Learn how to Garden at Home

Be the Gardening Guru of your Street

This huge course covers everything a home gardener needs to know to become a gardening expert. With almost 100,000 words (the size of three average books), plus expert tutor support, this course provides a unique and well-structured opportunity to develop a very sound understanding of gardening.

• The online and CD version also contain large numbers of automated self assessment tests.
• 8 units each comprising 2 or 3 lessons,
• Each lesson involves both reading and practical work.

COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Basic Plant Identification & Culture.  Plant names, planting, transplanting, tools & equipment.

2. Soils & Nutrition.  Soil structure, nutrition, composting, soil building, drainage, fertilizers.

3. Pests & Weeds.  Identifying problems, sprays, biological control, weed identification & control.

4. Landscaping.  How to design a garden, rockeries, native gardens, traditional (European style) home gardens.

5. Propagation.  Propagating materials, seed, cuttings.

6. Lawns.  Turf varieties, laying a lawn, lawn care.

7. Indoor Gardening.  Hardy indoor plants, container growing.

8. The Kitchen Garden.  Vegetable gardening, fruit trees, herbs.

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

• Identify plant health problems and know treatments.

• Know the plant naming system and how plants are classified.

• Understand the effect of soil structure and texture on plant growth.

• Understand plant terminology and planting methods.

• Understand plant pruning requirements and methods

• Know plant nutrition requirements

• Understand soil conditions and when they require improvement.

• Recognise a range of pests and diseases and the methods of control.

• Recognise a range of weeds and know various control methods.

• Know a range of garden styles and the history behind them.

• Have knowledge of landscape construction techniques.

• Understand the elements and processes of landscape design.

• Understand various propagating techniques

• Propagate plants by various methods

• Understand the soil preparation and requirements to establish or renovate a lawn

• Know lawn maintenance requirements.

• Understand requirements, including environmental and nutritional aspects of growing plants indoors (including hydroponics and greenhouses).

• Know how to select plants suited to growth indoors

• Develop knowledge of vegetable growing procedures and requirements.

• Have knowledge of a range of fruits and berries suited to the home garden

• Have knowledge of a range of commonly grown herbs and flowers

 Tips for Better Water Use

Water is a precious commodity. In fact, it is becoming more precious than ever before. Gone are the days when you could stand there watering your plants with your hose on full bore and not be overcome with guilt. To do this nowadays would be to incur the wrath of any conscientious citizen, never mind the expense.

 

Water bills can be painfully high, water restrictions can limit usage, and building more dams is not only expensive but it can destroy native landscapes and severely affect the distribution of endangered species.

 

Sustainable water management isn’t only about us collecting our own water and cutting down on what we use from the mains supply; it is also concerned with when and how we use it, and getting the best value from what we use.

 

Reduce What You Use
We can’t reduce the amount of water we drink, but we can share bath water or take shorter showers. We can turn off the tap when brushing our teeth and be sensitive to how long we leave a tap turned on whenever we use it. We can also all use less water to achieve the same thing in our gardens. For example, water gardens and swimming pools can lose a lot of water through evaporation which can be easily reduced:

• Fountains and waterfalls increase evaporation - so turn them off!
• Heated water evaporates faster - so turn the solar heater down or off!
• Wind increases evaporation – use windbreaks!
• Direct sunlight increases evaporation (also promotes algal growth) - so shade the pool! Use a pool blanket.

 

Apply Water the Best Way

• Don't have sprinklers set up to water indiscriminately - target specific plants.
• Use drip irrigation rather than sprinklers.
• Don’t use fine mist settings on hand held hoses - mist blows away in the wind and evaporates.
• Don't use mist sprinklers – they also waste water.
• Water close to the ground - water travels further and longer in the air and can be blown off target or evaporate.
• Keep water off plant foliage - wet leaves can promote fungal diseases, and also roots absorb more water than leaves.
• Try not to waste water by inadvertently watering walls, pathways, decks and the like.

 

The Time Factor

Time plays a pivotal role in water usage.

• Time of day - watering in the cool of the evening in summer means less water is lost by transpiration from plants and through evaporation from soil.
• Length of time – don't overwater plants. Learn to observe plant leaves for wilting and test soil moisture. Never assume you need to water.
• Timing - there may be little sense watering plants if there has been a heavy downfall the day before. Turn off automatic irrigation systems if they are set to come on.
• Adjust to the temperature – you don’t simply water more on a hot day, you water more when the plants need it. That may or may not be a hot day.
• Adjust to the weather - don’t water when it is windy.
• Use automatic systems properly - set watering times and days to suit the seasons. Don't just leave them the same throughout the year.
• Install a rain sensor - these are a great addition to automatic irrigation systems. They will turn them off during periods of rain.
• Rate of flow - apply a small flow of water over a longer period. It soaks in deeper and spreads out less.

 

 

Make Your Soil Water-Friendly

 

Some soils repel water, some absorb and hold a lot of water in reserve; but others only hold small amounts. Water can be lost by running off the surface of hard clay soils and it can escape by rapidly draining through sandy soils. Soils with greasy organic particles can repel water much like greaseproof paper, but the right type of decomposed organic particles will act like a sponge allowing the soil to soak up lots of water and hold it. These soils don’t need to be watered as often, and they don’t waste water as much.

 

Another option is to add water crystals to the soil. These are particularly useful in containers. Crystals absorb water and release it slowly over a long period of time, so if you forget to water or go on holiday your plants have a better chance of survival. If you don't like the idea of crystals, wetting agents are a good alternative – they will rewet water repellent soils and allow them to absorb water. They are diluted and watered onto the soil and will last for around six months.

 

 

Here is what our Students have said:

: "This is a great course for anyone interested in plants. There is lots of information in each manual, and plenty of time to do each lesson to give it your best shot. The manuals are really easy to understand, and the lessons are set out clearly. My tutor is very nice, and if need be, you can ring ACS for help. There are lots of avenues for getting information. Students who really want to learn will always find a way."  Pauline Ross, Home Garden Expert