Nutrients for Hydroponics and Tissue Culture

Learn about hydroponics, nutrient management, study how to make and manage nutrient solution

Course Code: SGH21

Fee Code: SG

Duration (approx) Duration (approx) 20 hours

Qualification Certificate of Completion

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Where are you located?

Within Australia
AUD $220.00inc GST

Outside Australia
AUD $200.00

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Delivery Method
   Online
   Offline (not available) (USB stick via post)
   Correspondence (not available) (Paper notes via post)

All prices in Australian Dollars.

Learn to prepare and manage different types of nutrient formulations in hydroponics.

Plant nutrition in hydroponics not a fixed science. Nutrient formulas and working strength solutions are tweaked and fine-tuned throughout plant life cycle.

In this course you will be able to :

understand different nutrient solutions
analyse the components of a solution
decide what is appropriate

Lesson Structure

There are 11 lessons in this course:

INTRODUCTION
- Artificial Growing
- Tissue Culture
- Hydroponics
- How Plants Uptake Nutrients
- How Plants Absorb and Use Nutrients in Hydroponics
- Hydroponics Techniques
PRE-PACKAGED NUTRIENTS
- Using Solid Nutrients
- Solutions and Precipitates
- Why Twin-Pack Chemicals?
- Why Single-Pack Liquid Solutions?
- Organic Solutions
CHEMICAL COMPONENTS
- Types of Chemicals
- Electrical Conductivity
- The Role of pH in Hydroponics
- What are Solutions?
- What Does a Hydroponic Nutrient Look Like?
- Writing Chemical Names
- Calculating the Amount of Nutrient in a Chemical
- Mixing Nutrients
- Hydroponic Fertiliser details
OTHER ADDITIVES
- Introduction
- Allowable Additives for Hydroponic Nutrient Solutions
- Beneficial Trace Elements as Hydroponic Additives
- Bio-stimulants as Hydroponic Additives
- Foliar Nutrition and Foliar sprays
CREATING HYDROPONIC NUTRIENTS
- Introduction to Basic Mixes
- Process of Making and Mixing Nutrients from Fertiliser Salts
- Example Solutions
- Nutrient Solution Formulation
- Hydroponic Nutrient Levels
- Nutrient Ratios
- Assessing a Nutrient Formulation
- Suggestions for Beginners
ORGANIC HYDROPONIC NUTRIENTS
- Brief History
- Issues with Organics
- Types of Organic Systems
- Allowable Nutrient Sources and Products for Organic Production
- Making Organic Nutrient Solutions Onsite
- EC and pH Control in Organic Hydroponics
- Problems with Organic Nutrients
TISSUE CULTURE NUTRIENTS
- Hydroponics vs. Tissue Culture
- Nutrient Supply in Tissue Culture
- A Tissue Culture Medium
- Other Additives in Tissue Culture and Hydroponics
- Organic Compounds
MANAGING CONTAMINANTS
- Water Quality
- Disinfection Systems
- Preventing Chemical Contaminants from Leaking into the Broader Environment
TESTING SOLUTIONS
- Important Tests in Hydroponics
- Water Quality Tests
- Water quality test results and interpretation
- Nutrient Balance Testing: Solution Analysis
- Plant Testing: Foliar Mineral Levels
- pH Tests for Hydroponics
- EC Testing
- Automatic EC and pH testing and control
NUTRITIONAL DISORDERS
- Nutrition Management
- Diagnosing Nutritional Stress
- Nutritional Deficiencies
- Macronutrients: NPK Deficiencies and Toxicities
- Other Common Deficiencies and Toxicities
- Micronutrients
- What are the Most Common Symptoms?
- Key to Detecting Deficiencies and Toxicities
NUTRIENT SOLUTION AND PRODUCE NUTRITION
- Examples of Nutrient Solution Manipulation and Produce Nutrition
- Final Assessment

Who is this course suitable for?

Commercial growers
Fertiliser Manufacturer and Suppliers
Home gardeners
Hydroponic shop manager and staff
Any other suppliers who service hydroponic farms or growers; and who need to develop a greater ability to understand and interact with hydroponic growers.
Horticultural consultants, teachers, or anyone else providing advice, who want to expand their knowledge into the area of hydroponics.
For someone who already understands the mechanics of hydroponics; or the growing of plants, but needs to learn more about how to provide appropriate nutrients.

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What Next?

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Course Contributors

The following academics were involved in the development and/or updating of this course.

Tutors

Meet some of the tutors that guide the students through this course.

Timothy Walker

Timothy is a Botanist, Horticulturist and Gardener. He is an Author, and also a lecturer at Somerville College, Oxford. After training at a number of gardens including Windsor Great Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Timothy commenced work at Oxford Botanic Gardens in 1986. Appointed as "Horti Praefectus" (Superintendent/Director) there in 1988, he held that position until 2014. Under Timothy's watch, the garden won four gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show, and developed 67 acres of MG5 wild flower meadow at the Harcourt Arboretum; a UK threatened habitat. Timothy remains an active practical gardener as well as a highly respected international academic in the fields of horticulture and plant botany.

Jade Sciascia

Former Business Coordinator, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Secondary School teacher (Biology); Administrator (Recruitment), Senior Supervisor (Youth Welfare). International Business Manager for IARC. Academic officer and writer with ACS for over 10 years, both in Australia and in the UK.

Maria Schmitz Fontes

Maria has extensive experience in Environmental Science working in the private and public sectors. She has 6 years of experience teaching graduate and post-graduate students subjects as Marine Pollution, Microbial Ecology, Geochemistry, Oceanography, Methods in Aquatic Science and Benthic Ecology. She has published over 20 scientific articles and book chapters. She has also coordinated an innovative project in bioenergy production using simple-cheap methods to isolate microbes in laboratory. She has collaborated with scientists of Climate Change Cluster Group from University of Technology Sydney and has current interests in areas such as: sustainability and clean energy.

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