About

When you learn how to grow your own fruits and vegetables, you're in charge of how they are taken care of, when they are harvested and how long it takes to go from garden to table. Unlike produce from the grocery store, where there is no way to know how long the cucumbers have been sitting out, how many people have squeezed the tomatoes or what chemicals were sprayed on the strawberries.

This course will teach you:

• how to choose the best fruits and vegetables for small space gardening
• how to fill each space with the most productive and practical plants
• the best information for first-time urban gardening
• how to plant so that your harvest will be successful
• techniques for preparing soil and producing your plants
• ideas on the best containers for your space

Gardening lowers blood pressure, connects you to green space - even in the middle of the city - and allows you to commune with nature! We'll teach you everything you need to know, so let's get growing!

Requirements

International Open Academy courses are designed for anyone with an interest in learning. No formal qualifications are required to study with us. Our courses are suitable if you want to learn new skills, start a new career, or if you’re already working in a particular industry and wish to upgrade your talents and enhance your resume.

Lessons

Module 1: Introduction

• Introduction
• Success on a small scale
• Getting started
• Sowing and growing
• Pests and diseases

Module 2: Garden Layouts

• Traditional rows
• Raised beds
• Decorative planting
• Paths and walkways

Module 3: Growing In Containers

• Moveable feasts
• Window boxes, grow bags and hanging baskets

Module 4: Growing Vegetables

• Leaf vegetables (Lettuce, Chicory, Salad Leaf Collections, Salad Rocket, Lamb's Lettuce, Curly Kale, Chard)
• Flower and fruiting vegetables (Tomatoes, Aubergine, Peppers, Sprouting broccoli)
• Gourds (Courgette, Pumpkin and Squash)
• Onion family (Leeks, Onions)
• Pods and kernels (Beans, Runner Beans, Peas, Early garden or Pod Peas, French Beans, Broad Beans, Sweetcorn, Baby Vegetables)
• Roots, stems and bulbs (Potatoes, Carrots, Radishes, Beetroot, Kohlrabi, Parsnip, Turnip)
• Herbs and flowers

Module 5: Growing Fruit

• Choosing fruit varieties
• Choosing fruit trees
• Soft fruits
• Strawberries
• Shrubby fruit
• Cane fruits

Module 6: Garden Plans

• Vegetable circle garden
• Semi-circular vegetable garden
• Potager-style garden
• Rooftop container garden
• Fruit garden

Module 7: The Harvest

• Harvesting
• Vegetables for the small garden
• Fruit for the small garden
• Herbs
• Preserving your produce
• Protecting vegetable plants

Career

Who is this course for?

• Lovers of the freshest fruit and vegetables
• Avid gardeners who don't have much space
• New gardeners wanting to start small 
• Anyone looking for a healthy new hobby 
• Young and old horticulturists alike!

Certification

You will be required to complete each lesson in full, and answer exams at the end of each course module. If your pass rate exceeds 55% on each exam then you are eligible to access a certificate of achievement or other accreditation options to recognize your achievement.

Most of our courses will earn you credits through Continuing Education (CE) / Continuing Professional Development (CPD). CE/CPD points are accepted and recognized by professional member bodies and academic institutions across the US and internationally.

All courses are accredited by the International Council for Online Educational Standards (www.icoes.org). When successfully completing a course, students can choose to purchase an ICOES certificate that recognizes the achievement, from this third-party institution.

Creator

Barbara Segall

Expertise: Gardening

Barbara Segall is a horticulturist and writer whose work appears on BBC Gardeners' World, Country Life and Country Living and similar magazines; her books include The Ultimate Herb Gardener. Louise Pickford has written over a dozen innovative cookery titles, including The Inspired Vegetarian and 30 Minute Food for Friends (also published by RPS). Rose Hammick is a photography stylist whose work appears in interior magazines. She was the stylist for Planted Junk (also published by RPS).