Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
What goes on in our gardens gives us all an insight
into the wider world of horticulture.
preparation of the surfaces and surrounds of the field
of play.
Turf culture
is a specialist part of horticulture
that is concerned with the establishment and
maintenance of decorative lawns and sports surfaces
for football, cricket, golf and so on.
Parts of the industry also come close to our own
gardens.
Garden construction
involves the skills of
construction
(hard landscaping)
together with the
development of planted areas
(soft landscaping)
.
Closely associated with this sector is
grounds
maintenance
, the maintenance of trees and
woodlands
(arboriculture
and
tree surgery)
and
jobbing gardeners
who do so much to maintain and
improve our domestic gardens.
The garden centre is where most gardeners see the
work of the industry in more detail. But again, this is
only the shop front of a large sector that specializes
in producing plants in containers for us to put into our
garden. A few have some plant production on site,
but stock is usually bought in. The
hardy ornamental
nursery stock (HONS)
sector is concerned with
supplying not just the garden centres, but also all the
other sectors of horticulture including the production
of soil-grown or container-grown shrubs and trees
(see Figure 1.4) and the young stock of
soft fruit
(strawberries etc.),
cane fruit
(raspberries etc.)
and
top fruit
(apples, pears etc.). These plants are
supplied in the following ways (see Figure 1.5):
2
1
The horticultural industry
Most of us are familiar with the products of the
horticultural industry in terms of the fruit, vegetables,
plants and flowers that we buy. The orchards and
the fields of vegetables and flowers that we see on
our travels give us some idea of the area over which
outdoor production
is undertaken (see Figure 1.3).
The huge blocks of polythene tunnels or greenhouses
indicate that
protected cropping
is being undertaken
on a scale very different from the greenhouse in the
garden (one of the largest tomato producers in Britain
and Ireland has a block of 18 hectares, i.e. it could
contain 36 football pitches). Even from the road we are
able to note, in general terms, the work being done
over the year and the wide range of equipment being
used in the fields. Less obvious is what exactly is being
done and the technology involved, especially with the
protected crops. Protected cropping enables plant
material to be supplied outside its normal season and
to ensure high quality - for example, chrysanthemums
all the year round, tomatoes to a high specification
over an extended season, and cucumbers from an
area where the climate is not otherwise suitable. Also
out of sight is all the work being done with specialist
equipment in the packing sheds where so much is
undertaken, including the processing and grading as
well as the packaging of what we see in the shops.
For many, leisure time will be spent in parks, the
stately homes or the great gardens of the country
where professionals, and some skilled amateurs, are
employed in establishing and maintaining what we
are more familiar with on a small scale: borders and
lawns. Those of us whose leisure includes sport,
playing or watching all too easily take for granted the
Figure 1.3
Bulb fi eld
Figure 1.4
A Hardy Nursery Stock area
