Learn to manage a Plant Nursery
Lesson Structure
There are 7 lessons in this course:
-
INTRODUCTION TO THE NURSERY INDUSTRY
-
The industry
-
Professional organisations
-
Nursery accreditation
-
Types of nurseries
-
What to grow
-
How to grow
-
Nursery standards
-
Starting out as a nursery producer
-
Assessing opportunities
-
Trends in the retail nursery/garden centre industry
-
THE NURSERY SITE
-
Area of the nursery site
-
Nursery site and location
-
Nursery design
-
Designing for effective environmental management
-
NURSERY MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
-
Containers
-
Labels
-
Stakes, trellises and trainers
-
Mulches
-
Nursery tools and equipment
-
Using tools
-
Hand tools
-
Hand saws
-
Machinery
-
Stages in each stroke of an engine
-
Drones
-
Robotics
-
IRRIGATION
-
Water supply
-
Water quality
-
Water treatment
-
Recycling water
-
Irrigation systems
-
Pumps
-
Scheduling irrigation
-
Maintenance of watering systems
-
GLASSHOUSES, SHADE HOUSES AND OTHER NURSERY STRUCTURES
-
Greenhouses
-
Other structures for growing plants
-
Environmental control in greenhouses
-
Sheds and workrooms
-
MANAGEMENT
-
Operational flow charts
-
Human resource management
-
Examples of nursery job descriptions and advertisements
-
Work scheduling
-
Motivating employees
-
Training staff
-
Horticultural education
-
Styles of supervision
-
Safety and illness at work
-
Managing facilities
-
Productivity
-
Managing money
-
Practical exercise
-
Cash flow
-
Financial statements
-
Record keeping
-
Computers in the nursery
-
Business planning
-
MARKETING
-
Marketing nurseries
-
The marketing mix
-
Choosing a plant variety to sell
-
Product case study: marketing cut flowers
-
Promotions and advertising
-
Packaging
-
Transport and distribution
-
Sales
-
After sales service
-
Market research
-
Marketing budget
-
Legal implications of marketing
-
Glossary
-
Metric/imperial conversion table
-
Final assessment
Why Study this Course?
- improve your ability to manage a plant nursery - production nursery or retail garden centre
- be a better manager - improve efficiencies and/or profitability of a nursery
- advance your employment or career prospects
- raise your awareness and understanding of nursery management
- broaden your skills set
Who is this course for?
- Nursery workers
- Nursery owners seeking to reinforce, refresh of fill gaps in their learning
- Horticulturists or gardeners, looking to broaden their employment or business possibilities
- Anyone with an interest in nursery work wishing to learn more
