S4E42: s4e42 - Rosario Iacono - What a Tomato Should Be

Vertical Farming Podcast

English - October 16, 2021 11:41 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MB
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Previous Episode: S4E41: Craig Hurlbert - Going Slow To Go Fast

Next Episode: S4E43: s4e43 - Samantha Johnson - Nudging Students into an Aquaponics Tank

Episode Summary

Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show Rosario Iacono. Rosario is the Founder of Kasveista, a concept stage startup aiming to produce open-source seeds and seedlings for vertical farming. Their goal is to help modern vertical farms expand their range of products by providing seeds and seedlings of tomato of varieties specifically selected for vertical farming.

Today, Harry and Rosario talk about the incredible work Rosario is doing at Kasveista and why he chose to focus on the tomatoes as his first crop. Rosario talks about the incredibly vast varieties of tomatoes and shares tips for those who want to grow tomatoes at home. They explain the open source model and why it’s critical to Rosario’s business. Finally, Rosario talks about what’s next for Kasveista, what excites him about the future and how we can educate the masses on vertical farming.

Episode Sponsor

https://www.cultivatd.com/ (CULTIVATD)
https://www.freightfarms.com/ (Freight Farms)

Key Takeaways

05:02 – Harry welcomes to the show Rosario Iacono, who joins the show to discuss his company, Kasveista, and his vertical farming origin story

11:13 – The incredible vast variety of tomatoes

16:18 – Tips for people growing tomatoes at home

17:01 – What Rosario has discovered about tomatoes throughout the years

20:54 – Intensive research and experimentation in vertical farming

28:24 – Rosario’s team at Kasveista

31:59 – The Open Source Model explained and why it is so critical

39:44 – Surprises and challenges from Rosario’s vertical farming journey

44:27 – What’s next for Kasveista

47:54 – Something Rosario has changed his mind about recently

51:52 – Harry thanks Rosario for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can learn more about Kasveista and connect with Rosario

Tweetable Quotes

https://ctt.ac/9a05b (“I was getting tomatoes from Sicily in London. But there is no compromise. You either make a tomato that can travel for sixteen hour on a truck, or you make a tasty tomato.”) (09:42) (Rosario

https://ctt.ac/OwQK6 (“What I learned is you can influence a lot of the taste and you can change a lot by the techniques you use to grow the tomatoes.”) (17:47) (Rosario)

https://ctt.ac/43LO8 (“I try to not think about what a tomato is. I try to think in terms of what a tomato should be now and redraw it from scratch.” )(19:01) (Rosario)

https://ctt.ac/a1nqe (“Everyone should have access to food. And access to food is access to seeds.”) (34:39) (Rosario)

https://ctt.ac/9eapR (“Assuming we can get the funding, I have many ideas that I would like to see happening. First of all, expanding to more and more crops that can be grown in vertical farming. I see the world asking for it.”) (44:42) (Rosario)

https://ctt.ac/zbH3c (“I think where the education could really start is at school. I think children are really the key to make vertical farming cool. Because through children, you educate their parents.” )(49:36) (Rosario)

Links Mentioned

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosario-iacono/?locale=en_US (Rosario’s LinkedIn)

https://kasveista.com/ (Kasveista Website)

https://www.instagram.com/kasveista/ (Kasveista Instagram)

https://www.facebook.com/kasveista (Kasveista Facebook)

Sponsor Info:

https://www.cultivatd.com/ (Cultivatd Website)

https://www.instagram.com/cult_ivatd/ (Cultivatd Instagram)

https://twitter.com/cultivatd (Cultivatd’s Twitter)

https://www.facebook.com/cultivatd/ (Cultivatd’s Facebook)

https://www.freightfarms.com/ (Freight Farms Website)

https://www.facebook.com/freightfarms/ (Freight Farms Facebook)

https://twitter.com/freightfarms (Freight Farms Twitter)

🎙️🎙️🎙️

Podcast Production and...

Episode Summary

Episode Sponsor

CULTIVATD
Freight Farms

Key Takeaways

05:02 – Harry welcomes to the show Rosario Iacono, who joins the show to discuss his company, Kasveista, and his vertical farming origin story
11:13 – The incredible vast variety of tomatoes
16:18 – Tips for people growing tomatoes at home
17:01 – What Rosario has discovered about tomatoes throughout the years
20:54 – Intensive research and experimentation in vertical farming
28:24 – Rosario’s team at Kasveista
31:59 – The Open Source Model explained and why it is so critical
39:44 – Surprises and challenges from Rosario’s vertical farming journey
44:27 – What’s next for Kasveista
47:54 – Something Rosario has changed his mind about recently
51:52 – Harry thanks Rosario for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can learn more about Kasveista and connect with Rosario

Tweetable Quotes

“I was getting tomatoes from Sicily in London. But there is no compromise. You either make a tomato that can travel for sixteen hour on a truck, or you make a tasty tomato.” (09:42) (Rosario

“What I learned is you can influence a lot of the taste and you can change a lot by the techniques you use to grow the tomatoes.” (17:47) (Rosario)

“I try to not think about what a tomato is. I try to think in terms of what a tomato should be now and redraw it from scratch.” (19:01) (Rosario)

“Everyone should have access to food. And access to food is access to seeds.” (34:39) (Rosario)

“Assuming we can get the funding, I have many ideas that I would like to see happening. First of all, expanding to more and more crops that can be grown in vertical farming. I see the world asking for it.” (44:42) (Rosario)

“I think where the education could really start is at school. I think children are really the key to make vertical farming cool. Because through children, you educate their parents.” (49:36) (Rosario)

Links Mentioned