CERTIFICATE IN HORTICULTURE (CROPS) VHT002

LEARN ABOUT HORTICULTURAL CROP PRODUCTION

Unlock the future of agriculture with our comprehensive crop production course.

For thousands of years, crops have provided essential resources—food, textiles, oils, fuels, and livestock feed. As climate change and global demand reshape farming, skilled growers remain in high demand.

This course delivers practical, future-focused training in organic farming, greenhouse cultivation, broadacre agriculture, and more—empowering students to adapt and thrive in a changing world.

Course Structure:

There are two core modules. 

There are four electives you will choose to suit your goals and needs. 

Modules

Note that each module in the CERTIFICATE IN HORTICULTURE (CROPS) VHT002 is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.

Aims

• Learn to grow a broad range of specialised plants in outdoor crop production, from flowers to fruits and vegetables.
• Learn how to manage your production with less pest and disease problems. Develop your broad understanding of practices and processes involved in successful plant cropping in greenhouses etc.
• Develop a clear understanding of environmental control and plant growth within a protective environment, together with a practical knowledge of plant husbandry techniques.

What You Will Do

• Any four modules may be selected from crops electives listed to satisfy course requirements. This gives you a great deal of flexibility to focus on the area of crop production, which is of greatest interest to you, or if you desire, undertake a greater diversity of studies if you prefer. Please note course fees do not include exam fees.

How to Grow Crops?

You can grow them either:

1. In the open ground
2. In a protected environment (like a greenhouse)

Options for Growing Crops in the Outside

There are a broad range of outdoor crop production systems. The main systems used for commercial cropping are:

Row cropping – the most commonly used production system; used to grow vegetables and herbs, cut flowers, fruit and nut trees, field-grown nursery stock. Advantages of row cropping include ease of access for machinery and people during planting, crop maintenance and harvesting. This system enables good water management (i.e. it is suitable for trickle irrigation systems) and weed control (using mulches between plants and mowing between rows).  

Broad acre – most commonly used for large-scale vegetable and grain production. Also used for cut flowers, turf growing, and large-scale orchards (e.g. fruit grown for canning and juicing). 

Hydroponics – a specialised and intensive system most commonly used to grow leafy vegetables, tomatoes and strawberries. Can be used to grow many other crops including cut flowers and root vegetables.

Containerised systems – used for growing nursery stock outdoors.

Trellising systems – used for supporting and training deciduous and vine fruits.

Hedging – used for tree and berry fruits, and nuts. Also used for growing nursery stock plants (to provide cutting propagation material).

Monoculture vs. Mixed Culture

Monoculture farming involves growing one type of crop or raising one type of animal. This system has been widely practised in recent years and is favoured by many growers because it potentially gives good economic returns. By only growing one crop farmers are able to specialise and refine their growing techniques, and to concentrate their efforts in developing markets and investing in specialised equipment.

Mixed culture farming involves growing a variety of crops or animals. Until the Industrial Revolution and the advent of chemical fertilisers, all farmers made their living through mixed culture farming, and nowadays many growers are turning back to this system. This system has several important benefits: 

1. In most cases it is more environmentally sustainable than monoculture farming. Growing a wide range of different plants for different purposes can significantly enhance the land’s productivity over a period of time. This means that as well as growing several different cash efficient crops at any given time, the farmer grows other plants such as windbreaks and companion plants to improve the farm’s sustainability.

2. The farmer is buffered against economic loss caused by market over/under supply or by the loss of one crop from pest/disease attack or unfavourable growing conditions

3. Crops can be spread over the whole year, allowing better use of resources (such as farm equipment) and better management of labour and finance.

Why you should do this course…

• earn extra income.
• learn complexities of urban farmers.
• increase productivity for an existing business.
• access industry CPD.
• develop knowledge of edible plants.
• identify pests and diseases.