New online course for growers and industry professionals

Are you ready to take your knowledge of fertilizer management and plant nutrition to another level? The new “Advanced Nutrient Management for Container-Grown crops” online course of the Environmental Horticulture Department of the University of Florada will be offered in English and Spanish from Oct 5 to 30 2015. This course will help you understand and manage aspects of pH management including lime, water quality, species, nitrogen form, and root substrate. You will know how to convert fertilizer units and formulate a fertilizer from individual salts. Learn to diagnose nutritional problems and recommend corrective actions. Check out the video below for more information, and click here to enroll.

Over 230 growers from the U.S., Europe, Africa, Latin America, and other countries have completed our new Greenhouse Training Online courses so far this year, offered by the University of Florida IFAS Extension. Courses are designed for people already working in the greenhouse or nursery industry. The courses run for 4 weeks, cost $US200 per participant, have lectures and assignments in English and Spanish, and include a personalized certificate of completion.

Advanced Nutrient Management is not a simple course! It is designed for experienced growers, technical managers, and sales staff. Many of our examples are ornamental crops, but principles apply equally to edibles. Participants must already know how to use Excel, email, how to do a pH and electrical conductivity (EC) test, calculate ppm of a chemical, and read a basic fertilizer level (the knowledge covered in our online Nutrient Management Level 1 course).

Each week there are two streaming classes and one activity (about 3-4 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 Back Pocket Grower.

Looking ahead to 2016, we will have new courses lined up on weed management, disease management, and cost accounting, and we will repeat our “Greenhouse 101” and introductory and advanced nutrient management courses. As new courses become available, we will let you know through FloralDaily and HortiDaily.

For more information