“Interested in Hydroponics at a management level or want to start your own business? Then this comprehensive, exiting and challenging course will meet all your needs. Covers broad general management skills along with hydroponic growing.” - Adriana Fraser Cert.Hort., Cert.Child Care., Adv.Cert.App.Mgt., Cert 1V Assessment and Training., Adv.Dip.Hort, ACS Tutor.

CORE UNITS Click on each module for more details

Office Practices
Develops basic office skills covering use of equipment, communication systems (telephone, fax, etc) and office procedures such as filing, security, workplace organisations, etc. 

Business Operations

Develops knowledge of basic business operations and procedures (eg. types of businesses, financial management, business analysis, staffing, productivity, etc) and the skills to develop a 12 month business plan.

Management

Develops knowledge of management structures, terminology, supervision, recruitment and workplace health and safety.

Marketing Foundations.

Develops a broad understanding of marketing and specific skills in writing advertisements, undertaking market research, developing an appropriate marketing plan and selling.

STREAM STUDIES

1. HYDROPONICS I

There are ten lessons as follows:

1. Introduction

2. How a Plant Grows

3. Hydroponic Systems

4. Nutrition & Nutrition management

5. Plant Culture

6. Hydroponic Vegetable Production

7. Hydroponic Cut Flower Production

8. Solid Media vs Nutrient Film

9. Greenhouse Operation & Management

10. Special Assignment

2. HYDROPONIC MANAGEMENT (Hydroponics II)

There are eleven lessons in this module as follows:

1.  How the Crop Plant Grows: Understanding how a plant grows in hydroponics, plant growth factors, manipulating and controlling growth, plant troubleshooting, resources, fruit set management, pollination issues, flower initiation, flower and fruit development etc.

2.  How to Run a Small Evaluation Trial

3.  Harvest and Post Harvest

4.  Tomatoes

5.  Capsicum

6.  Lettuce, Salad Greens and Foliage Herb Crops

7.  Cucurbits (Cucumber and Melons)

8.  Strawberries

9.  Roses

10. Carnations

11. Orchids

3. PROTECTED PLANT PRODUCTION

There are seven lessons in this module as follows:

1.   Structures for Protected Cropping

2.   Environmental Control

3.   Cladding Materials and their Properties

4.   Irrigation and Nutrition

5.   Relationship between Production techniques and Horticultural practices

6.   Harvest and Post Harvest Technology

7.   Risk Assessment

INDUSTRY PROJECT OR WORK EXPERIENCE

This is the final requirement that you must satisfy before receiving your award.

Here are two options available to you to satisfy this requirement:

Alternative 1.

If you work in the industry that you have been studying; you may submit a reference from your employer, in an effort to satisfy this industry (ie. workplace project) requirement; on the basis of RPL (ie. recognition for prior learning), achieved through your current and past work experience.

The reference must indicate that you have skills and an awareness of your industry, which is sufficient for you to work in a position of responsibility.

Alternative 2.

If you do not work in the relevant industry, you need to undertake a project as follows.

Procedure for a Workplace Project

This project is a major part of the course involving the number of hours relevant to the course (see above). Although the course does not contain mandatory work requirements, work experience is seen as highly desirable.

This project is based on applications in the work place and specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.

Students will design this project in consultation with a tutor to involve industry based activities in the area of specialized study which they select to follow in the course. The project outcomes may take the form of a written report, folio, visuals or a mixture of forms. Participants with relevant, current or past work experience will be given exemption from this project if they can provide suitable references from employers that show they have already fulfilled the requirements of this project.

For courses that involve more than 100 hours, more than one workplace project topic may be selected. For example, 200 hours may be split into two projects each of 100 hours. This will offer the student better scope to fulfill the needs of their course and to meet the number of hours required. Alternatively, the student may wish to do one large project with a duration of 200 hours.

Students will be assessed on how well they achieve the goals and outcomes they originally set as part of their negotiations with their tutor. During each 100 hours of the project, the students will present three short progress reports. These progress reports will be taken into account when evaluating the final submission. The tutor must be satisfied that the work submitted is original.

If the student wishes to do one large 200 hour report, then only three progressive reports will be needed (however the length of each report will be longer).

NEW E-BOOK RELEASE on HYDROPONICS by respected Australian author

Respected Australian horticulturist and author of more than 40 horticulture books, John Mason, is calling on the horticulture, landscaping, gardening and nursery industries to embrace the new E-books revolution.

As a recently-appointed Fellow of the Australian Institute of Horticulture and long-time Fellow of the UK's Institute of Horticulture, Mr Mason is well aware of the necessity for industry members to have reliable, up-to-date research and information at their fingertips to stay one step ahead.

So Mr Mason has begun releasing new editions of a selection of his most popular and best-selling books as E-book versions, all completely revised and updated and all readily accessible in a PDF format for Mac and Windows, iPad, Kindle and similar readers.

Each E-book is being released through a new online E-book store affiliated with Mr Mason's long-running ACS Distance Education school, which was established 31 years ago as the Australian Correspondence Schools and has grown to an online learning institution offering more than 400 courses to thousands of students enrolled from around the globe.

The new E-books are available at the new online ACS E-bookshop is at http://www.acsebook.com/ which is linked in with ACS Distance Education's UK office, or via the ACS online bookshop at www.acsbookshop.com .   

The first of four new E-books just released is the third edition of Commercial Hydroponics by John Mason, featuring 146 pages of invaluable information, advice, full colour photographs and a bonus directory of suppliers, priced at $AU29.95.

Commercial Hydroponics is packed with information on how to grow different types of vegetables, fruit, cut flowers, herbs and other plants, and brand new chapters on growing an additional 16 new plants including okra, water chestnuts, cherries, citrus gypsophila and lisianthus.

“In this new edition, emphasis is placed on plants that are commercially viable and the variety of ways to manage and improve crop profitability, ensuring this E-book well worth a look for those serious about their future in hydroponics,” says Mr Mason.

“Plus for anyone unsure of the quality and convenience of using an E-book, we have arranged for a free sample download to be available so everyone can see the fantastic quality of the product and experience just how easy it really is to use,” said Mr Mason.

Other E-books newly available at the ACS Online Bookstore include Growing Trees and Shrubs for Small Gardens ($AU19.95) by John Mason, Trees and Shrubs for Warm Places (AU$34.95) by John Mason, and Profitable Farming ($AU19.95) by John Mason, with many more new titles becoming available soon.

A renowned educator, Mr Mason is also a member the International Herb Association, International Society for Horticultural Science, International Plant Propagators Society, Australian Nursery Industry Association, Horticulture Media Association (Australia and UK), Australasian Plant Pathology Society, Royal Horticultural Society, is a Foundation Member and Fellow of Parks and Leisure Australia and holds a 23-year membership with the Australian Society of Authors Limited.