Gardening for Beginners: The Basics and Beyond

What's covered in the course?

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Your course instructor

Led by expert tutor and Associate Editor, David Hurrion, who will share his 50 years of gardening experience, bringing his skills to you online, so you can learn from him in the comfort of your own home.

I've gardened since I was a child and went on to train in horticulture, education and journalism. Growing plants is part of my life, and I'm passionate about sharing my knowledge and experience.

Your course by week

Part 1: How Plants Grow: The Essentials

Build your gardening skills and knowledge and learn the best environments and techniques to nurture your plants.

Part one takes place over two weeks, with four hours of lectures per week and one test.

Week 1 - How plants grow

• Welcome to the course
• Back to basics: what's in a plant?
• How a plant grows itself
• What will you grow?

Week 2 - Where and when plants grow

• Assess your conditions
• Understanding seasons
• Climate, outdoor and indoor environments
• Understanding your soil

Part 2: How to Grow Healthy Plants

Level up your gardening skills to master the basic methods for growing new plants and protect them from disease and pests.

Part two takes place over three weeks, with four hours of lectures per week and one test.

Week 3: Keeping your plants alive

• Watering plants
• Feeding plants
• Protecting plants
• Pinching, training and thinning
• Pruning, trimming and deadheading

Week 4: Growing new plants

• Why raise new plants
• Growing plants from seed
• Growing plants from cuttings
• Dividing plants
• Layering plants

Week 5: How to avoid common gardening problems

• Has something gone wrong?
• The gardener and plant problems
• Pests, diseases and root causes
• Recap: what you've learned

Course registration and cost

FutureLearn invite you to sign up for this five-week ExpertTrack course with a seven-day free trial to get you started. If you're enjoying the course after the first week, a £36/month payment will be taken automatically, which will cover the next four-weeks of the course. As soon as you've finished the five-week course, payment will automatically stop. If you decide this course is not for you, please cancel during your trial period.

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