatically. We also discuss the importance of good research and development and how it can be used to make data-driven decisions.

Suzanne Wainwright-Evans is an Ornamental Entomologist specializing in integrated pest management. Suzanne has been involved in the Green Industry for more than 25 years with a primary focus on biological control and using pesticides properly. She is a graduate of the University of Florida with degrees in both Entomology and Environmental Horticulture. She has worked throughout the United States and internationally consulting to greenhouses, nurseries, landscapers, and interiorscape companies. Additionally, Suzanne is frequently published in trade magazines, teaches workshops and lectures professionally to industry groups. Her lectures use her extensive library of insect photos and macro insect movies. She has spoken at the Smithsonian Institute as well as appeared on Growing a Greener World on PBS. She is the owner of Buglady Consulting, now in business for 16 years. Suzanne lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, 1 dog, and 8 cats in a log home built in the 1820s. Visit Suzanne's website

Delmond Marshall, inspired by his father, started the Flint Unity Farming Project to help and inspire the area youth in Flint, Michigan. In 2014, officials in Flint switched the city's water supply to the Flint River as a cost-cutting measure for the struggling city. In doing so, they unwittingly introduced lead-poisoned water into homes, in what would become a massive public-health crisis. Without access to safe drinking water, the health of the residents of Flint quickly began to decline. In 2016, Delmond Marshall started the Flint Unity Farming Project to offer hope and learning to his community by teaching and empowering children how to grow vegetables to build self-confidence and to care about and beautify their communities. Flint Unity Farming Project Facebook Flint Unity Farming Project Instagram Area 72 Botanicals Facebook Area 72 Botanicals Instagram

Dr. Chris Hayes began his journey into biologicals while working on his PhD; then continued in the field as a scientist at Cornell University/NYSAES in Geneva, NY.  At Cornell, he worked on the strains of Trichoderma, T22 & G41, which would ultimately become the active ingredients in RootShield Plus.  He left Cornell approximately 25 years ago to help start BioWorks.  For the past quarter-century, he has worked in various areas within BioWorks with the ultimate goal of helping those interested in using biologicals to understand the do’s and don’ts to maximize the effectiveness of biologicals in programs to prevent plant sickness and loss.  https://www.bioworksinc.com/about-us/ Check out additional info from Chris: Click here for Trichoderma-based products around the world, Dr. Woo 2014 Click here for Trichoderma Species Paper Click here for Myths and Dogmas of Biocontrol

Brian is a founding partner of Anderson Porter Design, Inc., an international practice focused on design and architecture for the cannabis industry. Anderson Porter Design provides strategy, technology, design, and thought leadership, built on 20 years as a general practice in Architecture. Since 2014 they are focused on buildings for plants: Controlled-Environmental Horticulture (CEH), Extraction / Manufacturing, and Retail Dispensaries.   Brian merges a RISD education in the craft tradition of making and designing objects with an analytic data-driven process to drive value along the cannabis supply chain. He has a Master's degree from Harvard and has been in practice since 1992. Anderson provides professional leadership in strategic planning and design. He speaks nationally on energy sustainability in the Cannabis Industry, Facility Design, and on interior design for retail.   National Cannabis Industry Association https://thecannabisindustry.org/   Resource Innovation Institute https://resourceinnovation.org/

Kelly came to B.I. in 2016 after a 17-year career in greenhouse ornamental and landscape pest management with a strong focus on biological controls and soft chemistry. Since joining the team in Redding, he’s worked in a wide variety of ornamental, food and hemp/cannabis crops developing bio control programs for a myriad of crop pests.  https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/copy-of-cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-63

Kelly Vance came to Beneficial Insectary in 2016 after a 17-year career in greenhouse ornamental and landscape pest management with a strong focus on biological controls and soft chemistry. Since joining the team in Redding, he’s worked in a wide variety of ornamental, food and hemp/cannabis crops developing bio control programs for a myriad of crop pests.  https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-63

Ladybugs are amazing insects and wonderful aphid predators. However, there are a ton of reasons why you should never buy them and why they shouldn't even be legal to sell.  I was fortunate to get an expert who has been studying ladybugs and their ecology for decades. Dr. J.P. Michaud is an insect ecologist specializing in biological control and other aspects of crop protection entomology.  He has a background in evolutionary ecology and many of his research endeavors are guided by the implications of evolutionary theory.  His interests include cultural and conservation approaches to biological control of aphids in field crops, ecology of the Coccinellidae, and the interface between host plant resistance and biological control. Dr. Michaud completed his B.Sc. at McGill University and his masters and Ph.D. at Simon Fraser University.  After seven years at the University of Florida studying biological control of disease vectors in citrus, he moved to Kansas State University where he has been developing integrated management strategies for pests of field crops and approaches to conserving their natural enemies since 2003. https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-62