Gardening Services Guide

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Vegetable gardening is not difficult. It is one of the easiest forms of gardening. Of the many books on vegetable farming for beginners that are available, there is one that explains everything in plain, simple terms that will be easy for your to follow even if you have never grown a single vegetable. Gardening for Dummies, one of a long list of “how to” books, has a chapter specifically about growing vegetables.

Vegetable gardening for dummies begins by telling the reader how to plan a garden. The beginning gardener must know something about the local climate, because that determines when vegetables should be planted and when they should be harvested. Some vegetables, like corn, peppers and tomatoes can thrive only in warm weather. Others, like peas, lettuce and radishes, can tolerate at least some cool weather and maybe even a little frost.

The next step in vegetable gardening for dummies is to select the right location for your vegetable garden. You need a spot that gets six to eight hours of sunlight a day. Leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach don’t mind a little shade, but peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins and squash need plenty of sunlight. Plant close enough to the house to make your gardening easier, but not right up against the house. Building foundations are often treated with pesticides that could be harmful to your plants. Start with a small garden, about ten feet by twenty feet. That is enough for a selection of leafy vegetables, some tomatoes, beans and cucumbers and a few herbs. Make sure individual plants have room to grow. Don’t plant short-growing plants where they will eventually be in the shade of taller plants. You must also have easy access to water. A fence might be necessary to keep out rabbits and raccoons.

Vegetable gardening for dummies tells the reader about soil. The gardener must have loose soil that drains well. If the soil is nutrient poor, the gardener can improve it with compost and fertilizers. Natural fertilizers are the best bet for beginners.

Beginner gardeners are often bewildered by the great variety of seeds available for vegetable gardening. They aren’t sure what they should plant. Vegetable gardening for dummies says to first select the seeds for the kinds of vegetables you like to eat. Then find out which of those vegetables will grown well in your area. All the information you need is on seed packages and in seed catalogs. Your local garden centre will also be helpful.

Plant your seeds according to the instructions on the package. Big seeds for beans and squash, for example, must be planted deeper than the tiny seeds for carrots and lettuce.

Once your planting is done, maintain your garden by watering, weeding and keeping out pests. In time you will have a good crop of vegetables, grown by your own hands.

You want to learn about landscape gardening, and you’ve decided there is only so much you can learn on your own from books, no matter how good the books are. There are many college level landscape gardening courses you can take. Programs will vary to some degree from one school to another, but generally the student of landscape gardening courses will be taught theory and technique in a classroom setting, and will also get practical, hands-on training in applied horticulture in the field.

The programs of the landscape gardening courses are designed to prepare graduates for employment in horticultural pursuits related to the development and maintenance of landscapes in both commercial and residential situations. Among the various programs offered by landscape gardening courses are: an associate’s degree, a general certificate, a certificate in production and a certificate in installation and maintenance.

Most landscape gardening courses place an emphasis on: plant propagation, plant identification, nursery and greenhouse culture, turf management, diseases of pests and plants, arboriculture, and the planning, construction and maintenance of landscapes. Other courses might include practical woodwork, garden design, soil science, plant science, and communications and word processing. Graduate students may also be required to take a pesticide applicator’s examination.

If you are looking for something beyond the college level diploma, some universities offer courses in landscape architecture, for which there is a Bachelor’s degree. Graduates can also work toward a Graduate Diploma in Landscape Design.

There are landscape gardening courses are that are designed for both hobbyists and professionals, and night courses are often available through continuing education programs. Students who apply for college or university courses in landscape gardening are usually people who have shown an interest and proficiency in subjects associated with horticulture and botany.

For students who have the self-discipline for home study, there are also online courses. Some academies have courses available on CD through mail order. These courses provide text and illustrations and offer a certificate upon successful completion for a written exam. However, the person who seriously wishes to pursue landscape gardening as a career would probably be advised to inquire at a recognized teaching institution.

There are many employment opportunities for people who have graduated from a recognized educational institution with a degree or certificate in landscape gardening. Such people are not only employed domestically as gardeners, although that option is there. They are also employed by institutions as diverse as golf courses and large hospitals. They design and maintain indoor and outdoor gardens for shopping malls, industrial parks, municipal buildings and universities. They take care of public parks at every level from small town squares to the vast holdings of federal governments. There is a great demand for graduates of landscape gardening courses.