Certificate in Hydroponic Distance Education

• Learn to integrate horticultural principles with hydroponic culture.
• Establish contacts within the industry and look for business and job prospects.
• 600-hour course that is self-paced and taught by an international group of professional teachers

 What Knowledge and Skills are Need for Hydroponic Success?The 20/80 rule—80% general horticulture expertise, 20% hydroponic skill—is frequently cited by industry experts. Lack of fundamental horticulture knowledge is a frequent cause of failure!“A fantastic course for individuals with some basic horticulture knowledge—from growing to marketing, this well-rounded course covers all facets of hydroponics!” Adelia Fraser Cert.Hort, Cert.Child Care, Adv.Cert.App.Mgt, Cert 1V Assessment and Training, Adv.Dip.Hort, and ACS Tutor.

Course structure

This subject has 30 lessons, each requiring about 12-15 hours of study:1.  Introduction to Hydroponic Technology2.  Plant Growth Requirements – Light , artificial light, light balances3.  Plant Growth Requirements – Nutrition- nutrient requirements, deficiencies, toxicities, pH, conductivity, salinity, growth regulators4.  Plant Growth Requirements – Temperature5.  Hydroponic Growing Systems  – basic concepts and designs, site considerations.6.  Growing Media – types, properties, uses.7.  Hydroponic Nutrient Solutions – nutrient formulae, preparing solutions.8.  Hydroponic Equipment – componentry, nutrient delivery, pumping, testing9.  Growing Structures – Design and Construction – types10. Environmental Control A – Heating, Cooling11. Environmental Control B – Lighting, Shading.12. Environmental Control C – Carbon Dioxide Enrichment13. Plant Culture In Hydroponics A – trellising, pruning, pollination, transplanting.14. Plant Culture In Hydroponics B15. Aggregate Culture16. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) Culture17. Rockwool Culture18. Other Techniques – wick systems, flood & drain, bag culture, aeroponics, etc.19. Irrigation – Soil Requirements20. Irrigation Systems21. Plant Propagation – seed & cutting propagation & tissue culture22. Market Gardening – Cut Flowers23. Market Gardening – Vegetables24. Other Plants In Hydroponics – herbs, grasses, indoor plants25. Pest and Diseases – identifying the problem, pests and diseases in hydroponics26. Weeds – identification and control27. Managing A Commercial Hydroponics Farm – crop scheduling & selection standards28. Management – Organisation and Supervision29. Marketing – Promotion and Selling30. Special Project -Prepare a detailed report of at least 2,000 words, plus photos or diagrams, on a particular aspect of technology which you have studied that significantly assists growing. Exams: There are two exams for the course – one after Lesson 15 and another after Lesson 30.

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Basic Learning Objectives:

1. To give students a solid foundation in horticultural principles and how they relate to the care, use, and management of plants in varied production settings.2. To give new and current workers who are unable to participate in on-campus training the chance to acquire the necessary information in the area of plant culture, use, and management3. To train staff members for managerial and supervisory roles in the field of plant use and management.4. To provide the right training to horticulture business owners and operators (or those who are thinking about buying one) so they may apply their technical knowledge to the management of the material, monetary, and human resources they have made or will make a significant investment in.5. To educate about modern technology and how it may be used to grow plants, with a focus on hydroponically growing plants with high economic value. What is able to grow?Everything from fruits and vegetables to herbs and houseplants can be produced hydroponically. Hydroponically, even animal feed can be generated.However some crops are more frequently grown hydroponically. They consist of:

• Lettuce and other salad greens
• Cucumber
• Tomato
• Capsicum
• Mint and other herbs
• Carnation
• Rose
• Orchids

This course is relevant to it all these, and a lot more.

How Will You Grow?

The initial decision is whether to employ rockwool, aggregate culture, or water culture. All three are practical and have been utilised effectively with a wide range of crops in numerous regions of the world.You should examine the following factors while making your decision:

• How much does each cost, and how accessible are materials in your area?
• Is rockwool produced and sold nearby? If not, how much will it cost to get it delivered in terms of freight?
• Can you utilise sand or gravel from a nearby source or do you have to pay a lot for transportation?
• What kinds of plants are you going to grow?
• Different plants require different levels of aeration. Certain systems, like NFT systems, offer better aeration than others.

What Will the Roots Grow in?

According on where they came from, there are three primary categories of hydroponic media:1. Materials made of stone or rock 2. Media made with synthetic materials 3. Natural mediaIn aggregate culture and rockwool culture, the solid material(s) utilised to substitute soil are referred to as media. The following requirements must be met by hydroponic media:

• They must be inactive chemically.
• They must be stable chemically.
• They need to be tidy.
• They must drain well enough to prevent the roots from getting too little oxygen.
• They must be capable of holding enough water.
• They must be capable of holding enough air.
• Buffer capacity, or the media’s capacity to withstand pH variations, should be good.
• Cation exchange capability should be at least moderate to good.

How to Raise Hydroponic Fodder: Some SuggestionsHydroponics has been used to grow fodder crops successfully under rigorous cultivation. Some benefits of hydroponic fodder include:

• All year long, during unusual conditions like drought or extreme cold, it can be produced under regulated settings (for example, inside a greenhouse).
• It uses water resources more effectively.
• Food cultivated hydroponically may have a protein level that is much higher than food grown similarly in paddocks.
• With artificial illumination, plants may be grown in tiers, which greatly increases yield per square foot.
• Accelerated growth rates enable higher annual production per unit of space.
• It is possible to design hydroponic manufacturing to need minimal labour.

The biggest drawback of hydroponic fodder cropping is the potential for high startup expenses. Although it is still uncommon, hydroponic fodder production has been used to grow a number of fodder plants, including oats, wheat, rye, barley, and sorghum.   

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