Description

Horticultural trades workers intensively cultivate vegetables, plants, fruit, shrubs, trees and flowers in greenhouses, market gardens, nurseries and orchards.

Tasks

• Prepares soil in field, bed or pot by hand or machine
• Mixes soil, composts, fertilisers and/or organic matter and spreads fertiliser and manure
• Sows seeds and bulbs and transplants seedlings
• Propagates plants by taking cuttings and by grafting and budding, applies weed-killer, fungicide and insecticide to control pests and diseases
• Prunes and thins trees and shrubs
• Supports trees by staking and wiring.

Educational Requirements

There are no formal academic entry requirements. NVQs/SVQs in Horticulture are available at Levels 1, 2 and 3. Professional qualifications from the Royal Horticultural Society are also available.