Course Structure
There are 8 units involved in this course.
Most units are made up of 2 or 3 lessons, with an assignment to be completed and submitted at the conclusion of each unit.
The eight units are as follows:
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.
Aims
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Identify plant health problems and know treatments.
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Know the plant naming system and how plants are classified.
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Understand the effect of soil structure and texture on plant growth.
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Understand plant terminology and planting methods.
- Understand plant pruning requirements and methods
- Know plant nutrition requirements
- Understand soil conditions and when they require improvement.
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Recognise a range of pests and diseases and the methods of control.
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Recognise a range of weeds and know various control methods.
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Know a range of garden styles and the history behind them.
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Have knowledge of landscape construction techniques.
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Understand the elements and processes of landscape design.
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Understand various propagating techniques
- Propagate plants by various methods
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Understand the soil preparation and requirements to establish or renovate a lawn
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Know lawn maintenance requirements.
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Understand requirements, including environmental and nutritional aspects of growing plants indoors (including hydroponics and greenhouses).
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Know how to select plants suited to growth indoors
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Develop knowledge of vegetable growing procedures and requirements.
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Have knowledge of a range of fruits and berries suited to the home garden
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Have knowledge of a range of commonly grown herbs and flowers
Duration: 100 hours
Examples of what you may do in this course
Here is just some of what you may do:
*Read notes written and supplied by staff of this school
*Watch instructional video
*Test and name different soils
*Mix inexpensive potting mixes
*Make compost and explain how you made it.
*Learn how to identify plants effectively.
*Explain step by step how you would go about planting shrubs in your own locality.
*Explain how to transplant and transport plants from one propertyu to another.
*Determine the tools required to do gardening for a property, using a limited supply of money.
*Explain characteristics of soil, including: Soil Structure, pH and Nutrient Deficiency
*Describe how to fertilize a lawn
*Explain how to improve drainage in a soil that is too wet for plants to do well in.
*Explain how you would improve a specified soil
*Identify a nutrient deficiency
*Observe and identify different categories of pest and disease problems in growing plants.
*Compile a weed collection with pressings or illustrations of different weeds
*Compile a plant collection with pressings or illustrations of different weeds
-Describe how environmental problems affect plants
-Recommend ways of controlling different types opf problems in plants, using both natural and chemical.
-Observe and evaluate different types of gardens.
-Survey a garden in order to prepare a garden design.
-Apply a systematic procedure to landscape design, in order to produce a concept plan for a garden.
-Explain mistakes have you observe in the design and construction of different rockeries
-Build a simple cold frame and us it to propagate plants.
-Prepare propagating mix which would be suitable for striking most types of cuttings.
-Propagate different plants from cuttings.
-Prepare a plan for sowing annual flower seedlings over a 12 month period.
-Evaluate and explain a lawn seed mix from the packaging of that mix
-Observe different lawns and recommend their treatment
-Explain how to establish a lawn
-Observe and evaluate the condition of different indoor plants.
-Recommend the treatment of different indoor plants.
-Prepare lists of indoor plants for different applications.
-Find an indoor plant which needs potting up & pot it up.
-Plant a vegetable patch.
-List fruit, nuts & berries most suited for growing in your locality
-Observe the way in which herbs are used commercially (eg. in medicine, cooking etc)
-Explain why crop rotation is used in growing vegetables?
This course is also available for online study and Elearning (CD) click on the following links for more information.
Online study
Click on the Elearning option in the enrolment box after following this link:
Elearning option
The ACS bookstore has many books to help you:
- Establish your garden
- Choose plants
- Propagate your own plants
and much more. Click on the following link for more information.
The online bookstore
REASONS TO STUDY WITH ACS DISTANCE EDUCATION
- Reputation:
-teaching Horticulture since 1979
-exceptional faculty staff (see below) - Hands on: develop practical as well as theoretical skills
- Uniqueness:
-successful people are always those who can offer a skill or service that others can't
-this course is different; our graduates have different skills to set them apart. - Relevance -curriculum developed in response to industry needs
- Lots of help: personal, prompt attention from tutors
- Holistic Courses: We teach more than just "facts"
-success is only 20% about intelligence (and what you know)
-you also need to build networking, problem solving & communication skills, and more!
-this course helps you develop all of these things and more - Value: courses compare very favorably on a cost per study hour basis
- Up to date: courses under constant review
- Student amenities: This school is backed by over one of the most unique and comprehensive private collections of intellectual property in the horticultural industry. The principal and staff have written and published over 50 books and 150 gardening magazines, as well as 20,000 hours horticultural study programs. A team of 5 horticultural writers continue to develop and update new material continually. These resources together with web sites, an online student room, social media etc. provide a unique and comprehensive facility to support students studying with the school.
OUR FACULTY
These are just some of the people involved with developing and updating courses; and tutoring our horticulture students
John Mason Dip.Hort.Sc.
40 years + in horticulture Graduated from Burnley Horticultural College in 1971,Nurseryman, Landscape Designer and Parks Director through the 1970's. One of Australia's most published garden writers, author of books published by Simon and Schuster, Harper Collins, CSIRO and other major publishers; Editor for 4 different national gardening magazines; honored as a fellow of both the Institute of Horticulture in Australia and the Institute of Horticulture in the UK.
Gavin Cole B.Sc., M.Psych.
30 years + in horticulture. Renowned horticulturist and psychologist. Former operations manager for the highly regarded "Chelsea Gardener" landscape firm in London, garden writer and landscaper in both Brisbane and Adelaide in Australia.
Maggi Brown
40 years + in horticulture. Former education manager for "Garden Organic"; England's peak organic gardening and farming body.
Dr Lyn Morgan Phd
25 years + in horticulture. New Zealand based hydroponic consultant and author, with experience working everywhere from Asia to America.
Rosemary Davies Dip.Hort.Sc.
30 years + in horticulture; including Victorian Department of Agriculture Gradening Advisor, Gardening Editor/writer/author for major publishers and newspapers.
Diana Cole B,A., RHS Dip Hort, NTEC Higher Dip in Garden Design
15 years + in horticulture and landscaping
Adriana Fraser Adv.Dip.Hort.
30 years + in horticulture. Consultant, teacher, garden write, manager of plant collections
Bob James B.App.Sc(Hort), M. Env.Sc., Grad.Dip.Mgt., PDC, Dip.An.Husb.
Yvonne Sharpe Dip.Hort., M.Hort.
Martin Powdrill B.Sc(Hons), M.Sc. PDC
Marie Beerman B.Sc., M.Hort.
REFERENCE BOOKS
ACS operates a student bookshop that supplies a range of horticulture texts to supplement our courses.
Many are written by the principal (well known gardening author John Mason), or other staff. All have been reviewed and approved by our academic experts (to be accurate and relevant to students studying our horticulture courses).
- Student discounts are available to anyone studying with ACS Distance Education.
- Both printed books and ebooks (as downloads) available
TROPICAL and WARM CLIMATE GARDENING by John Mason (publisher Bay Books) Printed Book
ORCHIDS: A BEGINNERS GUIDE by John Mason (publisher: Highland House) Printed Book
GROWING CONIFERS by John Mason (publisher: Kangaroo Press) Printed book
GROWING FERNS by John Mason (publisher: Kangaroo Press) Printed book
NURSERY MANAGEMENT 2nd Edition by John Mason (publisher :andlinks Press) Printed Book
GROWING AUSTRALIAN NATIVES 2nd edition Printed Book
GARDEN DESIGN Part I by John Mason (publisher ACS) EBook
GARDEN DESIGN Part 2 by John Mason (publisher ACS) EBook
STARTING A GARDEN OR LANDSCAPE BUSINESS 2nd Edition by John Mason (publisher: ACS) EBook Book
GROWING TREES and SHRUBS for SMALL GARDENS by John Mason
- Click on above link for info
- Sample pages available to download for all ebook
- E Books can be purchased online for immediate download (Can be read on a computer, ipad, iphone, lap top, most book readers or similar devices).
- GO TO www.acsbookshop.com for more titles
