COURSE STRUCTURE
The course comprises 8 lessons, as follows:
1. Introduction
- Ways of growing vegetables
- Understanding plant names
- Resource guide
2. Cultivation and Planting
- Different growing methods (organic gardening, hydroponics, permaculture etc)
- Vertical gardening and its types
- Planting methods (seeds, transplanting or offsets, crowns tubers etc)
- Understanding soil and nutrition
- Soil pH
- Composting
3. Review of Major Vegetable Varieties
- Conditions favourable for planting
- Cultivation practices of commonly grown vegetables
- Brassicas (Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Radish, turnip etc)
- Legumes (Beans, Pea etc)
- Lettuce
- Onion
- Potatoes
4. Pest, Disease & Weed Control
- Natural control methods
- Cultural control method (mulching, crop rotation, resistant varieties etc)
- Physical control methods (traps, repellent devices etc)
5. Hydroponic and Greenhouse Growing
- Growing vegetables in greenhouses
- Type of greenhouse
- Greenhouse problems
- Hydroponics
- Type of hydroponic growing systems
- Nutrient solutions and pH
- Cultivation of tomato
6. Lesser Grown Varieties and Herbs
- Crop scheduling
- Cultivation of less commonly grown varieties
- Amaranth
- Artichoke
- Asparagus
- Cassava
- Chicory
- Common Mint
- Dandelion
- Endive
- Fennel
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Horseradish
- Okra
- Rhubarb
- Yams
- Sweet potato
- Taro and many more
7. Irrigation
- The do’s and don’ts of watering
- Ways to reduce water needs
- Different watering systems
- Designing water system
- Micro-irrigation
- Cultivation of other vegetables
8, Harvesting, Storing & Using Vegetables
- Harvesting of different vegetables
- Storing vegetables
- Preserving and processing
- Bottling
- Pickles
- Sauces
- Freezing
- Blanching
- Methods of freezing different vegetables
WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE
- Compile a resource file of organisations related to home vegetable growing
- Compile reviews of sixteen different vegetables suitable for growing at home
- Carry out basic soil tests on two different soils
- Obtain or make up a propagating mix
- Make a vegetable garden
- Identify weed species in a vegetable garden and suggest control methods
- Make notes about pests and diseases in a home vegetable garden
- contact several chemical suppliers and obtain
brochures or technical information sheets on weedicides and pesticides
appropriate for use on vegetable crops
- contact a few greenhouse companies and obtain both literature and current prices
- Either write to or visit a company (or companies) which supply irrigation equipment. Obtain catalogues, brochures, etc
- Try drying, bottling or freezing a vegetable you have not preserved before.
- List 20 different vegetables with information about their culture and harvest
Grow Vegetables for Food, Decoration and Amenity in your Home Garden
The
most obvious reason to grow vegies or herbs is to harvest and use them;
but that isn’t the only reason. Vegetables and herbs can also make a
very attractive looking garden!
Using herbs and vegies for better visual impact is simply a matter of
plant selection and arrangement. In the past, when almost every house
was on a quarter-acre block, vegetables were grown in separate beds in
the backyard, with each variety planted in neatly spaced rows. These
days few householders have the space or time to devote to this style of
gardening, so it makes sense to grow edible plants alongside ornamental
varieties. For example, a bed of edible and ornamental plants could
include perennial lettuces as edging plants, climbing peas on tripods,
clumps of rainbow chard and leafy parsley for colour and texture, backed
by a screen of sweet corn. There are endless possibilities of
combinations – a task made easier each season’s release of exciting new
compact and colourful varieties.
Vegetables and herbs can also be used to improve the backyard
environment. Planting green manures and using organic mulches and
composts will improve soil fertility and help to control erosion.
Problem soils, such as excessively wet or dry soils, can also be
improved by choosing varieties adapted to those conditions.
In a small but important way, growing vegetables will increase the
biodiversity of your garden – the veggie patch will be a haven for bees,
birds, lizards and other animals in need of food, water and shelter.
Can You Be Self Sufficient on an Average Home Site?
It’s possible to provide for many of your needs, but you may need to modify your expectations.
If you want every luxury that modern society can offer, then you are
going to need more than what your garden can give you, but if you are
prepared to be only part self sufficient or to live with less, then go
for it.
What you produce from your garden will depend on the amount of space
that you have. Obviously the larger the property, the more potential you
will have to produce a large variety of crops. Large properties can
support a range of fruit trees, vines, vegetables, herbs, grains and
even hay and straw, as well as animals and chickens. The smaller the
property, the more thought you will need to give to what you do and
don’t grow. Ask yourself what would I like to produce? Then take it from
there.
What can you make using produce from your garden?
Turning the produce into preserves and other usable
items can be as much fun as the actual growing. For those who are
looking to be self sufficient this is an extension of growing your own
food, and a necessity to help you through winter and early spring, when
fresh produce can start to dwindle.
You could consider making the following from your own produce:
- Preserves
- Chutney
- Dried foods
- Oil
- Soap
- Cloth
- Fertiliser / compost
- Mulch
- Seed (for next year’s planting)
- Fruit juices
- Wine
ACS student comments:
Great course, tutor was really good with explaining and
marking. [She] gave me new ideas for my garden and hints for it too.
Learning so many new things about growing different vegetables, how to
grow them and what to do. All about soils and garden plots.
Kathryn Crossfield - Home Vegetable Growing
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