ONLINE COURSE CULINARY HERBS
Learn how to Grow and Use Edible Herbs: A correspondence course for the enthusiast or commercial grower.
" I wanted to study herbs .... ACS offered the best option - study at home, at my own pace and still tutor contact when I needed it. I was undecided in the facet of herbs that I wanted to specialise in - that was until I completed an assignment to produce three herbal products. My tutor tested my products and encouraged me to set up a small business making and distributing a range of natural herbal cosmetic and household products. His guidance has helped me establish an interesting and profitable business from my studies"
- Catherine, studying Certificate in Applied Management
Take food into a whole new dimension with herbs. There are hundreds of edible herbs that can be used to flavour, decorate or subtly enhance your cooking. There are even herbs that can be used to make drinks (hot and cold). Learn to identify, grow and use these many culinary herbs; for personal or professional purposes.
Suitable course for:
- Horticulturists, market gardeners, herb farmers, nurserymen
- Cooks, Chefs, Food Professionals
- Enthusiastic home gardeners, housewives; or anyone interested in herbs in the kitchen
Why study here? ....ACS is different in many ways
- Established since 1979, Internationally recognised (IARC)
- Support from an international team of highly qualified herb experts
- Courses are continually reviewed and revisions are happening every month of the year
- Courses are "experiential" based learning (This is different to many other schools) v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
Lesson Structure
There are 8 lessons in this course:
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Introduction
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Review of the system of plant identification
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general characteristics of culinary herbs
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information contacts (ie: nurseries, seed, clubs, etc.).
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Culture
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Planting,staking
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mulching
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watering
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pest & disease
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feeding
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pruning
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protection from wind, salt air, etc.
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Propagate and create a Kitchen Garden
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Propagation Methods of propagating this group of plants.
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Creating a Kitchen Garden Growing in pots, inside, or in the open ground.
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Cooking with Herbs.
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Culinary uses of herbs
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herb teas and recipes
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fresh and dried herb use.
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The Most Commonly Grown Varieties.
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Other Important Groups.
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The Lamiaceae family- one of the most aromatic and flavoursome herb families.
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Lesser Grown Varieties
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How to cook with lesser known herbs.
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Special Assignment
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On one selected plant or group.
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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Describe the plant naming system, the major family groups that herbs fall into and the resources available to the culinary herb grower.
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Describe how to manage the cultural requirements of culinary herbs.
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Describe the various methods of propagation, both sexual and asexual, the treatments generally used for seed storage and the handling of cutting material.
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Explain the way in which herbs are used in cooking and which herbs best suit various dishes.
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Discuss the most common herb varieties used in cooking.
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Compare a range of culinary herbs in a single plant family.
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Discuss a range of lesser grown culinary herb varieties.
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Explain the uses of a range of culinary herbs within a specific group of herb plants.
It all Starts with Accurate Plant Knowledge
You must be able to identify a herb before you eat it.
Some herbs may be great as a medicine or bath oil; but that doesn't make them safe to eat.
Any good culinary herb course must then, first start with the identification of the herbs. Once you know what a herb is, you can then progress to learning how to grow it, how to harvest it, and how to use it with your food. This course will teach you all of this and more.
There are hundreds of Culinary herbs which you can discover, experiment with and learn about. Here is just one:
Rosemary
The common herb Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is characteristically grown as a plant in the herb garden for harvesting short sprigs that are used in the kitchen. It can also be used as an ornamental plant for hedges and greenery around other plants. Low growing (groundcover) varieties can be used in hanging pots, garden planters and in raised garden beds to spill over the edge to soften the landscape. When you clip it to maintain the hedge or shape, you can use these clippings in the kitchen. New flower colour forms have been released in the past few years although most gardeners prefer the traditional light blue flower form.
Rosemary grows best in full sun and well-drained soil. Do not over fertilise or use excessive mulch, although compost dug into the soil prior to planting is beneficial. When watering the plant, try not to wet the foliage too much, especially in the heat of summer, as Rosemary does not like excessive humidity.
USES: leaves fresh or dried to flavour meats, soups, vegetables, in vinegars, chutneys, etc. Rosemary has also been used as a garnish and flavouring for strong tasting fruit, such as Citrus. Rosemary can also be used in herbal teas, but be careful not to overdo it – lemon, honey or a few lavender flowers may be added for extra flavour.
Some of our Horticulture Tutors
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. Yvonne is also a member of the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG).
John L. Mason Dip.Hort.Sc., Sup'n Cert., FIOH, FPLA, FAIH, MACHPER, MASA
Mr Mason has had over 40 years experience in the fields of Horticulture, Business, Education and Journalism. He has extensive experience both as a public servant, and as a small business owner. He has held positions ranging from Nurseryman and Landscape Designer to Director of Parks and Recreation (City of Essendon) and magazine editor.
John is a well respected member of many professional associations, and author of over forty books and of over two thousand magazine articles. Even today, John has written a number of best selling reference texts used by horticultural courses at universities and colleges internationally. His publishers include Simon and Shuster, and Landlinks Press (CSIRO Publishing
Dr. Lynette Morgan B. Hort. Tech., Ph.D. in Horticultural Science Dr Morgan has a broad expertise in horticulture and crop production, and a keen appreciation of the global scene. She travels widely as a partner in Suntec Horticultural Consultants, and has clients in central America, the USA, Caribbean, South East Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.
Gavin Cole B.Sc., Psych.Cert., Cert.Garden Design, MACA
Gavin has over 20 years of industry experience in Landscaping, Publishing, Business and Psychology. He was operations manager for a highly reputable British Landscape firm (The Chelsea Gardener) before starting up his own firm. He has exhibited at Chelsea Flower Show, and designed gardens across England and Australia. He spent the best part of three years working in our Gold Coast office, partly as a writer for Your Backyard (gardening magazine), and partly as a tutor in both psychology and horticulture.
Martin Powdrill, Bsc (Hons) Applied Science (Resources Option), MSc Computer Studies, Permaculture Design Certificate. Martin’s goal as a catalyst for sustainable change brings together his strengths and experience in his environmental, project management, and business backgrounds. For 25 years, Martin has been involved in Telecommunications, IT, Organisational Development, and Energy Conservation & Efficiency, prior to setting up his own Permaculture consulting business. He wishes to make a real difference to people and the planet, by actively bringing new perspectives to current challenges and exciting opportunities. To realise this, he enables diverse groups of people to flourish and release their untapped potential, by re-igniting their passion and creativity. Additionally, Martin volunteers with many local environmental and community groups, and facilitates discussions on climate change, peak oil, and transition towns. Martin has an allotment, and is currently enrolled in the Scottish Mountain Bike Leader Award programme.
Rosemary Davies Dip Hort Sc. Rosemary trained in Horticultural Applied Science at Burnley, a campus of Melbourne University. Initially she worked with Department of Agriculture Victoria as an extension officer (Garden Advisory Service), taught horticulture students, worked on radio with ABC radio (clocking up over 24 years as a presenter of garden talkback programs, initially the only woman presenter on gardening in Victoria) and she simultaneously developed a career as a writer. She is author of several booka and hundreds of articles.
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. Diana is also a member of the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Limited (NSALG).
FAQ's
What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?
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.
If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you. If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course.
If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments.
There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax.
Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process.
You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above.
You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.
More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses
Who are our tutors?
Our tutors are all highly experienced and professional, knowledgeable in their field of study. We have staff from around the world, enabling us to gain a wide variety of perspectives. We have a school in the UK and in Australia. If you would like to have a look at our tutors, then click on the “About Us” in the boxes above and choose “The Staff” option.
Sample Course Notes
Our courses are all written by highly qualified tutors and writers, who also teach on the courses, so know them well. We strive to update our courses and improve them with new information, methods and knowledge on an ongoing basis. If you would like to see examples of some of our courses, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, and then click on “Sample Course Notes”.
What learning method should I choose?
We offer three learning methods – e-learning, correspondence and online. If you are not sure which is the right choose for you, then click on the “Learning” box above, then “Learning Methods.”
How Long will it take to complete the course?
This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing. We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.
Longer courses will obviously take longer. You can find more information on the length of time required and so on the “Enrolment” box, then selecting “Terms and Conditions of Enrolment.”
What Do Our Students think of us?
If you would like to read comments from our previous students, then choose the “About Us” option above, then “Student Testimonials”.
I don’t think this is the right course for me.
If you’re not sure about this course, then why not look at our wide range of other courses. Click on the “Courses” box above.
You may also wish to design your own course to fit in with exactly what YOU want. To do so, click on the “Enrolment” box, then “Design your Own Course”.
If you would like more advice on a course, then you can contact us and ask a tutor about the courses. You can contact us by calling 0800 328 4723 or +44(0) 384 442752 or emailing info@acsedu.co.uk
Recognition and Accreditation
For more information on our recognition and accreditation, click on “The School”, then “Recognition”.
Who is ACS Distance Education?
If you want to know more about ACS and our history, then please click on “The School”, then “About us.”
We also offer a Herbs ebook. Click here for more information.
