Online Learning Overview: What the course environment is like.
Video: Intro to the Online Courses
OL 304: Food Security, Nutrition and Home Gardens 2
6 Weeks: March 13 - April 23, 2012
Prerequisites: OL 303: Food Security, Nutrition and Home Gardens 1
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Food Security, Nutrition and Home Gardens 2. How do you care for and maintain a food garden? How do you control pests? What happens if you have desert soil - or a shortage of water? Learn how to combine garden produce with daily staples to prepare nutritious meals that contain vitamins A, C and D. Learn how to plan a better garden for next season. |
To pay and register please go to the bottom of this page.
If the goal of OL 303 was to get a nutritious garden planted, in OL 304, the second of this pair of courses, the goals are to learn how to care for the garden, how to increase a families understanding of nutrition - including using delicious nutrition packed recipes, and how to plan for next season's garden.
By now, the food gardens that your community members planted in OL 303 are a month old. All of the seeds have sprouted and it is time to begin looking at their care and maintenance. We will address proper watering, weeding - and fertilizing. We will explore options for pest control.
We will have an in depth look at cooking and nutrition: We will learn what children need in their diets, and how we can combine our garden produce with daily staples to prepare nutritious meals and about the importance of vitamins A, C and D. We will cover information on ratios for grains, dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables that children need in a week's meals.
Another week will detail the importance soil handling and of introducing compost and manure. We will also look at special challenges that may be specific to your project, challenges such as desert soil, steep rocky soil, depleted soil, a shortage of water or a lack of space for a garden, seek solutions and incorporate them into garden strategy.
What Students Think About the Online Courses
Course syllabus
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Week 1: Kitchen Gardens: Care & Maintenance. This workshop will address proper watering, weeding - and fertilizing with locally available manures. We will also discuss garden architecture such as fencing, stakes and plant supports. |
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Week 2: Kitchen Gardens: Pests. Pests can contribute to the early death of plants, and can ruin individual fruits or vegetables. Surrounding tempting food plants like tomatoes with garlic, or mixing a variety of crops together in the same bed can mislead insects about location. |
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Week 3: Nutrition, Meal Planning & Cooking. Children need more than grain for growth & vitality. They also need fats, calories, proteins, vitamins & micronutrients. Participants learn how to plan & prepare balanced meals that are appetizing, healthy & utilize produce from their new gardens & about budgeting & group bulk buying. |
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Week 4: Kitchen Gardens: Soil and Compost. Soil is a living, breathing organism of sand, clay, organic matter, earthworms, nutrients, minerals, water and plant roots. It can suffer from being to acid, too wet, too dry and too sandy. This workshop will detail the importance soil handling and of introducing compost and manure. |
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Week 5: Special Problems. Many places in the world have special challenges like desert soil, steep rocky soil, depleted soil, a shortage of water or a lack of space for a garden. We will look at these special challenges that may be specific to your project, seek solutions and incorporate them into garden strategy. |
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Week 6: Seedlings. In the first garden, we planted seeds directly into the garden bed. In preparation for an expanded garden, we will plant some seed in containers and transfer them to the garden bed after 2 months. We will select new crops & discuss planning for an expanded variety of healthy fruits & vegetables. |
Course Fee Structure
There are prerequisites for taking this course: OL 303. Please don’t sign up for this course if you haven’t successfully completed the prerequisites.
Choose which price fits your profile and look for the corresponding number (1., 2.) in the dropdown payment menu.
Course Fees:
1. $115.00 for persons from developing nations
2. $165.00 for persons from developed nations
To pay by Western Union, please write us for the transfer information: Online.Learning@csd-i.org .
To pay by debit or credit card, select the correct course cost below, enter your nationality, and click 'Add to Cart.'
When you are ready to pay, click ‘Proceed to Checkout.’ PayPal membership is not required to submit the payment; in the lower left you will see 'Don't have a PayPal account?' Click 'continue' and you will be linked to a form for non-PayPal members.
You will be sent your Login username and password, and instructions for starting the course the Monday, before the course begins. We look forward to meeting you.
The online course will be led by Tim Magee, CSD’s Executive Director, who has over 30 years experience in both working with nonprofits and leading training workshops.
If you have a question don't hesitate to contact us at: Online.Learning@csd-i.org .
Space is limited.
