Students who are in full-time work can complete their practical study in the workplace.
Nursery environment
Students will set up their own soil-less media experiment to trial mixes of their choice, to complete this they will also study:
Soil science, soil-less media and managing nutrients
Understanding and operating irrigation systems, including misting units and hotbeds, and managing the nursery environment
An understanding of potential weather events and how to mitigate them
Nursery operations
Online learning in the computer room
Students who are in full-time nursery work could do online work at home
Nursery Crop Protection
Students will look at the specific pests diseases and disorders in a Nursery as well as weeds
Identification, monitoring and management of these pests are covered and you will develop and run a crop protection plan
Students will also have the opportunity to gain a basic GROWSAFE certificate
Nursery Equipment, Packing and Dispatch
This course covers the use of nursery equipment and includes an optional forklift training day
Nursery equipment is observed in a range of nurseries and covers potting and seed sowing machines, and state of the art nursery automation systems
Packing and dispatch systems for both container and field nurseries are observed and the pros and cons of each noted
Plant Selection and Planning
This course looks at plant identification in the Nursery, including learning about cultivars and varieties.
An understanding of what types of plants suit different soil types, environments and garden situations is covered, and students are then required to come up with scale drawing for a landscape and planting plans for a real site.
Students will learn how to place plants in the right place as well as plan, plant and monitor a revegetation project.
Business Management and Marketing
This course introduces students to how they can set up their own plant growing business, and an understanding of the market
It addresses the regulations, copyright, trademarks and labour laws as well as customer care
Students will prepare a business plan and will participate in setting up and running a market day plant sale with other students as part of this course
Human Resources
This course covers supervising and managing others in the workplace
Relevant employer regulations and acts are covered including health and safety in the workplace
Students also learn about leadership styles, communication styles and conflict resolution processes
