The University of Florida can help teach grower staff who are irrigating and fertilizing greenhouse crops, but have not had formal training in horticulture, about making better crop management decisions, according to a release from Dr. Paul Fisher, professor and floriculture extension specialist at University of Florida.
The next online course on “Nutrient management for container-grown crops: Level 1” will be offered in English and Spanish from Aug. 24 to Sept. 18.
Each week there will be two streaming classes and one activity (about 3 to 4 hours commitment per week), which can be accessed at any time of day.There are live instructors available using text chat and discussion features. For more information, go to backpocketgrower.org under “training” and “online courses."
Course training will include functions such as:
- List the essential plant nutrients for plant growth
- Interpret a fertilizer label
- Understand fundamentals of managing pH and fertilizer level
- Perform substrate-pH and electrical conductivity (EC) tests
- Identify and prevent pH and EC-related problems
This will allow your staff to:
- Solve most common nutrition problems
- Save costs in fertilizer and plant losses
- Reduce impact on the environment
Cost is $200 per employee. Each employee must register individually to track his or her progress. To register, click here.
If you have questions about the registration process, email floriculturealliance@gmail.com. Also, if you are registering 5 or more students from the same company or organization then contact floriculturealliance@gmail.com for a quicker registration process.