S4E42: Rosario Iacono - What a Tomato Should Be

Episode SummaryJoin 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 SponsorCULTIVATDFreight FarmsKey Takeaways05:02 – Harry welcomes to the show Rosario Iacono, who joins the show to discuss his company, Kasveista, and his vertical farming origin story11:13 – The incredible vast variety of tomatoes16:18 – Tips for people growing tomatoes at home17:01 – What Rosario has discovered about tomatoes throughout the years20:54 – Intensive research and experimentation in vertical farming28:24 – Rosario’s team at Kasveista31:59 – The Open Source Model explained and why it is so critical39:44 – Surprises and challenges from Rosario’s vertical farming journey44:27 – What’s next for Kasveista47:54 – Something Rosario has changed his mind about recently51:52 – Harry thanks Rosario for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can learn more about Kasveista and connect with RosarioTweetable 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 MentionedRosario’s LinkedInKasveista WebsiteKasveista InstagramKasveista FacebookSponsor Info:Cultivatd WebsiteCultivatd InstagramCultivatd’s TwitterCultivatd’s FacebookFreight Farms WebsiteFreight Farms FacebookFreight Farms Twitter🎙️🎙️🎙️Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast: https://bit.ly/3sxZ34ySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Mentioned in this episode:2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews2025 Precision Ag Report2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews2025 Precision Ag Report