About Our Presenters

Blake Thaxton is a former Johnny's Commercial Sales Representative for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. First with University Extension, Blake has been working with Southern growers for many years to counteract the heat by providing guideance on variety selection and cultural best practices.

Charlotte McGee is a former Johnny's Commercial Sales Representative for the Southwest as well as Texas, Ohio, and Tennessee. Charlotte's extensive experience includes growing greens in the heat as a former farm manager in Central Texas.

Wesley Palmer is Johnny's Commercial Sales Representative for the Southeastern U.S. and U.S. Island Territories. Having grown up in Georgia, Wes is intimately familiar with the heat-associated challenges that southern growers face, and years of farming in the Virgin Islands have added to his experience with heat tolerance in vegetable production.

Q&A Panel Guests

Daniel Yoder is a Vegetables Product Technician on Johnny's Research Team. Daniel coordinates the annual lettuce trials at Johnny’s Research Farm in Maine, collects data and analyzes results, and is also involved in product development and education.

Rachel Katz is also a Vegetables Product Technician on Johnny's Research Team. In addition to coordinating the annual baby leaf and greens trials at Johnny's Research Farm with Product Manager Brenna Chase, Rachel collects data and analyzes results to help inform variety selections, product development, and education.

Welcome to the Learning Resources page for our Webinar on Lettuce & Specialty Greens for Southern Growers, a list of information from the webinar plus additional educational materials on this topic from Johnny's research team.

OVERVIEW: Growing lettuce and greens in high heat is not easy. Join Blake, Charlotte, and Wes, Johnny's Commercial Sales Representatives for Southern growers, as they share solutions for heat-related issues, addressing common problems, diverse production systems, and useful tools and supplies.

The team also provides details on lettuce and specialty greens varieties that are well-adapted and proven performers in high-heat settings.

Get grower insights on successful production from individual farmers growing these crops in Southern regions, as well as findings from a recent University of Georgia lettuce trial.

• Bad Goat Greens (Wetumpka, AL)
• Hearts of Harvest (Athens, GA)
• Heifer Ranch USA (Perryville, AR)
• Rose Creek Farms (Selmer, TN)

Following the presentation, Vegetable Product Technicians Daniel Yoder and Rachel Katz join Blake, Charlotte, and Wes to answer your questions about what to do when conditions get torrid or sultry!

The entire presentation runs approximately 1 hour, followed by the Q&A session.