HOME FRUIT GROWING AHT104
COURSE STRUCTURE
The course is divided into six lessons as follows
1. Introduction
2. Soils, site preparation & planning.
3. General Cultural Practices
4. Tree Fruits
5. Nuts and Vines
6. Berries
WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE
- Contact Department of Agriculture in your state, to obtain all of the information you can within reason (eg: leaflets, booklets, details about advisory services etc) which relate to fruit growing.
- Select part of a home garden where the owner would like to grow fruit. Consider the good and bad points about the site and the suitability of different types of fruits to the situation.
- Take a sample of soil from an area you might consider growing fruit in. Using the method set out in the gardening manual provided with the course, name the soil.
- Look at the buds on the wood of three different species of fruit. Draw what you see, and label where you think the buds are fruit buds, and where you think they are vegetative buds.
- Observe the way in which fruit trees are trained or pruned in your locality.
- Visit a local hardware store, nursery or irrigation shop and look at drip and micro irrigation equipment which is for sale. Take note of the various components of these systems, how they fit together and how they work.
- Identify pests and diseases in a garden which you have visited.
- Select 4 different fruits from those you have read about which are grown in your area. For each one, research which varieties of that fruit are commonly grown, and why they are grown.
- Plan the development of a berry growing area for a backyard. Contact companies, visit nurseries and check the availability, quality and prices of berry plants you would like to grow on your site (or proposed site). Work with an imaginary site if you do not have a real life situation to deal with.
For books relating to this subject click here to visit the ACS online bookshop
To pick and eat fruit from your own garden is a wonderful, healthy and satisfying experience. This course aims to expand your capacity to do just that.
Grow an abundance of fresh fruit, berries and nuts, efficiently and economically. Preserve your harvest and trade or give away excess surplus produce to your friends and neighbours.
Learn how to raise soil fertility, choose the best fruits for your situation, and grow them in a way which controls pests and diseases without using dangerous chemicals.
Cool and warm climate fruits are covered in this course and because you, like every other student will have your own very specific desires and needs when embarking upon this course, you are also given the option to concentrate your study on the types of fruits which are of most interest to you. The course notes we provide are only part of what you will potentially learn. The experiences you have through your set tasks, and if you choose, the use of the school’s many support services can provide you with a range of varied learning experiences according to your own specific needs.
