This program serves as a gateway to a career in horticulture, encompassing various roles such as fruit and vegetable cultivation, landscaping for residential and public spaces, operating a plant nursery, and engaging in tree production and environmental restoration aligned with the one billion trees initiative. Participants will acquire essential skills for the Nursery Industry, focusing on the cultivation of plants for food production, landscaping, and native revegetation to improve our ecological surroundings. Advancement from the New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Level 3 (General) to this program is also possible. The curriculum includes advanced techniques in plant propagation and the management of rootstocks for grafting and budding, alongside a comprehensive understanding of plant hormones and their role in regulating growth and health.
Students will develop a solid understanding of the water, nutrient, and climatic requirements of plants, learn to operate irrigation systems, and create a crop protection strategy to address pest, disease, and weed challenges. A key component of the program involves creating a planting plan for a personal growing project. Participants will also conduct a soil-less media experiment to test various soil mixes, produce a scaled landscape drawing, and plan, plant, and monitor a revegetation initiative.
