|
COURSE STRUCTURE
The course comprises 12 lessons as follows:
1. Introduction
- Organic Growing and it's definitions
- Influential people in the organic movement
- Different ways to grow -permaculture, biodynamics, etc.
- Organic certification
- Transition to organic production
- Management Plan
- Industry awareness
- Resources and Networking
- Understanding Plant Names
2. Cultivation and Planting
- Cultivation methods
- Crop rotation
- Green manures
- No dig growing
- Planting
- Sowing vegetable seed outside
- Germinating indoors
- Transplanting seedlings
- Crowns, offsets, tubers
- Crop scheduling
- Tillage, Ripping, Harrowing, Dis ploughing, etc
- Tractors
3. Soils and Nutrition
- Physical soil properties -profile, texture, etc
- Chemical properties -pH, cation exchange capacity, buffering etc.
- Soil water, air, temperature
- Humus and Organic matter
- Nutrient elements
- Organic Fertilizers
- Animal manure
- Liquid feeds in an organic system
- Rock dusts
- Diagnosing nutritional problems
4. Soil Management
- Importance of soil
- Cultivation techniques
- Cover crops
- Green manures
- Nitrogen fixation
- Rhizobium bacteria
- Mycorrhizae
- Composting
- Hot heaps vs cold
5. Review of Major Vegetable Varieties
- Getting the best from an organic vegetable plot
- Vegetable Directory -Beans, Beetroot, Broccoli, Sprouts, Cabbage, Capsicum, Carrot, Cauliflower, Corn, Celery, Eggplant. Lettuce, Onion, Pak
- Choi, Parsnip, Pea, Potato, Pumpkin, Marrow, Squash, Radish, Spinach Turnip
- Transplanting Guide
6. Pests and Disease
- Integrated Pest Management
- Allowable Inputs
- Understanding Pest and Disease
- Understanding Other Plant Problems
- Lifecycles
- Review of common problems
- Companion Planting
7. Seed
- Organic seed
- Seed production preventing cross-pollination
- Choosing seed plants for vegetable crops
- Collecting seeds
- Cleaning and storing seed
- Seed germination
8. Greenhouse Growing
- Types of greenhouses
- Framing and covering materials
- What greenhouse is appropriate
- Siting a greenhouse
- Benching
- Greenhouse hygiene
- Problems with greenhouses
- Other structures -cold frames, shade houses
- Environmental controls
- Heating, Cooling
- Controlling light
- Growing media
- Fertigation in organic systems
- Carbon dioxide enrichment
- Irrigation Methods
- Crops Directory -Tomatoes, Cucumber, Melons, Zucchini
9. Lesser Grown Varieties and Herbs
- Growing herbs
- Review of many culinary herbs-Alliums, Corriander, Mints, Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Pasley, Savory, Thyme, etc.
- Review of lesser grown vegetables -Amaranth, Artichoke, Asparagus, Cassava, Chicory, Dandelion, Garlic, Endive, Ginger, Horseradish,
- Chicory, Mint, Leek, Okra, Pigface, Rhubarb, Sweet Potato, Warrigal Greens, Taro, Yams, etc
10. Irrigation
- Irrigation objectives and feasibility
- Soil and water
- Understanding classes of soil moisture
- Soil and transpiration
- Field capacity
- Permanent Wilting point
- Tensiometers
- When to irrigate
- Scheduling irrigation
- When to irrigate
- Cyclic watering
- Pulse watering
- Plant root depth
- Irrigation type -flood, sprinkler, trickle etc.
- Portable, permenant or travelling sprinklers
- Sprinkler spacings
11. Mulching and Weeds
- Understanding mulch
- Types of mulch materials
- Rules for using mulch
- Living mulch
- Weed Management
- Preventing weeds
12. Harvesting and Marketing
- Harvesting techniques
- Post-Harvest quality considerations
- Harvesting hints
- Post-harvest treatment of vegetables -field processing
- Cooling
- Quality standards
- Monitoring and reviewing
- Marketing
- Business capabilities
- Market research
- Target marketing
- Understanding economics
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
On successful completion of the course you should be able to:
- Discuss general horticulture and plant taxonomy principles.
- Describe a range of cultivation and planting techniques.
- Explain soil properties, and their relationship to organic plant production.
- Diagnose basic soil nutrient deficiencies.
- Discus major and minor commercial vegetable varieties.
- Describe a variety of pest and disease management principles.
- Explain the use of seed in commercial organic agriculture, including storage, viability, germination, genetic purity, and hybridisation.
- Discuss the principles of greenhouse growing.
- Describe a variety of irrigation methods suitable for organic vegetable production.
- Explain organic weed control methods.
- Explain issues relating to harvesting and marketing of vegetables.
What the Course Covers
Examples of some of the activities you will do include:
- Compile reference lists of vegetable varieties, industry contacts, organic fertilisers and pest control products, etc.
- Evaluate the merits and deficiencies of agricultural equipment and products.
- Build a no-dig garden and monitor its progress.
- Classify soils.
- Evaluate the role of soil organisms.
- Identify nutrient deficiencies such as nitrogen deficiency.
- Build composts.
- Evaluate seed sources and plant varieties.
- Perform sowing and germination trials.
- Evaluate the merits and deficiencies of greenhouse growing.
- Evaluate the principles of irrigation.
- Perform mulching trials.
- Evaluate pricing, packaging and presentation of retail vegetables.
Working as an Organic Vegetable Grower
It is amazing how little land you might need to start out as a commercial organic vegetable grower. A "small farm" can often be started up in a backyard or on a half acre block of land leased near your home. Small operations like this may not be big enough to make a fortune, but they can be:
- a viable starting point (you can move and expand later), or
- a great small business to supplement your existing income.
When you start, you may sell produce at a local weekend market, even sharing a stand with someone else; or you might find some local retailers to supply.
Crops are most often grown by cultivating soil and forming it into long mounded rows (row cropping), then planting seed or seedlings on the raised rows. The long "ditches" between each mound are then used to access the plants. Sometimes vegetables are planted over a broad acreage (broad-acre crops), without mounds. Some growers may grow vegetables in a greenhouse, in order to get crops earlier or later in the season, when you can sell them for a higher price.
Certain market garden crops are more suited to broad-acre growing, where soil preparation may be less involved, and large machinery (often specially designed) can be used to plant, cultivate and harvest crops on a large scale. Techniques and equipment have been developed to grow potatoes, tomatoes, peas and carrots, along with some other market garden crops this way. The people who work in this large scale form of production will need to understand and operate expensive equipment. They may be growing tens or hundreds of acres of the same crop at the same time (often under contract to supply produce to a processor).
Smaller scale market growers may grow crops that are not needed or suited to growing on a large scale. Niche and gourmet crops may require less space, but offer a higher return per acre. Working such crops on a small scale might not be viable with big expensive machinery; but for a "start up" small size organic farm, such crops may offer a niche opportunity.
A market gardener needs to plant seed and/or plants, fertilise and water the growing plants, inspect the crops progress and respond to any health or other problems that arise (e.g. weeding, pest control, protection from extreme dry, cold, wet, etc.). They need to identify the right time to harvest, then harvest the plant and treat it properly after harvest (e.g. storing at the right temperature). The job can also involve delivering the plant to market, and perhaps selling it.
Where Do They Work?
Market gardeners who provide vegetables to a processing plant will need to be growing produce in a location where delivery to the processor is easy. This means transport facilities need to be close to the farm, and ideally the farm should be in the same locality or region as the factory.
Market gardeners who supply fresh produce to market will do best if they can grow close to where the end user lives. The cost of land in urban areas usually prohibits the farm being in an urban area (unless it is very intensive and productive farming), but often they will be located on the fringes of urban centres.
Certain products though, may not be able to be grown where they are needed - due to climatic conditions or because the grower wants a greater sense of control over the growing environment. In these cases, a vegetable might be grown in a greenhouse, or to produce an “out of season crop”. It may be more expensive to get to the user, but it may attract a much higher selling price.
Opportunities
Organic growers may need seasonal workers to help harvest a crop, or do other jobs at a particular time of year; but might not employ permanent staff. Small operation often enlist family members or local youth; while larger farms may need to employ permanent labour.
Large scale farms, or technologically advanced farming (e.g. organic hydroponics, aquaponics, greenhouse production, controlled environment mushroom production), can be lucrative business opportunities. There are market gardeners who have become very wealthy; and for the “smart farmer” opportunities exist, but those opportunities are more likely to be as a self-employed farmer than working for someone else.
Some market gardeners will grow into the job, because it was their family business; others may study and gain a job with a larger, established enterpise.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why grow vegetables organically?
- Work with the environment - organic vegetables are healthier to grow
- Healthier for the consumer - naturally gown, no nasty chemicals so they are healthier to eat and they encourage a sustainable environment
- Organically grown vegetables can command higher prices than those produced by regular intensive crop production.
- Explore the possibilities for an exciting, environmentally friendly and financially rewarding way of earning a living.
What Is Needed to Grow Organic Vegetables?
To grow organic vegetables or other market garden produce you need:
- Broad foundation knowledge of organic plant culture including soil, nutrition and water management, weed control, pest and disease management, etc.
- Knowledge of the specific requirements for growing different species or cultivars you choose to grow.
- Capacity to select cultivars that are productive and appropriate for the growing season.
- Skill to operate machinery and equipment, and apply safe and productive work practices.
- An understanding of harvest and post-harvest handling practices.
- If you are to be self-employed you need business and marketing skills.
Why Study with ACS?
Design your own learning pathway.
Study at your own pace, from anywhere, at any time.
Receive prompt, expert support from our team of committed and friendly tutors.
Your learning is our priority. We are flexible and adaptable to meet your educational needs!
Enrolling is easy - just go to the top of this page and select your study method and payment option.
If you have any questions about studying with ACS, or want to know more about any of our courses, get in touch with our specialist tutors today. They will be happy to answer your questions and look at different study options to fit in with your goals.
|