HOME STUDY - HERB CERTIFICATE
The Certificate in Horticulture (herbs) covers the basics of horticulture in the first half of the course and moves on to herb growing in the second half. This allows you to extend your prospects - the general horticulture knowledge gained gives you greater work opportunities in the various horticulture industry sectors. This is an excellent backstop to gain experience or extra income whilst you set up your herb business.
This well established course is designed for people who are involved, or wanting to become involved in the business of herbs. It covers less horticulture and focused more strongly on herbs than the Certificate in Horticulture (Herbs). This course is more appropriate for the small business operator who not only grows herbs but also harvests and value adds (eg. perhaps producing herb products).
Students gain skills and knowledge in:
- propagation
- pest and disease control
- herbal harvests
- soils for herbs
- herb varieties
- using herbs for cooking and medicine
- garden design and more.
COURSE STRUCTURE:
There are 30 lessons as follows:
- Introduction
- Overview of Herb Varieties
- Soils & Nutrition
- Herb Culture
- Propagation Techniques
- Pests & Disease Control
- Harvesting Herbs
- Processing Herbs
- Using Herbs: Herb Crafts
- Using Herbs: Herbs for Cooking
- Using Herbs: Medicinal Herbs
- Herb Farming
- Herb Garden Design
- Constructing a Herb Garden
- Managing a Herb Nursery
- Lavenders
- Mints
- Lamiaceae Herbs
- Garlic
- The Asteraceae (Compositae) Herbs
- The Apiaceae Family
- Other Herbs
- Topiary & Hedges
- Producing Herb Products A
- Producing Herb Products B
- Producing Herb Products C
- Marketing in the Herb Industry
- Budgeting & Business Planning
- Workforce Design & Management
- 30. Major Research Project
DURATION: 600 Hours
Sample: Extract from Course Notes
Post Harvest Treatment of Culinary Herbs
To ensure that quality is maintained the following points need to be considered
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Staff Training i.e. staff need to know how the handling of the crop affects the quality and shelf-life of the product. Adequate training in relation to this is important beginning in the field at harvest, during transport to sheds, through to the sorting/grading/cleaning process and loading of transport trucks.
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Adequate staff supervision to ensure procedures are followed
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Setting realistic processing times i.e. hurried processing can increase crop damage
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Use the correct tools and equipment and storage bins to minimise damage
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Ensure the crop isn't compromised: through contaminated water during the cleaning process, soil contamination at picking or dirty storage bins and packing shed equipment.
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Ensure that product is cooled correctly.
Cooling
A crop is cooled after harvest in order to quickly reduce the field heat thereby prolonging the shelf-life of the product. The enzyme degradation in the vegetable is suppressed through cooling preventing softening. It also slows water loss, inhibits the growth of mould and bacteria as well as slowing down the ethylene production thereby also slowing ripening.
Cooling also allows the producers to store crops for short periods in order to stagger flow to market. This is particularly important for:
High yield producers; it is not beneficial to flood the market.
Smaller producers supplying local restaurants, retailers direct, or open farm (i.e. pick your own producers)
It is important to choose the correct cooling methods and equipment according to the crop produced. Not all crops require or benefit from the same cooling systems or temperatures.
Some cooling methods are faster then others and choice will also be dictated by the volume of produce that is cooled at any given time, the volume harvested in a season and also the actual packaging used. Certain types of packaging may facilitate faster cooling.
The small grower will not have the same cooling requirements volume wise as the broad acre grower. The producer must also keep in mind the expense of the cooling system. The sell price of the product will need to take into account the cost of the entire production process including cooling. If the cost of cooling becomes too high the price of the product may not be competitive or the system may not be able to pay for itself even in the long term.
Credentials
- This course is accredited by International Accreditation and Recognition Council
- Highly qualified, experienced and respected staff
- A range of memberships and affiliations in the UK, Australia and elsewhere.
- Affiliations and articulation arrangements with a range of other colleges in the UK and Australia.
