This course is designed to develop your ability to select and cultivate appropriate varieties of bulbs as cut flowers, in different situations. It gives you an understanding of the plant families bulbs belong to, their cultural needs, how to prevent and treat pest and disease problems plus the basis of horticultural knowledge: soil types and plant nutritional needs.
Course Aims:
- Describe cultural practices for production of different cut flower bulbs, including the basis of all good Horticulture with understanding of soils, plant nutrition, and weed control
- Understand the initiation and development of flowers in plants with bulbs, rhizomes, tubers, corms or other specialized parts. A look at the factors affecting the flowering stages
- Learn how to manage any pests and diseases for a crop of cut flower bulbs or in the home garden
- Manage the quantity and quality of a crop of cut flower bulbs, both grown in the open and in a greenhouse. In this lesson we also have a good look at the various systems of growing cut flower bulbs in greenhouses and look at ways to manage the environmental conditions in them
- Learn about the management and the harvest/post-harvest of cut flower bulbs
- Explain the production of Lilium and Gladioli cut flower crops
- Explain the production of Narcissus cut flower crops
- Explain the production of Iris and Gladioli cut flower crops
- We look at the a comparison of a variety of different cut flower bulb crops
There are 10 lessons in this course:
- Introduction to Cut Flower Bulb Production
- Overview of floriculture
- Information on flower structure
- How plants grow
- Specialised vegetative structure
- Introduction to hydroponics
- Classification of hydroponic systems
- Cultural Practices
- Understanding soil composition, structure and texture
- Ways to improve soil
- Importance and types of soil water
- Soil pH
- Nutrient availability and pH
- Soil and plant tissue analysis
- Soil degradation and rehabilitation (erosion, salinity, acidification etc)
- The nutrient elements (major and minor)
- Diagnosing nutritional problems
- Fertilisers (types, application, etc)
- Natural fertilisers
- Fertiliser selection
- Weed control methods
- Flower Initiation & Development
- Encouraging plants to flower out of season
- Ways to cause controlled flowering
- How to modify plant environment
- Photosynthesis
- Carbon dioxide enrichment
- Response of plants to CO2
- General guidelines of planting bulbs
- Mulching
- Soil mixes and potting media
- Pest & Disease Control
- Law in relation to chemical used
- Disease identification and management in bulb crops
- Plant viruses detection and diagnosis
- Pest identification and management in bulb crops
- Environmental Problems and their treatment
- Managing Yield, Greenhouse Culture
- Greenhouse growing system
- Components of greenhouse facility
- Types of greenhouse
- Commonly used greenhouse designs
- Shade houses
- Greenhouse benches and beds
- Environmental control in greenhouses
- Measurements of environmental factors
- Heating, cooling and ventilation systems
- Lighting
- Horticultural management in a greenhouse (pest and disease, irrigation etc)
- Plant and water relation
- Growing bulbs in open ground
- Irrigating field grown bulbs
- Types of irrigation system
- Management, Harvest & Post Harvest
- Managing market gardens
- Factors in Deciding Which Plants to Grow
- Production and crop scheduling
- Cost efficiency standards
- Quality and quantity standards
- Farm layout (design of a store)
- Marketing bulb crops
- The marketing process (supply and demand, market research etc)
- Aging in cut flowers
- Factors affecting the longevity of cut flowers
- Gladiolus and Liliums
- Classification of liliums and gladiolus
- Growing conditions
- Soil and nutrition
- Planting and propagation
- Pest and diseases
- Harvest and post-harvest
- Narcissus
- Classification of narcissus
- Growing conditions
- Soil and nutrition
- Planting and propagation
- Pest and diseases
- Harvest and post-harvest
- Iris
- Classification of Iris
- Growing conditions
- Soil and nutrition
- Planting and propagation
- Pest and diseases
- Harvest and post-harvest
- Other Bulbs
- Scented bulbs
- Alstroemeria
- Amaryllis
- Dahlia
- Freesia
- Hyacinth
- Ranunculus
- Orchids
- Ways of judging flower quality
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.