1. Introduction
- Entering for the examination
- Examination results
- Course study
- Duration of the course
- What you’ll need
- Readiness for the exam
2. Lawns and Grasslands - Part 1
- Lawns
- Seed or turf
- What to look for in turf
- Site preparation
- Levelling
- Making slopes
- Preparing for sowing
- Ideal conditions
- Grasses
- Types of lawn
- Problem areas
- Wet shade
- Methods of sowing
- Care of the new lawn and maintenance
- Rolling and mowing
- Dealing with weeds
- Sports lawns
- Fertilising
3. Lawns and Grasslands - Part 2
- Annual maintenance
- Aeration
- Top dressing
- Floral meadows
- Lawn weeds
- Treating weeds
- Moss
- The non-grass lawn
- Ground cover plants
- Initial work for ground cover plants
4. How Plants Work
- Cells
- Roots
- Different root types
- Stems
- The vascular bundles
- Modified stems
- Leaves
- Buds
- Flower buds
- Leaf buds
- Other structures
5. Vegetables
- Siting vegetables
- Soil and fertility
- Green manuring
- Drainage
- The vegetable garden
- Pottaging
- Climate
- Intercropping
- Successional crops and catch cropping
- Undercropping
- Cut and come again crops
- Crop rotation
- Seeds
- Sowing vegetables
- Planting
- Protected cropping
- Sowing indoors
- Routine cultivation for vegetables
- Weeds and vegetables
- Mulching
- Feeding
- Organic feeding methods
- Crop protection
6. Ornamental Plants and Propagation
- Annuals
- Biennials
- Perennials
- How to select plants
- Herbaceous plants
- Colours
- Propagation
- Seed dispersal
- Vegetative propagation methods
- Cuttings
- Selecting plant material for cuttings
- Leaf cuttings
- Layering
- Grafting
- Budding
- Micropropagation and tissue culture
7. Soil
- So what is soil?
- Importance of assessing the horticultural potential of a site
- Types of soil
- Indicator plants
- pH
- Soil structure
- Topsoil and subsoil
- Soil profile
- Air and water
- Improving the soil
- Mulching
- Organic mulches
- Mulches, benefits and drawbacks
- Inorganic mulches
- Manures, fertilisers and lime
- Major plant nutrients and trace elements
- What the major plant foods do
- Applying manure
- Garden compost
- General soil improvements
- Soil life
8. Trees and Shrubs
- Trees
- Forms
- Soils
- Buying trees
- Feeding trees
- Pruning
- Root pruning
- Lopping
- Planting a tree
- Staking
- Shrubs and hedging plants
- Hedge trimming
- Roses
- Climbers
- Ground cover shrubs
9. Flowers
- Structure of flowers
- Sepals and petals
- Stamens
- The Carpel
- Ovary
- Ovules
- Style and stigma
- Flowers on plants
- Types of inflourescence
- Plant groups
- Nectaries
- Pollination
- Wind pollinated flowers
- Insect and animal pollinated flowers
10. Pollination and Fertilisation
- Avoiding self pollination
- Self pollinators
- Animal pollinators
- Fertilisation
- The importance of seeds
- The formation of fruit
- Types of fruit
- Dry fruit
- Fleshy fruit
- Propagation by seeds
- Hybrids and the F1 factor
- Which plants to grow from seed?
11. Fruit
- Types of fruit
- The importance of rootstock
- Tree forms
- Planting and cultivation
- Soils
- Pollination compatibility
- Choosing plants
- Feeding
- General care
- Mulching and fertilising
- Supports, stakes and ties
- Pruning and training
- Trees
- Cordon, spindles and espaliers
- Bush fruit
- Weaving
- Dispersal of fruit
12. Pests, Diseases and Disorders
- Damage caused
- Modes of attack
- Minimising the damage
- Identifying problems
- Overview of controls
- Controls in detail
- Biological control
- Organic control
- Examples of good management
- Timing and stock
- Cultivation
- A large pest: rabbits
- Mollusc: snails
- Insects
- Insects with complete metamorphosis
- Insects with incomplete metamorphosis
- Mite
- Nematodes
- Fungus
- Virus
- Bacteria
- Environmental disorder
- Nutritional disorder
- Integrated pest management (IPM)
13. Plant Physiology
- Photosynthesis
- Factors necessary for photosynthesis
- Respiration and photosynthesis
- Factors affecting respiration
- Photoperiodism
- Commercial importance of Photoperiodism
- Artificial control of light
- Nutrient cycles
- The carbon cycle
- Plant nutrition in general
14. Plant Protection and Artificial Environments
- Plant protection
- Floating cloche
- Greenhouses
- Other types
- Siting the greenhouse
- Considerations in choosing materials for protected structures
- Controlling the environment in the greenhouse
- Watering
- Greenhouse staging
- Artificial environments
- Feeding plants in containers
- Non-soil growing mediums
- Making composts
- Standard potting composts
- Containers
- Hydroponics (water culture)
- Nutrient film technique (NFT)
15. Water
- The roles of water
- Transpiration
- The guard cells
- Water uptake by plant roots
- Conduction of water
- Relative humidity
- Turgor
- Water in the soil
- The water table
- Availability
- Soil field capacity
- Soil structure and water
- Salinity
- Imbibition
- Dormancy
- Inherent and non-inherent dormancy
- Vernalisation
16. Weeds
- What are weeds?
- Characteristics
- Native weeds
- Uses for weeds
- Cultivated plants as weeds
- Destructive weeds
- Native wildflowers
- Types of weed
- Preventing weeds
- Weed control
17. Ecology and the Environment
- Brief background
- Changing agricultural practices and their effects
- Green farming
- Conservation in the garden
- Chemicals
- Encouraging wildlife and ‘green’ practices
- Setting aside special areas
- Native plants
- Safe pest control
- Sourcing of plants
- Avoid peat
- Recycling in the garden
- Water
- Plants
- Encourage birds
- Butterflies
- Maintaining a sense of proportion
- Large-scale environmentally friendly practices
- Conservation headlands
- Where to get advice
18. Garden Planning – Part 1
- Introduction and a brief history of design
- The importance of safe, healthy and environmentally sustainable
practices
- The choice of materials and plants
- Site appraisal and data collection for planning purposes and
recording the information
- Climate
- Shelter
- Rainfall and humidity
- The soil
- Triangulation
- Scale
- Offset measurements
19. Garden Planning – Part 2
- The skill of designing
- Horizontal elements
- Patios and decking
- Arranging plants
- Planting for borders and beds - Information sources
- Plants for particular problem positions
- Plants for acid soil
- Plants for alkaline soils
- Plants for shady areas
- Plants for sunny and dry areas
- Plants for focal points
- Plants for ground cover
- Flowers for scent
- Climbing plants
- Schematic planning
- Foliage for colour
- Plants to define areas
- The garden in winter
- Attracting wildlife
- Herbs and weeds
- Children in a garden
- Play areas
- Safety in the garden
- Structures in the garden
20. Preparing for the Exam
- Before the exam
- At the Exam
- Tips
- Additional points
Read more: What you'll find in the pack
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