Managing a Nursery- Short Course

Sneak Peek

Self Paced 20-hour course to help you understand more about Nursery Management.

This 20 hour course will help you understand the fundamental core business functions required to successfully manage and run a successful and profitable plant nursery business.

There are many different types of nurseries that can offer both retail and wholesale plants.
The key to profit and a successful business operation in growing plants is planning, being organised and growing plants efficiently. This course will help you understand what you will need to do so that you can manage and profitable nursery business.
We aim to show you ways to make a difference to the financial viability, hence the success, of any nursery, irrespective of size or type.

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 do you learn? Take a look inside:

LESSON 1 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
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 2 THE NURSERY SITE
Area of the nursery site
Nursery site and location
Nursery design
Designing for effective environmental management
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 3 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
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 4 IRRIGATION
Water supply
Water quality
Water treatment
Recycling water
Irrigation systems
Pumps
Scheduling irrigation
Maintenance of watering systems
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 5 GLASSHOUSES, SHADE HOUSES AND OTHER NURSERY STRUCTURES
Greenhouses
Other structures for growing plants
Environmental control in greenhouses
Sheds and workrooms
Review what you have been learning

LESSON 6 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
Review what you have been learning

CHAPTER 7 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
Review what you have been learning
Final assessment

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]