Learn Hydroponics Studying at Home
- First Step -Understand the 20/80 rule ---"80% of the knowledge required by a commercial hydroponic grower is general horticulture; 20% is hydroponics". Hydroponic ventures will often fail because this rule is not recognised. People often come to hydroponics with a fascination for the technology; learning all about the technology ....but without the horticultural knowledge and skills; the technology alone will not be sufficient.
- Next Step -If you are already skilled in horticulture -choose our 100 hr Hydroponic Management Course....if not, choose this 600 hour certificate.
General Objectives:
1. To provide a sound basis of knowledge in horticultural principles as they apply to the culture, use and management of plants in various production situations.
2. To provide new and existing employees who are unable to undertake on campus training with the opportunity to gain appropriate knowledge in the field of plant culture, use and management.
3. To prepare employees for supervisory and managerial positions in the field of plant culture, use and management.
4. To provide horticultural business owner/operators (or those contemplating ownership) with appropriate training to apply technical skills to the management of the physical, financial and human resources in which they have made, or will make, a substantial investment.
5. To provide an understanding of modern technology and its application to growing plants, with emphasis being placed on hydroponics production of commercially valuable plants.
Course structure
This subject has 30 lessons, each requiring about 12 15 hours of study:
1. Introduction to Hydroponic Technology
Why grow hydroponically? - Definition, history, resources, the industry.
2. Plant Growth Requirements Light
artificial light, light balancers
3. Plant Growth Requirements Nutrition
nutrient requirements, deficiencies, toxicities, pH, conductivity, salinity, growth regulators
4. Plant Growth Requirements Temperature
5. Hydroponic Growing Systems
basic concepts and designs, site considerations.
6. Growing Media
types, properties, uses.
7. Hydroponic Nutrient Solutions
nutrient formulae, preparing solutions.
8. Hydroponic Equipment
componentry, nutrient delivery, pumping, testing and monitoring
9. Growing Structures Design and Construction
types (greenhouses, shadehouses, cloches), materials, siting
10. Environmental Control A Heating, Cooling
11. Environmental Control B Lighting, Shading.
12. Environmental Control C Carbon Dioxide Enrichment
13. Plant Culture In Hydroponics A
trellising, pruning, pollination, transplanting.
problem diagnosis
14. Plant Culture In Hydroponics B
15. Aggregate Culture
16. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) Culture
17. Rockwool Culture
18. Other Techniques
wick systems, flood & drain, bag culture, aeroponics, etc.
19. Irrigation Soil Requirements
20. Irrigation Systems
21. Plant Propagation
seed & cutting propagation & tissue culture
22. Market Gardening Cut Flowers
23. Market Gardening Vegetables
24. Other Plants In Hydroponics
herbs, grasses, indoor plants
25. Pest and Diseases
identifying the problem, pests and diseases in hydroponics
26. Weeds
identification and control
27. Managing A Commercial Hydroponics Farm
crop scheduling & selection, standards, layout.
28. Management Organisation and Supervision
29. Marketing Promotion and Selling
30. Special Project
Prepare a detailed report of at least 2,000 words, plus photos or diagrams, on a particular
aspect of technology which you have studied that significantly assists growing.
PLUS 2 exams: one at the end of lesson 15, the other at the completion of lesson 30.
What are the Options?
There are six basic types of hydroponic systems:
- Wick
- Water Culture
- Ebb and Flow (or flood and drain system)
- Drip (with either a recovery or non-recovery process)
- N.F.T. (Nutrient Film Technique)
- Aeroponic
Over time the basic models have evolved and resulted in hundreds of different variations.
Examples:
- Aquaponics is a system that grows fish using the waste product from hydroponics
- Organic hydroponics is even possible
Some systems work better for some plant species, and others better for other species. Some systems are easier or less costly to set up or operate than others. Some systems may be more appropriate to use on certain crops or in certain places.
This course teaches you about both the horticulture and the systems; how to choose the right system for the location; and how to operate it
FREQUENT QUESTIONS
Why Choose This Course
- Unique course materials (developed by our staff) and more current than some colleges (many reviewed annually); as a result, ACS graduates can be more up to date.
- We work hard to help you understand and remember it, develop an ability to apply it in the real world, and build networks with others who work in this field (It’s more than just serving up a collection of information –if all you want is information, buy a book; but if you want an education, that takes learning to a whole new level).
- Start whenever you want, study at your own pace, study anywhere
- Don’t waste time and money traveling classes
- We provide more choices–courses are written to allow you more options to focus on parts of the subject that are of more interest to you; a huge range of elective subjects are offered that don’t exist elsewhere.
- Tutors are accessible (more than elsewhere) – academics work in both the UK and Australia, 5 days a week, 16 hours a day. Answering emails and phone calls from students are top priority.
- We treat students as individuals –don’t get lost in a crowd. Our tutors communicate with you one to one.
- Extra help at no extra cost if needed. When you find something you cannot do, we help you through it or will provide another option.
- Support after you finish a course –We can advise about getting work, starting business, writing a CV, etc. We can promote students and their businesses through our extensive profile on the internet. Graduates who ask will be helped.
- Support from a team of a dozen professional horticulturists, living in different parts of the UK, and in both temperate and tropical climate zones of Australia.
About ACS
ACS was started in 1979 by John Mason, who at the time was a gardening author, horticultural consultant and lecturer in horticulture at several colleges across Melbourne (in Australia). Over the summer that year John discovered that there were thousands of applicants going to be turned away from horticulture courses at Burnley Horticultural College (now Melbourne University). There were simply too few courses being offered for the number of people wanting to study horticulture in Australia. This situation prompted a move to establish a correspondence course at Burnley; but after months of unsuccessful lobbying for support from government; John wrote a course, and with help from a colleague at Council of Adult Education, marketed it.
Standards were originally set in line with what were seen to be the standards of Australia's top horticultural college; and over the years, those standards have never been reduced. This makes our courses longer and more demanding than some other colleges; but it has also led to us building a credibility that stands tall in the horticulture industry across the world.
In the early 1990's John started visiting the UK and becoming involved with the horticulture industry there. Around the mid 1990's ACS began offering RHS courses, and in 2003, John was formally recognised for his contribution to British Horticulture by being made a fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. ACS, as a school, established an office and staff in the UK in 2001, and has expanded considerably since then. Today it is formally affiliated with five other colleges in the UK (including Warwickshire College); all of who license and deliver ACS courses.
A team of leading horticulturists work for the school's horticulture department, including 12 faculty members in both the UK and Australia
How You Study
- As soon as you enroll, we send an email to explain it all.
- We direct you to a short orientation video (downloadable over the internet) to watch, where our principal introduces you to how the course works, and how you can access all sorts of support services
- You are either given a code to access your course online, or sent out a CD or course materials through the mail (or by courier).
- Work through lessons one by one, each lesson typically having four parts:
- An aim -which tells you what you should be achieving in the lesson
- Reading -notes written and regularly revised by our academic staff
- Set Task(s) -These are practicals, research or other experiential learning tasks that strengthen and add to what you have been reading
- Assignment -By answering questions, submitting them to a tutor, then getting feedback from the tutor, you confirm that you are on the right track, but more than that, you are guided to consider what you have been studying in different ways, broadening your perspective and reinforcing what you are learning about
- Other - Your work in a course rarely stops at just the above four parts. Different courses and different students will need further learning experiences. Your set task or assignment may lead to other things, interacting with tutors or people in industry, reviewing additional reference materials or something else. We treat every student as an individual and supplement their learning needs as the occasion requires.
- We provide access to and encourage you to use a range of supplementary services including an online student room, including online library; student bookshop, newsletters, social media etc.
- We provide a "student manual", that is a quick solution to most problems that might occur
Recognition
- ACS has a highly respected international profile: by employers and academics alike. People are more aware of us than many other distance education schools –just do a search for “horticulture distance education courses” and see what comes up on the internet; or search for ACS Distance education on Facebook or Linked in, and see how many connections we have compared to other colleges.
- Recognised by International Accreditation and Recognition Council
- ACS has been educating people around the world since 1979
- Over 100,000 have now studied ACS courses, across more than 150 countries
- Formal affiliations with colleges in five countries
- A faculty of over 40 internationally renowned academics –books written by our staff used by universities and colleges around the world.
Extra Books or Reference Materials
- The course provides you with everything that you need to complete it successfully.
- Assignments may ask you to look for extra information (eg. by contacting nurseries, visiting gardens or searching the internet), but our school's resources and tutors are always available as a back up. If you hit a "roadblock", we can quickly send you additional information or provide expert advice over the phone or email; to keep you moving in your studies.
- Some students choose to buy additional references, to take their learning beyond what is essential for the course. If a student wants to buy books, we operate an online bookshop offering ebooks written by staff at the school. Student discounts are available if you are studying with us. The range of e books available is being expanded rapidly, with at least one new ebook being written and published by our staff every month. See www.acsebook.com
