Buckeye Gardener: Individual Modules

Do you want to start gardening but don’t know where to start? Or do you already have some gardening experience and a love for learning?  Take these self-paced indiviual modules to improve your knowledge. 

 Individual courses are $10 each.  To access the full Buckeye Gardener Course 

 CLICK HERE

Please note: The Buckeye Gardener Online courses are not Master Gardener Volunteer training. For more information on becoming a Master Gardener Volunteer, visit https://mastergardener.osu.edu/

Botany 

You will learn to appreciate the importance of plants to life on Earth, name plant parts, structures and functions, understand plant processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration and reproduction, list environmental factors such as temperature, water and sun and explain how they impact plants.  Learn ways to classify plants, whether by function, life cycle or taxonomy.    REGISTER HERE                                                                                                                                                  

Soils

You will learn to appreciate the value of soil as an essential natural resource, understand the history and formation of soil, understand and identify the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil, learn how to collect soil samples and interpret soil test reports, learn how to use the Web Soil Survey, and diagnose soil problems and recommend corrective measures. REGISTER HERE

Entomology

You will appreciate the roles and diversity of insects, be able to describe the differences between insects and other arthropods, differentiate the major arthropod classes and identify major arachnids and insect orders relative to gardeners.  REGISTER HERE

Plant Pathology

You will be able to distinguish between diseases caused by living organisms (biotic) and those caused by environmental factors (abiotic), describe the types of organisms that cause plant diseases, describe the process of plant disease development, recognize signs and symptoms of plant disease and evaluate disease management options.  REGISTER HERE

Plant Propagation

You will be able to differentiate between sexual and asexual propagation, determine the best storage conditions for seed, perform a viability test on old seed, describe the process that a cutting goes through to produce a new plant, and list a plant which can be propagated from each method covered in this chapter.  REGISTER HERE

Herbaceous Ornamentals

You will be able to describe the differences among annuals, perennials, and biennials, understand the concept of "plant hardiness" and identify your community's hardiness zone, list important cultural requirements to consider in selecting and growing plants, and identify a bulb, corm, tuber and rhizome. REGISTER HERE

Woody Ornamentals

You will appreciate the value of woody ornamentals in the landscape, learn the proper technique for planting woody ornamentals, understand the proper technique for pruning wood ornamentals and recognize potential tree and shrub problems. REGISTER HERE

Lawns

You will understand the different types of recommended cool-season perennial grasses for Ohio lawns, understand the proper process of planting turfgrass, understand the primary care practices of turfgrass, and understand the key weeds, diseases and insects that can be problems in turfgrass plantings. REGISTER HERE

Vegetables

You will be able to identify several cool and warm season vegetable crops and describe their different requirements, describe what factors are important in determining where to place a vegetable garden, detail the elements of a vegetable garden plan, including size crop selection, planting scheme, and approximate planting dates, and understand cultural requirements to minimize weeds, insects and disease issue in the vegetable garden. REGISTER HERE

Fruit

You will be able to evaluate factors like disease resistance, space requirements and care levels when selecting fruits to grow in home gardens, understand growing requirements for various fruit crops and tree fruit, learn basic pruning techniques for fruit trees, vines and brambles and appreciate insects' roles in fruit pollination and crop damage management as well as subsequent control methods.  REGISTER HERE

Herbs

You will understand the basic cultural needs for herbs, list several annual and perennial herbs and their uses, and learn how to harvest and store herbs. REGISTER HERE

Pollinators

You will be able to define "pollintation", explain the role and value of animal pollinators, understand potential threats to pollinators' health and list ways gardeners can help conserve pollinators.  REGISTER HERE

IMP and Pesticide safety

You will be able to define pest management, learn how to use cultural control, biological control and chemical controls, learn important safety measures for applying pesticides, understand the laws governing the use of pesticides in the US, define a pesticide and give examples, understand the importance of following a pesticide label, storing and disposing of pesticides properly, and how to minimize the impacts of pesticides in the environment.  REGISTER HERE

Backyard Wildlife

You will appreciate the challenges of balancing a garden for humans and wildlife, learn the benefits of backyard biodiversity and ways to attract wildlife, gain and understand the habitats and biology of common backyard wildlife species, identify wildlife damage and distinguish between species, and determine how to prevent and minimize wildlife damage in the garden and landscape.  REGISTER HERE

Houseplants

You will understand factors to consider when selecting a plant to grow indoors, describe how to acclimate houseplants to an indoor environment, describe how light varies with windows facing north, south, east and west, determine two methods to water houseplants and the benefits of each, and determine whether a houseplant is pot bound and how to select a new container.  REGISTER HERE

therapeutic Horticulture

You will appreciate the benefits of therapeutic horticulture, understand the principals of horticultural therapy, distinguish between horticultural therapy as practiced by a licensed professional and therapeutic horticulture as practiced by volunteers, know the breadth of programs included in therapeutic horticulture, recognize effective teaching methods, list ways to effectively work with your youth, adults and facility staff, and identify sources of appropriate horticultural activities and resources.  REGISTER HERE