Scaling Commercial Cultivation: The Biggest Mistakes Growers Make - Deron Caplan, Sostanza Global

What works in a craft grow doesn’t always survive commercial scale.In this episode of Grow Sessions, host Mark Doherty speaks with Deron Caplan about the most common—and costly—mistakes in scaling cultivation operations. They break down why commercial facilities fail when HVAC systems are oversized and poorly balanced, how lighting decisions can unintentionally spike latent load and humidity stress, and why genetics often break down when too many strains are forced into uniform environmental conditions.The conversation also explores the operational gaps that emerge at scale: when cultivation leaders are expected to act as facility engineers, when preventative maintenance is missing, and when data like VWC, EC, and dry-back are not used to steer crops in real time.Finally, they discuss the post-harvest bottleneck—where even a successful grow can lose value if drying and curing capacity cannot keep pace.🎙️ Listen now and subscribe to Grow Sessions for more conversations with the experts shaping modern controlled environment cultivation.Deron Caplan, Sostanza GlobalDeron is a Sr. Consultant with Sostanza Inc., where he has designed more than 50 cannabis facilities over the past decade and supported many more cultivators already in operation.He earned North America’s first Ph.D. focused on indoor cannabis production before leading operations at the Kelowna Research Station—the world’s first facility dedicated to advancing cannabis cultivation techniques and systems. He later served as Director of Research and Development at The Flowr Corporation, managing a team of scientists and operators and collaborating closely with The Hawthorne Gardening Company, a subsidiary of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company.Deron has been cited more than 500 times in scientific literature, has provided expert commentary on cannabis production to major media outlets and the Government of Canada, and also serves as an expert witness in cannabis-related court cases.Mark Doherty, Doherty AgMark Doherty is the VP of Construction & Facilities Management for Grown Rogue, bringing over 15 years of experience in CEA and commercial cannabis cultivation. Throughout his career, he has led operations and facility development across multiple national brands, including roles as COO at Dual Draft Integrated Airflow, Exec. VP at urban-gro, and VP of Facilities Management at Vireo Growth.Through his firm Doherty Agriculture, Mark focuses on turning underperforming cultivation assets using his signature People, Plants, Profits framework—treating each facility as a living, breathing machine to drive efficiency, consistency, and profitability. He is known for combining deep technical expertise with practical leadership to elevate both.If you’d like to connect with Mark, please email him at [email protected] is an AgTech company specializing in intelligent lighting solutions for commercial cultivation. Their systems combine advanced LED lighting, centralized remote power technology, and the GROWHub control platform to give growers precise control over environment, energy use, and crop performance. Built for scale, TSRgrow helps cultivation facilities improve consistency, reduce operational complexity, and maximize efficiency from canopy to harvest.Visit TSRgrow at www.tsrgrow.com.Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast to receive upcoming episodes.