HCC - The Principles of Gardening

[SunnyU]

Hello All,

For some time now I have been considering enrolling on the above course at the Horticultural Correspondence College.

The "Principles of Gardening" course includes the following:

"The Principles of Gardening course offers a science based, "green approach". There is no examination. The emphasis is on the use of organic manures and biological control methods. It asks searching questions on fruit, vegetables and flowers plus horticultural principles of plant botany, physiology and the effect of the environment. This knowledge is highly desirable to professionals and amateurs alike.
Lesson 1 Vegetables and their cultivation, including rotation, crop growing.
Lesson 2 Soils for fruit growing, winter pruning. Soil composition and soil types.
Lesson 3 Manures, fertilisers and lime for fruit and vegetables, trace elements.
Lesson 4 Flowering plants, annuals, perennials, herbaceous, bedding plants, cut flowers.
Lesson 5 Planting trees and shrubs, soil preparation, after-care. Notes on trees, shrubs.
Lesson 6 Potting composts, cucumbers, melons, rock wool and nutrient film techniques.
Lesson 7 Plant propagation - seed requirements, genetics, propagation, hormones, mist.
Lesson 8 Pollination and fertilisation, flower/seed structure, nutrition, osmosis.
Lesson 9 Fungus diseases, insect pests, life cycles, control principles.
Lesson 10 Lawns from seed, after-care, manures and top-dressings, weed control.
Lesson 11 Garden Planning
Lesson 12 Plant Selection & Maintenance

Has anyone done anything similar (or maybe even this particular course)? What are your experiences? What was good? What wasn't?

Any input would be very much appreciated!

[Two_Sheds]

I once did a writers' correspondence course. Cost a packet, but had a "money back guarantee" (which turned out to be worthless: the assignments were so utterly awful and dull that I couldn't do them, so didn't finish the course, so didn't qualify for my money back).

[zazen999]

Ditto a photography course.

For practical learning, nothing beats a classroom or workshop based session; for the above you could just buy a book?

I learn more from the other students usually than is supposed to be taught by the tutor.

Just goggled and there is horticulture at Leeds College....

[Hilary B]

'Principles of Gardening' sounds wonderful, until you start thinking about what it MEANS.
There is one principle of gardening - it's a lot easier if you are working WITH nature, not AGAINST her, so learn what your soil is good at, and some simple adaptations.
You will learn as much about actually doing it from some good gardening books and talking to others who garden successfully in your area as ever you can from a 'course', especially correspondence!
If you want a qualification, find a real course where you get practical experience.

Just me being a bit prejudiced about practical stuff being taught in a theoretical way.....

[Dottie]

I'd ask for the reading list that goes alongside each lesson, and then just go and read as much as poss from books, internet etc. The only difference that a correspondence course is going to offer you that a good selection of the right books will, is the fact that you then have to write an essay on each topic (which to be fair does sharpen the mind to bits you might have skimmed over). But if you have the discipline to do essays for them, then again ask for the likely questions (present as someone who lacks confidence in essay skills etc, so thay don't realise that your just trying to get the whole structure of the course for free) and then do the essays. However, as has already been mentioned, having no contact with fellow paasionate gardeners in a classroom setting, then probably as many folk drop out of corresponence courses, as they do from signing up to a gym membership.

Even RHS books have become really cheap these days, WH Smith are selling yet another RHS Encyclopedia Gardening book £6.99, think it might be Practical Gardening this time? So there are loads of great books that you can learn loads from, if you enjoy reading, and it's great to have loads of reference books, as well as learning a new skill/s years later, as your gardening/designs/ideas change over the years.

Maybe look at how much the course is and how many books you could buy with the same money, maybe with some money left over to attend a local workshop or class, to meet like minded folk? On the other hand it maybe that the folk who are suggesting it's not really worth it (like me), are folk who already have a degree etc, so automatically do their own research for whatever and also forget that folk who don't have qualifications, feel the need of a course to make it feel worthy? Often when you have a fair bit of knowledge in any subject, it can be extremely disappointing to attend a course to find the tutor has limited knowledge and/or you have already read most of what you'll be covering in the course. But if you're taught by someone who lives and breathes their subject, as well as teaches it, then it's worth every penny.

Just quickly looked at your lesson list again, and you'd find the same subject headings in a basic RHS Encyclopedia (and many other non-RHS books).

[Florence Fennel]

I'm with the others here SunnyU, enrol at a college doing Horticulture and get a formal qualification for your hard work.

[SunnyU]

Thank you

Excellent! Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm glad I didn't jump in now. I'll just get myself a few nice books. I've been on secondment for 6 months and the guys have asked for ideas for a leaving present as it's due to end and I have now asked for Amazon vouchers so I can go and treat myself to a few I reckon...

Thanks again.