Crops Courses

Train in both management and horticulture to work in the cropping industry.

Opportunities in this industry are likely to grow rapidly over coming years. The Agri Foods Skills Council (Australia) reported an impending shortage of skilled and professional personnel at their 2007 conference in Sydney. These sentiments were repeated again by the council in 2009. 

A foundation course for horticultural managers and technicians. This is a very substantial course providing professional training for work at a management or technical level with horticultural crops.   Learn about Horticultural Management, Horticultural Marketing, Soil Management, Plant Protection, Plant Science I, Commercial Vegetable Production, Fruit Production, Cut Flower Production, Organic Plant Culture, Herb Culture, Advanced Hydroponics, Irrigation, Engineering, Permaculture Systems & Organic Plant Culture. Nuts, Berries, Mushrooms, Biochemistry, I.T., Business Studies, Instructional Skills, Workplace Health & Safety.

Study Berry Fruit Production by Distance Education - this course is now available!

Berries are an Important Horticultural Crop

Berries can be grown many different ways: organically, hydroponically, in a greenhouse, in garden beds, or in pots.

Learn about all these options, and the care & cultivation of both common, and uncommon berry fruit (Strawberries, Raspberries, Brambles, Currants, Blueberries and lots more

For the specialist grower there is opportunity to specialise to some degree in one type of berry.

Covers both cropping and general horticulture - studying both these areas broadens the possibility of employment and advancement in the industry.

This course is similar to other VHT002 horticulture certificates in its introductory (core) units, but devotes 50% of the course to topics specifically related to crop production.

The Core Units are divided into the following sections:

Use the link below ('read more') to view more comprehensive details on this course. 

Combine organic growing systems with fundamental horticulture knowledge.

Learn the principles and practices of horticulture first and then learn to grow plants using organic methods.

Understanding established methods of plant growing and how main stream horticulture deals with this eg. the pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers and general growing methods used, is of fundamental importance for a shift to organic growing.

To be truly informed, you need to know all the traditional and 'accepted' methods of plant growing as well as organic methods. This knowledge enables you to make informed and important decisions (for example) during farm conversion and understand what impact 'conventional' farming has on the land you farm, and on the health of the community and the ecology. At the very least it will enable you to understand, and convey to others, why you prefer organics as your chosen method of plant culture.

This course is similar to other VHT002 horticulture certificates in its introductory (core) units, but devotes 50% of the course to topics specifically related to organic growing.

The Core Units comprise fifteen lessons covering: Introduction to Plants, Plant Culture, Soils and Nutrition, Plant Identification and Use & Pests, Diseases and Weeds.

Use the link below ('read more') to view more comprehensive details on this course.

Understand the basics of horticulture before you specialise in viticulture.

This course covers both areas - to develop your skills and be successful in any sector of horticulture you need to understand the basics first. Not many viticulture courses on offer achieve this!

An excellent starting point for a career in the vineyard industry; either as an employee (eg. vineyard worker or manager or owner)

 This is a 700 hr course for people working, or intending to work, in the production of grapes.

This course is similar to our other VHT002 horticulture certificates in its introductory (core) units, but with the emphasis upon topics specifically related to the production of grapes for wine, drying or as fresh fruit.

Use the link below ('read more') to view more comprehensive details on this course.
 

The demand for organically grown vegetables is a major growth area in commercial horticulture. Learn about organic certification and marketing, vegetable varieties, herbs, cultivation and planting techniques, natural pest control, seed, soil, nutrition, organic fertiliser, irrigation, mulching, harvest and post harvest, etc.

This course is a good starting point in learning all aspects of organic vegetable production.

Develop skills and knowledge required for commercial vegetable production, whether as a row crop, broad acre crop, greenhouse or hydroponic crop. Learn to produce all types of vegetables -from main varieties like lettuce, tomato, pea, bean, potatoes, carrot, brassicas and corn, to less major varieties such as garlic, rhubarb and parsnip. There is a focus on crops such as Rye, Sorghum and Barley in this too.

This provides a foundation in general vegetable production. (Note: Usually: do not undertake Commercial Organic Vegetable Growing as well as this. The two courses do overlap)

Learn about a wide range of fruiting plants including Avocados Pineapple, Macadamia, Paw Paw, Mango, Lychee, Citrus, Passionfruit, Cashew, etc.

Learn to plan and manage an orchard, small or large, to select appropriate varieties and all stages of production, from planting to harvest and post harvest. Most of this course relates to tropical and sub-tropical conditions. Many of these fruiting plants can be grown in milder temperate climates or in greenhouses still.

Learn about growing, harvesting, marketing, storage, pest and diseases and even ways of cooking and using mushrooms. While the Agaricus species (Champignon) is the main focus of this course, other commercially important edible fungi (eg. Straw mushroom, Oyster Mushroom, Shitake, etc) are also studied as a foundation for any scale of serious production.
Many of the principles are similar in growing, spawn production and/or harvest and post harvest treatments. Gaining a foundation with the culture of any type of edible  mushroom is in this way a step toward knowing how to approach production of others.

If you want to grow mushrooms seriously, and don’t know where to start: this course is for you!

Develop a foundation for nut growing including culture, site selection and planning, propagation, soils, pests & diseases, harvesting, post harvest treatment, and more. Learn about both common and uncommon nut varieties including almonds, macadamias, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, etc.

For the enthusiast or commercial grower.

Ten lessons cover site, crop selection, soil management, cut flowers, vegetables, berries, nuts, herbs, tree fruits, other crops, managing a market garden and more.

Student comment (M.Simpson): "This course has been excellent.... I would be willing to recommend this course to any of my friends and colleagues"

Develop your broad understanding of practices and processes involved in successful plant cropping. It will develop a clear understanding of enviromental control and plant growth within a protective enviroment, together with a practical knowledge of plant husbandry techniques.

The content of this course is very similar to the "Growing Nuts" course, except this deals exclusively with nuts grown in the tropics and sub-tropics. There are eight lessons including a special project in this course. This course is designed as a detailed look at identification and culture of nuts in warmer climates. Emphasis is placed on the species that are of horticultural value. There are many nuts that you would not be aware of coming from the various cultures of the tropics, that are of great interest to our use today.