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Crops Courses

Course Listings

Commercial Vegetable Production

Work in the Vegetable Production Industry  or Set up a Vegetable Growing Farm

Develop skills and knowledge required for commercial vegetable production, including a variety of production methods.

This is a very sound 100 hour foundation course in general vegetable production. Note: Do not undertake Commercial Organic Vegetable Growing as well as this. The two courses do overlap)

Who should do this course:

  • Vegetable growers, farm managers, farm workers
  • Vegetable enthusiasts, breeders, nurserymen, seedsmen
  • Suppliers of services and materials to the vegetable industry
  • Anyone involved otherwise in the vegetable industry from marketing to processing.

Crops I (Outdoor Plant Production)

All You Need to Know About Growing Crops

This comprehensive introduction to crop growing covers a huge amount of ground. Learn about different types of crop systems, how to establish and nurture crops, and techniques used in traditional and organic growing systems. 

This course includes ten lessons covering site preparation, crop selection and soil management. It includes growing advice on a wide variety of different crops such as cut flowers, vegetables, berries, nuts, herbs, tree fruits, and some less widely grown crops.

Ideal for managing a market garden, orchard, small or large farm, hobby farm, and other enterprises.

This is an Online Course but you can study by distance education using paper based notes or have the course burnt to zip drive

 

Hydroponics I

Study Hydroponics - A Great Introductory Course!

Develop a sound understanding of the theory and practice of hydroponics.

This is a course for growers, farm workers, hydroponic shop staff, horticulturists or anyone else seeking to lay a sound foundation in hydroponic growing.

This course introduces you to a wide range of systems, simple and complex, and how to grow many different types of horticulturally valuable crops, such as cut flowers and vegetables.

LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS!

 

WHAT IS HYDROPONICS?

Hydroponics is the art of growing plants without soil. It is the perfect way to avoid heavy, back breaking work, such as digging. Pests, diseases and weeds are generally much easier to control. Over the past few decades hydroponics has proven an ideal method for both keen amateur gardeners and commercial growers looking for an alternative way of producing plants.

Irrigation - Crops


Water is a precious and often scarce resource. Using it effectively can make all the difference to whether a crop is profitable or not. This ten lesson course develops an understanding of how plants use water and how to deliver it more effectively to the plant. Learn about the design, installation, maintenance, operation and evaluation of simple irrigation systems.

 

This course is similar to BHT210 and BAG213, but focuses on irrigation systems for row crops (eg. vegetables & cut flowers) and orchards.

Mushroom Production

Learn how to Grow Mushrooms -on a Farm or at Home

Ever wanted to grow mushrooms and didn’t know where to start?

Here is a comprehensive 8 lesson course covering how to grow mushrooms on either a small or large scale. Emphasis is placed on the Agaricus species (the Champignon), though other commercially important edible fungi are also considered. Growing, harvesting, marketing, storage, pest and diseases and even ways of cooking and using mushrooms are covered.

Qualification -Advanced Certificate In Applied Management (Crops)

Train to be a Farm Manager, or for a career in the Horticultural Production Industries.
This accredited course, covers both the skills required to manage a horticultural farm (eg. Market Garden, Orchard), and also to developing knowledge in the identification, growing, processing and marketing crops and crop related products. This course involves eight units, plus a 200 hr workplace project. These are the five core units common to all streams of this Advanced Certificate (ie. Communications, Management, Business Operations, Office Practices and Marketing), and three specialist units of study relating to crop production. This course is internationally accredited through I.A.R.C.

Qualification -Advanced Diploma In Horticulture (Crops)

Lay a solid foundation for a career in the Horticultural Crops Industry

  • As a grower, manager, farmer
  • As a technician, consultant
  • In allied trades (marketing, business or management

This course is flexible, intense and broad based; offering opportunity to focus on crops which you have a greater interest in or need to learn about. It's equivalent to what would be 3 years of study at many colleges or universities. There is a very strong emphasis on "applied studies"; developing your capacity to apply science, management and horticultural knowledge to real world problems of the world both today and into the future.

This course is internationally accredited through I.A.R.C.

Qualification -Certificate In Horticulture (Crops)

 

For people working, or intending to work, in orchards or market gardens. This course is similar to other VHT002 horticulture certificates in its introductory (core) units, but devotes 50% of the course to topics specifically related to crop production.

The Core Units comprise fifteen lessons and are divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction to Plants -Taxonomy, plant families, pressing plants, basic botany.
2. Plant Culture -Planting, potting, plant selection, pruning, irrigation, tools and machinery.
3. Soils and Nutrition -Soil structure, chemistry, nutrition, potting media.
4. Plant Identification and Use -Seed harvesting and storage, germination treatments, cuttings, etc.
5. Pests, Diseases and Weeds -Identification and treatment (chemical and non-chemical)

Accredited through International Accreditation & recognition Council

Soil Management - Crops

This course is similar to our other soil management courses, but relates specifically to crops.

Soil is the foundation for profitable horticulture. There are many things that can be wrong with your soil.. Poor nutrition, chemical imbalance, structural problems such as drainage, and lack of microbial life  are some examples of problems that can beset your soil. Often minor and relatively inexpensive treatments can make a huge difference to productivity, but the problems need to be identified first, and that requires a solid understanding of soil theory and management practice. Learn about soil properties and requirements in agriculture, and how to apply that knowledge at a management level. Topics covered include the chemical and physical properties of soil, soil testing, soil management, earthworks, land degradation, and container growing. “Whether you are living or working on a grazing property or work in the area of land restoration, the study of soil management goes hand-in-hand with the study of pasture management. This is a good course that covers the topic effectively” M. Cullen - Dip. Landcare & Natural Resources, Assoc. Dip. SMI, B. Teaching.

Online Course -or alternatively, study by Distance education using paper based notes or a CD