Market gardening courses

Future growth: Strong

Unemployment: Low

Career pathways: Vegetable farmer, market gardener, vegetable retail sales, organic farmer, organic market operator, organic retail sales.

Why study market gardening courses? 

The organic fruit and vegetable industry in Australia is growing (literally!) to record levels. According to Australian Organic Limited, it was valued at $2.6 billion as of 2019 – and that was a few years ago! Market gardening courses like our Certificate of Commercial Vegetable Production and Certificate of Commercial Organic Vegetable Growing will teach you the skills to produce vegetables for profit, whether you sell to cafés and restaurants or through your own retail outlet or market stall.

In market gardening courses like ours, you will learn about:  

• Commercial vegetable growing
• Cultural practices for vegetables
• Pest, disease and weed control
• Hydroponic and greenhouse growing
• Growing selected vegetable varieties
• Irrigation
• Harvest and post-harvest
• Marketing vegetables
• Growing organic vegetables
• Cultivation and planting
• Understanding soils
• Soil management
• Major varieties of organic vegetables
• Pests and diseases
• Seeds
• Greenhouse growing
• Lesser-grown varieties and herbs
• Irrigation
• Weed control and mulching
• Harvesting and marketing

 See our course summary at the end for more!

What makes vegetables organic?

As you’ll learn in market gardening courses, organic food production involves a system of natural farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. Non-organic farmers typically use these to control pests and weeds, but there are other not-so-great uses.

Non-organic fruit is often sprayed with antibiotics to prevent spoiling after harvest, some apples and citrus may have a wax coating to prevent moisture loss, and some fruits are picked unripe and then chemically ripened with ethylene. These are just a few examples, and may have negative consequences for consumers.

Which vegetables are important to eat organically?

With the cost of living increasing, many people can’t afford to have an entirely organic diet. But you can minimise pesticide exposure by knowing which fruits and vegetables have more residual pesticides than others.

Studies from the Environmental Working Group in the USA named the “dirty dozen”, representing the twelve fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residues. And although Australian production systems are different, it’s still worth keeping in mind. They are:

1. strawberries
2. spinach
3. kale
4. nectarines
5. apples
6. grapes
7. capsicum
8. cherries
9. peaches
10. pears
11. celery
12. tomatoes

What does Certified Organic mean?

Australian Organic Limited (AOL) is the leading peak industry body engaging with Industry and Government to promote the social and commercial interests of those certified, and protect the integrity of the certified industry against fraud and misleading organics.

According to them, “Certified Organic” means “a product has gone through the process of ticking all the boxes with one or multiple Australian organic certification bodies. It means they have proven via multiple trials that the product is organic to use and consumers and producers can safely and confidently apply these fertilisers, soil additives, sprays and even plant seeds and seedlings knowing they are completely certified organic right from the start”.

This process can take quite some time and be costly for producers of organic produce, but in the long term, can be environmentally and financially beneficial. Organic certification has existed in Australia for more than 30 years and remains the only way to provide integrity to the organic industry.

How to become Certified Organic

1. Choose a certifying body

Once you have decided to convert to organic production, the first step is to choose an organic certification body. The Department of Agricultural, Fisheries and Forestry currently certifies six certification bodies. There are several differences between each, including price, service level, international market access, and access to the Australian Certified Organic Bud logo.

All Australian organic produce for export must be certified by the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce (NS). However, you can also certify solely to the Australian Certified Organic Standard (ACOS), which is owned and updated by Australian Organic Limited.

2. Choose the type of certification you require

From the start of your certification application, it can take one to three years to become certified organic, depending on your previous farm chemical usage and history. However, for processors, the certification status typically takes less than three months from when you lodge documents. Given the diversity of organic agriculture, there are different documents you must complete for different sectors.

3. Complete your application

The most important part of your application is your Organic Management Plan (OMP). It is also known as an Organic Handling Plan, an Organic System Plan or an Organic Farm Plan. An OMP details how you will proactively manage your operation to ensure it remains compliant with the standards. It must also be sufficiently detailed to allow a certification officer to understand the finer points of your operation and how you plan to ensure ongoing compliance with the organic standards.

Depending on which standard you are certified to, slightly different organic inputs will be allowed. If you are unsure whether a product is allowed or not, direct confirmation with your certifying body is always the best option to ensure they are allowed under organic certification.

4. Initial audit

Once the certification body approves the OMP, an auditor will visit your site and ensure the approved plan matches reality. If this is not the case, they will issue you with Corrective Action Requests (CARs) that you need to rectify. A standard audit can take anywhere from several hours to a couple of days on-site, depending on your operation’s scale and complexity.

5. One to three-year conversion

Certification can take a producer one to three years, depending on past chemical usage and history. However, for processors, this typically takes less than three months from when documents are lodged.

6. Annual audit

Once you have completed the conversion period, you are officially certified organic and must conduct perpetual annual audits and soil testing to ensure you remain adherent to the organic standards. This involves keeping records of activities and farm inputs and outputs to facilitate the audit process.

7. Become a member

Support your organic practices by becoming a member of Australian Organic Limited. You will join a large community of certified organic operators, opening up new opportunities to learn, engage and promote your business. Membership also provides you with resources to stay abreast of the latest industry news and updates relevant to your business.

Outcomes achieved by undertaking market gardening courses include learning about:

• Economic principles, financial plans, budgets, marketing, risk management and sustainability
• Soils, water quality, weeds and pests, livestock health, materials and equipment, monoculture and planning and preparing for drought
• Crop rotation, cover crops, growing media, conservation techniques, seeds and soil pH
• Conductivity, plant nutrition, composting, fertilisers, salts and potting mixes
• Non-chemical pest control methods, plant pathology, fungi, insect control, diseases and viruses
• Environmental problems, drainage problems, foliage burn, turf weedicides (herbicides) and commonly used commercial formulations
• Wick, water culture, ebb and flow, drip and NFT hydroponics systems, fish tank water culture, greenhouse systems and shade houses
• Environmental factors that influence plant growth, moisture, greenhouse plant nutrition, temperature control, heating and ventilation systems and greenhouse irrigation methods
• Sweet potato, taro, artichoke, asparagus, chicory, endive, garlic, leek, okra, rhubarb and celery
• Beetroot, capsicum, corn, eggplant, parsnip, spinach and silver beet
• The physical and chemical properties of soil, soil profile, soil texture, soil pH, soil chemical characteristics, buffering capacity, water and air, soil temperature
• Humus, organic matter, the nutrient elements, macronutrients and micronutrients, organic fertilisers, animal manures, rock dust and the diagnosis of plant nutritional problems
• Cover crops, nitrogen fixation in legumes, the rhizobium bacteria and mycorrhizae
• Composting, the C/N ratio, hot heaps versus cold heaps and how to use compost
• Integrated pest management, disease lifecycles, pest lifecycles, plant viruses and the types of pests
• Environmental problems, air pollution, foliage burn, drainage problems, temperature, companion planting charts and nutrient-accumulating plants
• Seed propagation, pollination and preventing cross-pollination
• Collecting, cleaning, storing and germinating seeds
• Tomatoes, melons, cucumber, pumpkins, zucchini, artichoke, asparagus, leek and rhubarb
• Chicory, fennel, endive, horseradish, okra, sweet potato, mint, watercress, rhubarb and yams
• Cyclic watering, pulse watering, water extraction by roots, irrigation types, sprinkler systems and surface irrigation methods
• Mulch, weed management and weed control methods
• Harvesting, post-harvest quality considerations, harvesting hints, post-harvest treatment of vegetables,cooling methods and quantity standards
• Marketing, market research, defining your target market, determining market segmentation and economic laws

And more!

 

Gain a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of commercial vegetable production with market gardening courses like our Certificate of Commercial Vegetable Production and Certificate of Commercial Organic Vegetable Growing.