Home Garden Expert Course

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.

• 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

• 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.