Sneak Peek
Lawn Mowing & Turf Care
Self Paced 20-hour course to help you understand more about turf.
Learn to care for any type of turf – from golf and bowling greens to home gardens and rough mown parkland. The most time consuming, and perhaps important turf care job is mowing; and a lot of people mow grass regularly. Home gardeners across the world mow their lawns regularly, sportsground and parks staff mow grass every working day; and other people work as mowing contractors in often very well paid jobs.
Despite the amount of mowing that happens routinely, a surprising amount of mowing is not done properly. Many of the people who mow, just don’t understand the turf or the equipment properly. There is actually a big opportunity for “knowledgeable” mowing contractors and “turf professionals” across the horticulture industry. This course can be a very good way of setting yourself apart from others in this industry, learning things many of them just don’t properly understand, or practice.
Our 20 hour courses are self paced and will help you understand a topic in a short amount of time. You can work through the course when you like- test yourself with mini-tests along the way. There are extra case studies or research you can undertake if you would really like to get into the topic. Once you have completed the lessons and self assessment tasks, there is a final exam undertaken online- you can then download your personalised certificate.
WHAT THE COURSE COVERS
There are 5 lessons as follows:
Lesson 1 TURF QUALITY
What varieties
In unexpected drought conditions
Evaluating turf quality and needs
Lesson 2 MOWING
Mowing calculations
Basic calculations
Mowing
Understanding how grass grows
Understanding how lawn mowers cut grass
Other considerations for mowers
How to mow grass
Before you mow
Length of cut
Direction of cut or pattern of cutting
Other considerations
Mowing newly established turf
Raking before cutting?
Collecting grass clippings
Summary of points
Cutting steep slopes
Using growth regulators
Problems that may occur by mowing
Mowing safety
Mowing and its impact on the environment
Lesson 3 MAINTAINING TURF QUALITY
Maintaining turf
Maintenance tasks
Turf/lawn aeration
Soil pH
Other ways to improve soils
Weeding
Dealing with pest and diseases
Environmental problems in turf
Watering
Lesson 4 TURF EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS
Types of mowing equipment
Cylinder mowers
Rotary mowers
Tractor mounted
Ride on mower
Push type mowers
Hover mowers
Options for power
Deciding what you need
Mower maintenance
Electric mowers
Petrol mowers
Changing mower blades
Other turf maintenance equipment
Edger
Leaf rakes/vacuums
Forks
Rollers
Wheelbarrows
Strimmer/brush cutter/whipper snipper
Spray equipment
Should you buy, lease or hire?
Lesson 5 TURF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Starting your business
Before you start
Be informed
Developing a customer base
Location
Employees
Equipment
Finance
Buying into a franchise
Avoiding disputes
Other services you might offer
Legal requirements
Professional advice
Keeping business records
Taxation
Understanding contract law
Developing your business
Managing growth
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR
- Gardeners – Tradesmen
- Horticulturists
- Turf Industry Employees (Mower shops, turf farms, etc)
- Parks Staff
- Sportsground Staff
- Mowing Contractors
- Home Gardeners
- Students
- Anyone planning to buy or establish a mowing business
How does this course work?
You can enrol at any time.
Once you have paid for the course, you will be able to start straight away.
Study when and where you like. Work through at your own pace.
You can download your study-guide to your smart phone, tablet or laptop to read offline.
There
are automated self-assessment tests you can complete at the end of each
lesson. You can attempt these as many times as you wish and each time,
upon completion, you can see your results. You will need internet access
to complete the self assessment tests.
At the end of the course,
you are presented with a large assessment which can be attempted
online, anywhere, anytime. If you achieve a 60% pass in the exam; you
immediately receive a downloadable certificate of completion with your
name on it. If you do not achieve a 60% pass rate, you can contact us to
re-sit your exam ( email- [email protected] )
Contact us at anytime if you have any issues with the course. [email protected]