DO YOU LEARN BETTER THROUGH PRACTICE?
Some people learn best studying theory and other learn best when the focus is more on hand-on skills and less on theory.
This course skill covers theory but it concentrates on practical learning - in fact you learn the theory through doing lots of practical exercises.
How will this course help
you?
If you are a practical person then you will learn the "practical tasks" that every horticulturist (or gardener) should know.
For example:
- Managing Soils
- Propagating different types of plants with different techniques
- Protecting plants from ill health
- Controlling weeds
- Lots more
What can you do after you have done this course?
- Work in a nursery
- Work as gardener
- Use it to complement further study
Lesson Structure
There are 10 lessons in this course:
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Soil Analysis
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Soil Analysis
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Testing Your Soil
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Good Soil Structure
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Simple Soil Test
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Naming The Soil
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Percolation Rates
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Drainage Problems
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Soil Temperature
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How to Improve Soils
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Soil pH
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Methods Of Measuring Ph
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Probe Meters
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Colorimetric Methods
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pH meters
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Another Way to Measure Organic Matter in Soil
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Terminology
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Seed Propagation (including seed identification)
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Growing Plants from Seed
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Hygiene
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How to Sow Seeds in Containers
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Germination
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Preparation of Seed Beds in the Field
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Selected Plant Species
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Seed Propagating Media
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General Characteristics
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Cation Exchange Capacity
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Seed Compost
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Commonly Used Mixes
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Terminology
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Vegetative Propagation
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The Techniques
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Classification Of Cutting Types
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Equipment
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Procedures For Taking Cuttings
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Types Of Cuttings
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Stem Cuttings
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Herbaceous Cutting
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Tip Cutting
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Heel Cutting
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Nodal Cutting
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Basal Cutting
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Cane Cutting
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Leaf Cutting Techniques
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Root Cutting
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Bulb Cuttings
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Improving Strike Rate
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Terminology
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Potting up and After Care of young plants
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Transplanting Between Pots
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Stop Roots Growing into The Soil
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What is a Perched Water Table?
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Drainage Holes
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Potting Up a Plant
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Potting Up Cuttings
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Pricking Out or Tubing Seedlings
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Setting out Cuttings
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Potting up a hanging basket
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Porous pots need different treatment
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Plant Modification to Achieve Uniformity
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Modification Techniques
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Spacing
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Staking
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Growing-On Areas for Container Plants
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Chemical Growth Modification
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Planting
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General Planting Considerations
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Problems With Containers
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How To Maintain Plants in Pots
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Types Of Pots
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Bare Rooted Plants
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Planting
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Hints For Planting
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Drainage
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Improving Infiltration of Water into The Soil
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Improving Surface Drainage After Construction
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Provision Of Sub Surface Drains
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Layout Of Drains
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Outlet
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Gradients
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Distance Between Drainage Pipes
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Depth Of Drains
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Types Of Drains
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Laying The Drain
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Surface Drainage
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Some Points to Remember When Designing a Drainage System
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Terminology
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Maintenance of Established Plants
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Pruning In the Home Garden
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The Basic Rules of Pruning
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Getting Pruned
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Selecting Your Secateurs
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Winter Pruning
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General Principles
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How To Do It
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Pruning Tools
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Some Examples of Winter Pruning
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Pollarding
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Plants That Respond Well to Pruning Include:
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How To Prune a Rose
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Clean Out Your Dead Wood
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Wood Rots
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Dead Heading
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Is Annual Pruning Enough?
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What Is Compartmentalisation?
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What About Wound Treatments?
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What About Compost – Doesn’t It Spread Disease?
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Pruning In the Home Orchard
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Terminology
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How To Use Trimmers
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Pruning Tomatoes
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Root Pruning
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How To Trim a Hedge
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Training
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Terminology
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Practical Plant Identification – Woody Plants
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Plant Names
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Common Names
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Scientific Names
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What Is the Difference Between Families
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Common Names
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Scientific Names
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What Is the Difference Between Families
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Pest, Disease and Weed Identification
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Pests
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Diseases
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Diagnosis of Problems
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Finding Out What the Problem Is
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Conducting An Inspection
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Tell Tale Symptoms
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Is There More Than One Problem?
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Develop A Systematic and Logical Approach to Inspecting the Plant
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Conducting An Inspection
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Diagnosis Of Plant Disorders
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Shortcuts To Problem Identification
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Difficult To Diagnose Problems
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Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
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Weeds
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Common Terms
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Practical Plant Identification – Non-Woody Plants Including Grasses and Indoor Plants
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Choosing The Right Lawn
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Turf Varieties
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Lawn Mixes
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What To Grow Where
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Cool Winters/Dry Summers
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Mild Summers/Cold Winters
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Fescues, Kentucky Blue Grass, Rye Grass, Couch.
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Tropical
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Bulbs
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What Spring Bulbs Need
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How To Grow Bulbs
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Bulbs In Subtropical and Tropical Areas
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Indoor Plants
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Potting
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Risk Assessment
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Identifying Risk in The Workplace
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Chainsaw Use & Safety
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Save The Back, Use the Head! Hard Work Solutions
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Cleaning & Sharpening Tools
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Secateurs And Branch Pruning Tools
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Shovels And Spades
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Saws And Chainsaws
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Protecting Tools from Rust
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Maintaining Timber Handles
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Maintaining Plastic Handles
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Storage
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.
Aims
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Test soils to determine characteristics which would be valuable to management of any given soil in a horticultural situation
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Identify sandy loam, silty loam, and clay loam soils by feel; and pH testing by soil indicator; and relate to plant selection
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Identify and sow a range of different types of seeds, in different situations, in a way that will optimise successful propagation.
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Propagate a range of plants using different vegetative propagation techniques
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Pot up and provide after care for a range of propagated seedlings and cuttings.
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Plant a range of (different types) plant material.
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Maintain the desired growth type and habit for a range of plants.
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Identify significant woody plants including: Trees; Shrubs; Ground cover; and Conifers
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Identify a range of significant plant problems including pests, diseases and others.
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Identify a range of non woody and indoor plants of horticultural significance.
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Conduct a risk assessment of a horticultural workplace to determine safe working practices and select appropriate personal safety clothing and equipment.
How Can You Learn Practical Tasks by Distance Learning?
It seems difficult, but it really works. Here is an example of the types of things you will learn in this course:
GROWING PLANTS FROM SEED
Propagating plants from seeds is called sexual propagation. Seeds can be variable, in other words they may not always be a replica of the parent plant – there could be variations, sometimes only slight. The growth habit and colour may vary between plants grown from the same batch of seeds. This is brought about by a random combination of genetic material from the parents. The genetic make-up of each seed is unique. Plant breeders deliberately cross-pollinate plants that are genetically different in order to find interesting features. This produces new varieties or cultivars.
In order for seeds to germinate they require
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Water and oxygen
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An appropriate temperature
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Sometimes light (depending on the species)
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Viable seed
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Given the above, a seed will germinate readily and the plant will grow.
If a seed is not given these requirements or when one is lacking or insufficient the seed will not germinate.
Some seeds require special treatment such as a period of cold (stratification) before it is ready to germinate. Others may require soaking in hot water or abrasion (scarification) of the outer coating (testa) to assist germination.
The reasons some seeds do not germinate are:
The seed may not be viable; either through a lack of formation or through death after trying to germinate once before
The environmental conditions i.e. water, temperature and light are not right
The seed may be dormant (some seeds have chemical inhibitors that prevent germination during dry seasons or other climatic conditions)
The seed (depending on species) may need the hard outer coating (testa) to be breached i.e. by either soaking in hot water or by chilling (stratification) or have the outer coating broken through mechanical or chemical abrasion (scarification)
Measuring Organic Matter in Soil
The presence of organic matter in soils helps to hold soil moisture as well as improving soil texture and soil fertility.
The following experiment can be used to determine the amount of relatively fresh soil organic matter and is useful in comparing the organic matter content of various soils. Carry out several experiments on various soils to determine the difference.
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Weigh out a sample of soil in a glass container. The reading is represented as w1 (weight without container
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Mix 6% (30 volume) hydrogen peroxide at the rate of 9ml hydrogen peroxide to 1gram of soil
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Shake and then stand for 24 hours until the bubbling almost ceases
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Add water to stop the reaction. Evaporate to dryness either in an oven at 40 degrees Celsius or in the open air. Weigh. Continue to dray until the weight remains constant. The final weight reading is represented as w2.
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Calculate organic matter percent as (w1- w2/w1) x 100
Calculating Soil Quantities
Area (length by width) x Depth = Volume (cubic metres) eg: You require soil for a back lawn 10metres long and 6metres wide at a depth of 75millimetres
10m x 6m x 0.075m = 4.5m3
USE THIS COURSE TO START YOUR CAREER IN HORTICULTURE
LEARNING PRACTICAL SKILLS CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED: EMPLOYERS IN THE HORTICULTURE INDUSTRY LIKE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE GOOD PRACTICAL SKILLS.
WHY STUDY THIS COURSE?
Horticulture is very much a hands-on field. Whilst there is much to learn through reading and observing, becoming adept at the practical side of things is highly valuable in all areas of horticulture. This course directs students in sound practical methods for undertaking a variety of tasks from planting to weeding, and pruning to applying insecticides. Those who complete this course will have a range of skills which should set them up in many fields including:
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General horticulture
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Garden maintenance
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Parks & gardens
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Landscaping
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Nursery & propagation
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