Online Gardening Course

We usually think of garden maintenance as a summer priority when lawns, weeds and plants grow vigorously but even in winter a garden may deteriorate without regular maintenance.   Proper maintenance however costs both time and money. Fortunately, there are shortcuts but these require knowledge and the right materials and equipment.

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1.  Introduction  Planning and managing a garden.

• Cost of Maintenance
• Expensive and Less Expensive areas of a garden
• Planning
• Garden Checklists
• Analyzing Maintenance of Parks and Gardens
• Organising Garden Maintenance Staff

2.  Garden Furnishings and Machinery

• What Tool for What Job
• Overview of Machinery
• Mowers and How to Mow
• Aerators, Chippers, Mechanised Sprayers, Chain Saws, Brush Cutters, etc.
• Tractors
• Tool Maintenance
• Engine Troubleshooting
• Outdoor Furniture -plastic, timber, metal
• Protecting Furnishings -paints, stains, preservatives

3.  Feeding Plants

• Symptoms of Nutritional and other Problems
• Conducting an Inspection of Plants
• Soil Characteristics and identification of Soil Issues
• Review of Plant Nutrition
• Choosing the Right Fertiliser
• Diagnosing Nutritional Problems
• Improving soils

4.  Weed Control

• Nature and Scope of Weed Problems
• Natural Ways to Control Weeds -suffocation, burning, cultivation, etc
• Common groups of weeds and options for treating and recognising different weed varieties.

5.  Weedicides

• How Weeds Spread
• Types of chemicals found in weedicides and suitable weedicide
• Which chemical would control the weed.
• Chemicals and the Law

6.  Natural Pest Control

• Scope and Nature of Natural Controls
• Cultural Controls
• Mechanical Control Methods
• Physical Control Methods
• Methods for controlling selected insects
• Companion Planting
• Common Environmental Problems
• Tolerance Levels in different plants
• Biological Controls
• Natural Sprays
• Buffer Zones
• Mulching

7.  Chemical Pest Control

• Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• Ways of Applying Chemicals
• Safety with Chemicals
• Understanding Pesticides -toxicity, LD50, Persistence, etc.
• Specific chemical treatments and a summary of pesticides.

8.  Turf Management

• Common Turf Problems
• Turf Pests
• Chemical Damage
• Establishment and Maintence of Lawns
• Mowing, Fertilizing, Aeration, etc
• Turf varieties, appropriate turf for specific areas, low and high maintenance turf.

9.  Irrigation

• Importance of Water
• Water Loss from different soils & Improving Water retention
• Understanding Water Dynamics in soil
• Irrigation -types of systems
• Planning an irrigation system
• Using an irrigation system
• Controlling slippery surfaces

10.  Maintenance of Plants

• Why Prune
• Before Pruning
• Time of Pruning -does it matter?
• What to consider when pruning
• Removing Dead Wood
• Controlling shape and size
• How to prune different types of plants

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Select and maintain tools and equipment appropriately for use in garden maintenance.
• Describe maintenance requirements for garden structures such as furniture, gates and fencing.
• Maintain appropriate nutrition requirements for healthy plant growth.
• Control weeds in a garden.
• Use weedicides in a safe and effective way.
• Control pests using non chemical methods.
• Use chemical pesticides safely and efficiently.
• Maintain lawns in a healthy and well maintained condition.
• Describe options for managing water in a garden.
• Determine actions that should be taken to maintain a variety of different plants

Interested? Request a free informatiom pack today!