Self Sufficiency II 100 Hours Certificate Course

There are 10 lessons:

1. Diet and Nutrition
   • Introduction to good health
   • Science of nutrition
   • Nutritive Values of different foods
   • Effects of Inadequate Nutrition
   • Food allergies
   • Water
   • How to be a Vegetarian
   • Vegetables -nutritive value, fibre
   • Health Basics, Natural Body Cycles
   • Major Food Groups,
   • Dietary Sources for different nutrients
   • Choosing and Using Vegetables
   • Understanding Carbohydrates and Diet
   • Fats, Protens, Minerals and Diet
   • Energy Production
   • Recipes and A well balanced diet.
   • Living a Well Balanced Life -eating, exercise, etc
2. Establishing a Kitchen Garden
   • Why Grow Herbs and Vegetables
   • Deciding food plants that can be grown in your garden,
   • What you can grow, and how you might use it
   • Designing a productive garden.
   • Managing Water for Optimum Value
   • Integrated Pest Management
   • No Dig Growing Method
   • Permaculture Gardening
   • Biodynamic Growing
   • Other Growing Methods
   • Understanding and Managing Soil
   • Getting Started with a Vegetable Gardewn
3. Vegetables
   • Growing Vegetables from Seed
   • Transplanting Seedlings, Crowns, Offsets and Tubers
   • Using Cold Frames or Cloches
   • Culture for specific types of vegetables, including:
   • Brassicas
   • Lettuce
   • Legumes
   • Onion
   • Potato
   • Tomato
   • Others incl. Beetroot, Capsicum, Carrot, Celery, Corn, Eggplant, Parsnip, Spinich, Cucurbits
   • Others including: Artichokes, Garlic, Asparagus, etc.
   • Mint, Fennel, Dandelion
   • Mushrooms
   • Harvesting Vegetables
   • Growing -fertiser, pest and disease management
4. Fruit
   • Establishing a Orchard -What to consider
   • Orchard Location
   • Cross pollination, Winter Chilling
   • Pruning in the Home Orchard
   • Cultural techniques for different types of fruits & berries
   • Citrus
   • Apples
   • Apricots
   • Avocado
   • Cherry
   • Fig
   • Grape
   • Olive
   • Pear
   • Peach
   • Raspberry
   • Strawberry
   • Other Fruits: Mango, Medlar, Olive, Papaya,Pineapple, Blackcurrant, Kiwi Fruit,etc
   • Cutting Propagation
5. Bottling
   • Scope and Nature of Bottling
   • Equipment
   • Techniques for jelly/jam making
   • Sauces
   • Pickling
   • Bottling
6. Freezing and Drying
   • Scope and Nature of Freezing
   • Freezing Tips
   • Anti Browning agents
   • How to Soften Water
   • Managing a Freezer
   • Vegetables you can Freeze
   • Harvesting and preserving techniques
   • Scope and Nature of Drying
   • Tips for Drying
7. Producing Milk and Eggs
   • Milk Production
   • Choosing a Dairy Breed
   • Cows, sheep and goats
   • Nature and Composition of Milk
   • Milk Protein
   • Factors affecting Milk Composition
   • How Milk is Made
   • Lactation Cycles
   • Managing a Dairy Cow
   • General Methods of Caring for Animals
   • Animal Feed, Water and Health
   • Scope and Nature of Poultry
   • Feed and Water for Poultry
   • Developing an egg production system
   • Keeping Goats
   • Pasture Management
8. Growing & Cooking with Herbs
   • Growing Herbs
   • Harvesting Herbs
   • Storing Herbs
   • Drying and Freezing herbs
   • Companion Planting
   • Selection and cultivation of culinary herbs
   • Recipes for cooking with herbs.
   • Using Herbs -Garnishes, Condiments, Medicinal Uses, Teas, Flavourings etc
9. Egg and Cheese Cookery
   • Value of Eggs
   • Storage and use of eggs
   • Distinguishing different types of cheese, cooking with eggs & cheese
10. Grain
    • Different Types of Flour -wheat, corn, oat, soy, etc
    • Role of Cereals in Nutrition
    • Characteristics of Different Grains
    • Using Grains
    • Baking with Herbs
    • Baking bread, etc.

This course is taught by:

Susan Stephenson
BSc in Applied Plant Biology (Botany) Univ. London 1983.
City and guilds: Garden Centre Management, Management and Interior Decor (1984)
Management qualifications in training with retail store. Diploma in Hort level 2 (RHS General) Distinction.

Susan Stephenson is a passionate and experienced horticulturist and garden designer. She has authored three books, lectures at 2 Further and Higher Education Colleges, teaching people of all ages and backgrounds about the wonders of plants and garden design, and tutors many students by correspondence from all over the world.

Susan studied botany at Royal Holloway College (Univ of London) and worked in the trading industry before returning to her first love plants and garden design. She is therefore, well placed to combine business knowledge with horticulture and design skills. Her experience is wide and varied and she has designed gardens for families and individuals. Susan is a mentor for garden designers who are just starting out, offering her support and advice and she also writes, delivers and assesses courses for colleges, introducing and encouraging people into horticulture and garden design.

Susan is a Professional Associate and exam moderator and holds the RHS General with Distinction. She continues to actively learn about horticulture and plants and (as her students will tell you) remains passionate and interested in design and horticulture.

She also supervised the Area Arboriculture Team and was Exhumations Officer€“ in charge of collecting discovered remains and arranging identification (if poss) and interment of same.