HOME VEGETABLE GROWING AHT102

Learn how to grow delicious, fresh, healthy vegetables simply at home. =
  • Learn how to build a vegie garden.
  • Study cultivation and planting.
  • Study the main types of vegetables.
  • Learn how to make great compost.
  • Study pest, disease and weed control.
  • Learn about hydroponic and greenhouse growing.
  • Study herbs and uncommon vegetable varieties.
  • Learn about watering and irrigation systems.
  • Learn about harvesting, storing and using vegetables.

Vegetable Growing Course

  • Study, Learn and Grow vegies at home.
  • Feed the family; and maybe neighbours and friends too.

This is a practical, hands on course that can be applied to aby scale. It doesn't matter if you arte only growing a few vegies in pots on a verandah; or lots in a large home garden: this course works either way.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course is divided into eight lessons as follows:

The eight lessons are as follows:

  1. Introduction
  2. Cultivation and Planting
  3. Review of Major Vegetable Varieties
  4. Pest, Disease and Weed Control
  5. Hydroponic and Greenhouse Growing
  6. Lesser Grown Varieties and Herbs
  7. Irrigation
  8. Harvesting, Storing and Using Vegetables


WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE

  • Compile a resource file of organisations related to home vegetable growing
  • Compile reviews of sixteen different vegetables suitable for growing at home
  • Carry out basic soil tests on two different soils
  • Obtain or make up a propagating mix
  • Make a vegetable garden
  • Identify weed species in a vegetable garden and suggest control methods
  • Make notes about pests and diseases in a home vegetable garden contact several chemical suppliers and obtain brochures or technical information sheets on herbicides and pesticides appropriate for use on vegetable crops contact a few greenhouse companies and obtain both literature and current prices
  • Either write to or visit a company (or companies) which supply irrigation equipment.
  • Obtain catalogues, brochures, etc.
  • Try drying, bottling or freezing a vegetable you have not preserved before.
  • List 20 different vegetables with information about their culture and harvest


Start with Something Relatively Easy:   Tips for Growing Carrots

Carrots are an adaptable and easy to grow crop. Kids especially love them because they’re fun to pull out of the soil and they can be picked while they’re still small and sweet.

What carrots need:
• Full sun
• Deep soil – if yours isn’t deep, build it up or choose a shallow-rooting variety
• Adequate moisture but don’t over water – let the soil dry out between waterings.

When to grow carrots:
• In cool and temperate areas – spring, summer and early autumn
• In subtropical areas – autumn, winter and early spring

How to grow carrots:
Sow seeds directly in shallow furrows 20-30cm apart. Mix the fine seed with a cup of sand – this makes them easier to handle and easier to see in the bed. Keep up a good supply of water while they germinate – depending on how warm the soil is, this will take between one and four weeks. Thin out (and use) the baby carrots to around 2cm apart and allow the remainder to develop. Liquid feeding once a month during summer will give a faster crop (but don’t overdo it because the leaves will grow instead of the roots).

How many carrots will I need?
A 4-5m row will feed the average family. Sow successively every 5 weeks for a continuous harvest.

What varieties?
• Western Red – long-rooted smooth carrot, good for deep soil
• Topweight – long tapering roots, also good for deep soil
• King Chantenay – shorter-rooted, good for home gardens
• Early Shorthorn – short, fat carrot, good for shallow, heavy soils
• Baby Carrot – small, sweet carrot, fast-maturing (10 weeks)