Berry Production

Growing Berries? How do you grow Strawberries and other berries?

Learn from a team of Horticultural Experts.

• Online Course
• Alternatively, study by Distance education using paper based notes or a CD

Berry fruits are popular the world over. Some berries are grown widely, in different climates and countries (eg. growing strawberries), whilst others might be popular in some regions but not others.

This course is for the enthusiast or commercial grower. Covering all aspects of the propagation, care and cultivation of common (and uncommon) berry fruit; with the opportunity to specialise to some degree in one type of berry.

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction
2. Review of the system of plant identification
3. General characteristics of the berries
4. Information contacts (ie: nurseries, seed, clubs etc.) Which Varieties to Grow
5. Lesser Grown Varieties of Berry Plants
   • Culture
   • Planting
   • staking
   • mulching
   • watering
   • pest & disease
   • feeding
   • pruning
   • protection from wind, salt, air, etc.
   • Propagation
6. Methods of propagating berries
7. Propagation of selected varieties
8. Weed Control & Irrigation
9. Harvesting & Marketing Berries
10. Commercial Berry Growing

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

• Differentiate between different types of berry fruit cultivars.
• Determine varieties of berry fruit suitable for growing in a specified locality.
• Explain the cultural treatment for a range of berry fruits, in specified situations.
• Determine how to propagate a range of different berry plants.
• Explain the harvesting of different berry crops.
• Develop strategies for commercial success in a berry fruit enterprise.

What You Will Do

• A photo, illustration or pressed specimen
  • Cultural details
  • Harvest and post harvest
  • Uses (eg. valuable products).
• Develop criteria for the selection of suitable berry fruit varieties, to grow in a specified locality.
• Evaluate the performance of four different berry varieties growing in the learners locality.
• Determine appropriate varieties of different berries to grow in a specified locality, including:
  • Strawberries
  • Brambles
  • Other berries.
• Describe an appropriate planting method for each of three specified genera of berry fruits.
• Illustrate an appropriate pruning methods for each of four different genera of berry fruits, using sequences of drawings, photographs, or video.
• Determine appropriate irrigation practices for two different, specified berry plantings.
• Develop feeding programs for a twelve month period, for three different berry crops suited to growing in the learner's locality.
• Conduct simple soil tests to determine soil characteristics relevant to a proposed berry planting in the learner's locality. Soil tests should include:
  • Soil type
  • Water holding capacity
  • pH
  • Drainage
• Recommend appropriate soil preparation for the tested soil, in 3.5, prior to planting a specified berry crop.
• Compare four different weed control practices appropriate for specified berry crops.
• Develop soil maintenance programs for a twelve month period, on a monthly basis, for three different berry crops.
• Identify ten different health disorders (e.g. pests and diseases) on berry plants in the learner's locality.
• Develop a pest and disease control program for a twelve month period, for a specified berry crop.
• Describe different methods for propagating five specified berry plants, including:
  • Cuttings
  • Runners
  • Division
  • Layering
• Demonstrate cutting propagation of two different berry species.
• Produce marketable berry plants representing two different genera, either as bare rooted or container plants.
• Compare the commercial viability of propagating one specified berry by two alternative propagation techniques.
• Explain how to determine when five different types of berries are ready for harvest.
• Describe different methods for harvesting five different types of berries, including:
  • Manual
  • Mechanical
  • Explain the harvesting of five types of berries before they are ripe, and ripening of the berries off the plant.
• Determine appropriate post-harvest treatments for a specified commercial berry crop.
• Develop a resource file of thirty items of information relevant to the berry fruit industry, including:
  • Suppliers of berry plants
  • Trade or grower associations
  • Publications
• Determine criteria which are significant in the commercial success of a specific berry farm, visited by the learner.
• Explain how a range of five different berries are prepared for the market.
• Prepare a chart of ten different berry species that lists their shelf life.
• Evaluate the commercial viability of three different methods of packaging and presenting berries for sale.
• Compare common marketing strategies for berry fruits, including:
  • Selling at wholesale markets
  • Selling on contract to chain stores
  • Selling to processors
  • Roadside stalls
  • U-pick selling
• Develop a marketing plan for one specified type of berry fruit.

 

            

There are many berry crops in widespread commercial cultivation. There are many other berries that are not in widespread commercial cultivation however. When selecting varieties to grow in a new location, it is worthwhile to investigate not only the common berries available, but also less common varieties with commercial or dietary potential.

Quick Guide to Choosing MORE POPULAR Berries

* These are hybrids or varieties of the blackberry.

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