Horticultural Production

If you like the idea of coaxing tomatoes, strawberries and nursery stock out of prairie soil, this is a focused place to start. Assiniboine’s Horticultural Production certificate is a nine-month, 63-credit programme taught at the North Hill campus in Brandon, preparing you for entry-level work in fruit and vegetable production, greenhouses and nurseries.

The Horticultural Production courses follow the crop from seed to sale. Horticultural Science and Horticultural Methods explain plant growth and propagation, Growing Media looks at the materials plants root in, and Greenhouse Operations & Mgmt teaches you to run a controlled growing environment. Vegetable & Fruit Production and Nursery/Ornamental Hort focus on the main crop groups, while Horticultural IPM builds pest and disease control skills. Food Safety and Security, Horticultural Industry and Business Skills connect growing to markets, and 1st Aid - Emergency and College Foundations round out the programme.

Learning happens in North Hill’s fully equipped greenhouse, garden, orchard, growth chamber and field labs, backed by classrooms and computer labs, so much of your time is spent handling plants, tools and equipment rather than reading about them. The Practicum - HRTPR places you in the industry for at least three weeks and 120 hours of horticultural experience, once you hold a cumulative weighted GPA of 2.0 or higher. You graduate with First Aid, and the college’s articulation agreements can help you move on to diploma or degree study.

Graduates of the Horticultural Production certificate work as vegetable growers, fruit growers, greenhouse or nursery assistants, plant propagators, IPM technicians, garden centre staff or research assistants, in greenhouses, market gardens, orchards, nurseries and research stations. It suits hands-on learners who want a short, practical route into growing food and plants, and it asks for Consumer or Essential Mathematics 40S.