S4E42: Rosario Iacono - What a Tomato Should Be

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

CULTIVATD

Freight Farms

Key Takeaways

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

Rosario’s LinkedIn

Kasveista Website

Kasveista Instagram

Kasveista Facebook

Sponsor Info:

Cultivatd Website

Cultivatd Instagram

Cultivatd’s Twitter

Cultivatd’s Facebook

Freight Farms Website

Freight Farms Facebook

Freight Farms Twitter

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Mentioned in this episode:

2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews

2025 Precision Ag Report

2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews

2025 Precision Ag Report