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HORTICULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BHT203

Duration (approx) 100 hours
Qualification To obtain formal documentation the optional exam(s) must be completed which will incur an additional fee of £30. Alternatively, a letter of completion may be requested.

Home Study Horticulture Resource Management

This broad ranging course provides a sound introduction to management in horticulture.

Skilled horticulture managers are in demand to develop strategies for enterprises in the horticulture industry.

Gain skills to work in both private and public business enterprises.

Developed specifically to nurture horticulture business skills and resource management skills to ensure a successful horticulture business.

Learn from knowledgeable industry experts.

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HORTICULTURE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COURSE 

This broad ranging course provides a sound introduction to management in horticulture.

It covers planning for efficient and economical management in horticulture including such things as: work procedures and programming, budgeting and staff supervision. The course is relevant to all areas of horticulture including nurseries, parks, private gardens, market gardening and fruit production.

COURSE CONTENT
There are ten lessons in this course as follows:

  1. Horticultural Business Structure
    • The legal structure of business
    • Business names
    • Starting a business
    • What services can be offered
    • What is required to offer horticulture services
    • Marketing guide
  2. Management Practices
    • The role of management
    • Business planning
    • Preparing a horticultural business plan
  3. Horticulture and the Law
    • Quality management systems
    • Contracts and offers
    • Consumer law
    • Structure of small businesses
    • Legislation of small businesses
    • The law and business
    • Protection of consumers
    • Stamp duty
  4. Staff Management
    • Managing staff
    • Managing as a leader
    • Interviewing, recruitment and staff induction
    • Staff training
    • Visual and resource for induction and training
    • Job descriptions
  5. Supervision
    • Role of the supervisor
    • Supervision
    • Communication with employees
    • Communication Barriers
    • Improving leadership skills
    • Giving directives and introducing change
  6. Financial management
    • Budgets
    • Financial assistance
    • Taxation
    • Liquidity
    • Costing guide
    • Billing
    • Summary of market for landscape services
    • Ways of buying business
  7. Improving Plant Varieties
    • Where cultivars come from
    • Plant variety rights (PVR)
    • Owning plant names
    • Genetics and plant breeding
    • Self-pollinating species
  8. Productivity and Risk
    • Improving productivity
    • Problem solving and decision making
    • Group decision making and problem solving
    • The planning process
    • Time management
    • Planning expenses
    • Monitoring, evaluating and regulating the progress
    • Sensitivity Analysis
    • Insuring the business
  9. Managing Physical Resources
    • Managing equipment, buildings and machinery
    • Using flow chart to improve productivity
    • Record keeping
    • Filing
    • Keeping records of business activities
  10. Developing a Horticultural Business Plan
    • Developing a business
    • Managing business growth
    • Business plan for nursery
    • Marketing guide for gardening ana landscape businesses
     

Examples of things you may be doing:

  • Compare the organisational structures of different horticultural enterprises.
  • Determine the value of a business plan to a horticultural business.
  • Determine the significance of consumer law to horticultural business.
  • Determine the duties of different supervisors, in a specific horticultural enterprise.
  • Describe how a budget is applied to managing a specific horticultural enterprise.
  • Determine the criteria for selecting staff to work in an horticultural enterprise.
  • Explain the system for controlling the collection of royalties on a plant which is covered by plant variety rights.
  • Monitor and recommend improvements to a specified work task in a horticultural enterprise.

SCOPE OF HORTICULTURAL ENTERPRISE
Horticultural enterprises can be small or large, and diverse or narrow, in the scope of what they offer in services or products. These may include any of the following, and more:

Lawn Mowing - normally done on a weekly or fortnightly basis. It may include trimming edges on each cut, on every second or third cut, or not at all. It may be a "quality cut" service, for top quality lawns using top quality cylinder mowers. Or it may be a basic cutting service using standard rotary type mower.

 

Pruning - this service may be provided as part of a routine maintenance contract which you attend to every week, fortnight or month. Pruning is also done as a once off, or once a year job.

 

Tree Lopping - removing unwanted branches from trees (they might be dangerous, getting too near a building, or simply not wanted by the customer).  This is normally a once off job only. You need special equipment and skill to do this safely and properly and correct education and training.

 

Tree Surgery - a highly specialized area of tree work requiring more skill and experience than tree lopping.

 

Weeding - sometimes a one-off job, more commonly part of a regular maintenance contract.

 

Pest Control - normally involves identifying and spraying to control insects, fungal or other pests.

 

Chemical Weed Control - implementing a spraying program to control weeds.

 

Lawn Renovation - repairing and improving an existing lawn; involves such things as topdressing, weed control, thatch removal, aerating, feeding, etc.

 

General Garden Maintenance - employed on a weekly or fortnightly basis for a set number of hours to do all the jobs needed to care for the garden i.e. feeding, watering, weeding, lawn mowing, pest control, pruning, etc.

 

Rubbish Removal - often included in a gardening job and often expected! Many gardeners do not offer this service, others do. You should be clear to indicate whether you do, or do not do, remove rubbish.

 

Garden Renovation - normally a one-off job involving weeding, pruning, spraying, replacing dead plants, additional planting and minor landscaping.

 

Landscaping - usually a more major contract than other garden services. Involves such things as earthworks, rock work, drainage, lawn construction, paving, planting, etc. In some countries you now need to have a license to do landscape construction. Licensing is generally administered by a building licensing authority/branch, or something similar.

 

Nursery - propagating plants for sale; this may be a small backyard operation or larger venture; also buying in and re-selling plants.

 

Market Gardening - growing vegetables, herbs or cut flowers in glasshouses, hydroponics or in the open ground.

 

Fruit Growing – orchard or berry farming.

 

Viticulture - grape growing for fresh or dried fruit or wine.

 

What This Course Can Do For You

This course is applicable to all areas of horticulture from tree surgery to garden maintenance, and landscaping to horticulture retail. All businesses use resources, be it equipment, products or manpower. All businesses must run efficiently if they are to survive and thrive. Take this course to learn how to best run or manage any horticulture-related enterprise. The course is ideally suited to those working in:

  • Horticulture Management
  • General Horticulture
  • Landscaping
  • Nursery Management
  • Garden Retail
  • Garden Maintenance Services
  • Turf Industry
  • Arboriculture

 

 

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Courses can be started anytime from anywhere in the world!

Meet some of our academics

Dr Lynette Morgan (Horticulture)Lyn worked with Rivendell Mushroom Farm between 1986 and 88; and then as a research assistant and technician for a few years while undertaking university studies. In 1991 she graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of Horticultural Science (Hons) which covered broad horticultural sciences, as well as nursery vegetable and fruit production. Throughout the 90's she worked in both the nursery industry and horticultural crop production, before establishing her own business "Suntec" which has built an exceptional international reputation providing consulting services; particularly in hydroponic crop production. Dr Morgan has a broad expertise in horticulture and crop production, and a keen appreciation of the global scene. She travels widely as a partner in Suntec Horticultural Consultants, and has clients in central America, the USA, Caribbean, South East Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.
Rosemary Davies (Horticulturist)A graduate of Burnley Horticultural College; Rosemary has over 30 years of experience in horticulture. Her training was extensive covering both amenity and production horticulture; developing pactical skills and a deep understanding of the sciences that underpin horticulture. She worked with the Agriculture Dept in Victoria as a consultant or advisor to both farmers and home gardeners. Over the years, her experience has been as broad as her training, working on radio with ABC radio, a garden editor (with several major publications) and as a teacher, writer, garden designer and consultant. Rosemary has led several garden tours to the UK and Europe. In 1999 Rosemary was BPW Bendigo Business Woman of the Year and is one of the founders and the Patron, of the Friends of the Bendigo Botanic gardens. She has written six gardening books and collaborated on many others. Rosemary brings a unique personality, knowledge base and passion to the school; an an infectious love of horticulture in support of our students. She holds a B.Sc Hort,, Dip.Hort.Sc., Dip. Advertising & Marketing and B.Ed.
Yvonne Sharpe (Horticulturist)Started gardening in 1966, studied a series of horticulture qualifications throughout the 1980's and 90's, culminating in an RHS Master of Horticulture. Between 89 and 1994, she worked teaching in horticultural therapy. Founded the West Herts Garden Association in 1990 and exhibited at Chelsea Flower Show in 1991. In 1994, Yvonne joined the staff at Oaklands College, and between 1996 and 2000 was coordinator for all Amenity Horticulture courses at that college. Since leaving Oakland she has been active as a horticultural consultant, retail garden centre proprietor and sessional lecturer (across many colleges in southern England). In 2000, she also completed a Diploma in Management.


Check out our eBooks

Commercial HydroponicsThe Commercial Hydroponics ebook is ideal for students, professional horticulturalists and those who want to build a strong foundation knowledge in hydroponics. The commercial hydroponics ebook explains how to set up a commercial hydroponics system, including growing techniques and equipment that you will need. The topics covered in this book include an introduction to hydroponics, site considerations, alternatives, plant nutrition, nutrient film technique culture, rockwool culture, aggregate culture, other techniques, hydroponics equipment, greenhouse operation, plant culture in hydroponics, Vegetable crops, berry and other fruit crops, flower crops, other crops, managing a commercial hydroponic farm and a troubleshooting guide.
Getting Work in HorticultureExplore what it is like to work in horticulture; how diverse this industry is, how to get a start, and how to build a sustainable, long term and diverse career that keeps your options broad, so you can move from sector to sector as demand and fashion changes across your working life.
Professional Practice for ConsultantsExplore becoming a consultant. This ebook contains chapters on how to be a consultant, packaging your services, delivering the services, building your resources, finding the work and getting the job, planning and ethics.
Project ManagementThis ebook is designed to help improve your capacity to manage any type of project in any type of industry. It may be read as a stand- alone book; used as something to refer to during the process of managing projects, or used as a complementary reference to help enhance the overall learning experience when studying a project management course.