WHOLESALE NURSERY MANAGEMENT STUDY ONLINE
Managing a production nursery involves more than just propagating and potting up plants. Even the small nursery must be able to not only producer plants, but do it at a pre determined cost, then sustain those plants before and during marketing.. The nursery industry currently has a real need for people with skills and knowledge in managing production plant nurseries! This course provides a solid grounding for developing those skills.
This is an example of what you will do in the course:
Investigate existing wholesale nursery operations.
Conduct tests to determine chemical and physical characteristics of three different potting mixes.
Design a classified advertisement, to promote a wholesale nursery, in a specified publication.
Analyse the management structure of an existing production nursery.
Evaluate the efficiency of propagating and potting up plants
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Horticulture Tutors
Diana Cole B.A. (Hons), Higher Dip. (Garden Design), RHS Advanced Cert. Horticulture, Cert Admin.Mgt., Dip. Inst. Personnel Management
In addition to her RHS horticulture, garden design, City & Guild construction, NPTC pesticide/legislation and business/management qualifications, Diana has a variety of skills drawn from setting up Arbella Gardens, a landscape gardening business. She also has administrative, management and training delivery experience drawn from her employment in other organisations such as the NHS and other educational institutions such as schools & universities. She has augmented her training expertise having gained the Preparing to Teach in the Life Long Learning Sector qualification. She also has experience gained through working as a volunteer in a number of different roles including amenity style gardening in parks and practical conservation work.
.Maggi Brown Cert.Ed.(Environment)
Maggi is regarded as an expert in Organic Growing throughout the UK, having worked for two decades as Education Officer at the world renowned Henry Doubleday Research Association (now Garden Organic). She has been active in education, environmental management and horticulture across the UK for more them three decades.
Yvonne Sharpe RHS Cert.Hort, Dip.Hort, M.Hort, Cert.Ed., Dip.Mgt.
Over 30 years of experience in horticulture, education and management, Yvonne hastravelled widely within and beyond Europe, and has worked in many areas of horticulture from garden centres to horticultural therapy. She has served on industry committees and been actively involved with amateur garden clubs for decades.
Thady Barrett M.Hort (RHS) Thady is a consultant to the horticulture industry in the UK, with particular interest in the ornamental plant sector. Previously a senior lecturer at Writtle College for 20 years which included being course tutor for RHS qualifications. Wide ranging practical horticultural experience but with specific interest in propagation techniques and plant production technologies. Member of the International Plant Propagators Society (IPPS) and awarded the Rose Bowl Award in 2009 in recognition of his contribution to the society
Lesson Structure
There are 8 lessons in this course:
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Nursery Site Organisation
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Buying an established nursery or establishing a new site, site planning, estimating space requirements.
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Management
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Government and commercial nurseries, partnerships, companies, sole proprietorships, developing a management structure, labour relations and seasonal staff, work programs and production timing.
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Nutrition and Pest Management
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Field crops, container plants, principles of fertiliser use and plant nutrition.
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Growing Media
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Soils and soil-free mixes, rockwool, sterilisation, techniques.
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Irrigation
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Methods and equipment, estimation of water requirements and use of liquid fertilisers through irrigation.
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Modifying Plant Growth
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Modification techniques, flower forcing and quality control.
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Marketing Strategies
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Exploiting existing markets, developing new markets, advertising, product presentation, pricing, plant recycling.
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Selection of Nursery Crops
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Developing a stock list, operational flow charts, market surveys.
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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Explain the significance of property, marketing and contracts to site selection.
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Estimate the cost of producing different plant varieties as specified marketable products.
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Develop a nutritional program for plants in a wholesale nursery.
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Explain the implementation of integrated pest management in a specified nursery situation.
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Explain different chemical methods of controlling plant appearance.
This is an example of some course notes:
CASE STUDY - NURSERY DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS PLAN
Introduction
GreenPlant is a hypothetical business located about 100 km from the nearest capital city. The site has two hectares available with the option to expand. The nursery will be a relatively simple operation, with the production of tubestock limited to varieties easily grown from seed or cuttings, the principal markets for these plants being retail and wholesale growing-on nurseries. Other markets might include direct sales to the general public, farmers, parks departments, tourists (eg. wildflowers and other indigenous plants) and production for specialist retailers.
The aim is to produce at least 150,000 plants in the first year, increasing to 500,000 within three years. The nursery will initially require a work building, storage areas, a propagating structure (polyhouse), an additional two polyhouses for establishing newly transplanted seedlings and rooted cuttings, and a shade area for growing on and hardening off stock. The final desired plan for the 2-hectare site is a wholesale propagation nursery with a retail area and a display garden, which will also provide a source of propagation material.
It is envisaged that a nursery will initially provide enough work to fully occupy three to four full time workers, and several casual/part time staff. The staff employed will be experienced personnel, plus trainees which will become a larger percentage of staff as time progresses.
Planning
• Develop a broad concept plan for developing the site. The design should include the garden and stock plant areas in addition to the nursery layout, and must allow for expansion and other future developments. It should be drawn up by a consultant skilled in both nursery operations and landscape design.
• Develop basic nursery facilities - employ qualified tradespeople or experienced contractors.
• Ensure there is sufficient propagating material available when required. Purchase or collect seed, and obtain stock plants while the construction of basic nursery facilities progresses. Propagation should commence as soon as construction of the main nursery facilities are complete; with some collection and preparation of propagating material having occurred prior to and during construction. The first month of operations (including at least two weeks of propagation activity) should be considered a training period. It is extremely important that a skilled, experienced and commercially successful nurseryperson manage this period of the operation. In addition, propagators must also be experienced to ensure high productivity and quality.
Plant selection
When deciding what plants to grow or stock, the following criteria must be considered:
• Ease of propagation: varieties that are easy to propagate may bring a lower wholesale price, due to an oversupply in the market, and although the more difficult species are often more costly to produce due to high losses and/or long time in production, they can fetch a much higher price.
• Time: some species can be ready to sell in less than a month, while others may take much longer. In the initial stages of the nursery, it is extremely important to produce plants quickly, in order to generate cash flow and establish a market profile.
• Suitability to your facilities: the facilities briefly described in the introduction should provide the basic requirements for the propagation of a large range of seed and cutting grown plants.
• Suitability of climate: it is always more efficient to work with the environment rather than trying to recreate different environments.
• Demand for particular varieties: It is important to grow plants for which there is a market. The initial market research will provide some information on the types of plants to grow. Further plant varieties can be added based on information included in the marketing section of this plan. This can be amended or updated according to market demands, the availability of stock, and as skill levels and facilities are improved/upgraded.
Production schedule and estimated gross returns
No matter what kind of venture you are starting - even a non-profit one, if it is not funded properly, it will not be around very long. All economic aspects of your enterprise must be well thought out and organised, with as much formal planning as possible. Startup costs must be calculated, and the source or sources of funding confirmed. Ongoing monthly costs must also be estimated, and methods of payment established.
The following production schedule provides for the progressive development of the GreenPlant Wholesale Nursery to a production level of approximately 500,000 plants per annum after three years.
The following notes apply to the figures listed in the production schedule:
• A relatively unskilled propagator produces about 750 cuttings per day, or 14000/month.
• The number of cuttings taken is based on initially one propagator working on cuttings 5 days/week and one propagator/tuber working on both seeds and cuttings, both working an 8 hour/day, 45 weeks per year. During spring and summer, further casual staff will be employed to take extra cuttings. By the end of the third year, three full time propagators will be employed to produce the half a million plants required, extra greenhouse space will be available, and hopefully, there will be many loyal customers ready to purchase.
• The estimates for cutting strike rates (80%) and the survival of cuttings and seedlings after tubing (95%) are based on survival rates for similar nurseries in .....
• Returns based on an average price of £1 per/plant (prices range from 75p to $£2).
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This is an individual module course. The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study.
If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it.
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If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments.
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