Overview
If you are concerned about where your food comes from, what’s in it (or on it), or simply getting the best nutrition possible, growing an abundance of healthy, nutritious and delicious fruits and vegetables is the way to go.
In this comprehensive course you will learn essential applied permaculture and organic gardening techniques to:
- Analyze and optimize the growing conditions in your garden, no matter the size, including container gardens
- Creatively collect, use and preserve water for optimal garden health
- Use holistic solutions for plants health problems ("pests" and "diseases")
- Select, plant, maintain and harvest a large variety of food plants for year-round enjoyment
- Also included: how to propagate plants; save your own seeds; and store your harvest.
This online course engages students with practical and hands-on projects, and is guided by experienced professional organic gardeners.
No prior education or gardening experience required, but the Organic Master Gardener Online Course / Organic Horticulture Specialist Online Course would be highly beneficial either before, during or after this program.
Outline
Please read the course outline here: Growing Food Course Outline.
Time Expectations
Students can expect to dedicate 6-10 hours per week to successfully complete this course.
As well, our courses are offered in the continuing education realm and are designed so students can complete them according to their own schedule. The work is divided up into 14 weekly topics and students are expected to complete their assigned work and quizzes by the given deadlines.
Our courses do not use online meetings, so we are not using Google Meet, Zoom or other online meeting applications.
If you have any questions about studying online with Gaia College please see our FAQs page
Fees
Fees: $795.00
Fees include:
- Comprehensive on-line educational materials
- Unlimited access to our on-line course resources, community center, including libraries, discussion forums and much more.
Payment Options
By Mail: Cheque drawn on a Canadian bank; Money order in Canadian funds
On-line: Visa, Mastercard
Policies
Please be sure you are familiar with our policies.
Prerequisites
There are no academic prerequisites for this course, however students must
- be proficient in English (written)
- be comfortable with current computer and internet technology, including spreadsheets and word processing programs
- have an email account capable of receiving a large number of messages for the duration of the course
- have access to high-speed internet
- have access to a computer capable of running a current version of FireFox or Chrome. Tablets and phones are not supported at this time.
It would be also very beneficial to the student to pursue the Organic Master Gardener Online Course / Organic Horticulture Specialist Online Course, either before, during or after this program.
Evaluations
There are no formal exams in this course, as the emphasis is on developing practical skills and the ability to synthesize information.
To receive a Certificate of Completion students must contribute to all on-line discussions and satisfactorily complete all assignments and quizzes.
Student Comment
I have been gardening organically (meaning no restricted pesticides) for 25 years (10 years on Gabriola) and now I have the language, science and tools to confirm what I knew all along intuitively. I'm so excited to apply this course to my market garden at home and do an even better job at growing food through sustainable and ethical methods.
Tara Qua, Gabriola Island
Texts
Required Text
Required: The New Vegetable Growers Handbook. Frank Tozer. Green Man Publishing, Santa Cruz, 2013 – ISBN 978-0-9773489-9-2
Credits
This program is eligible for Continuing Education Credits (CECs) with the following:
Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA)
Pre-approved: 24 Credits
National Association of Landcare Professionals - American (NALP)
Pre-approved: 24 Credits
Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc. (MGOI)
Pre-approved: 24 Credits
Canadian Society for Organic Urban Land Care (SOUL)
Pre-approved: 6 Credits
Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)
Pre-approved: 4 Credits
Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC)
Pre-approved: 42 Non-core LUs
This course partially satisfies the requirements of:
How to Apply for Your Continuing Education Credits
For information on obtaining your credits please see:
How to Apply for your Continuing Education Credits
