What is the Options Horticulture Program?
The Options Horticulture program seeks to teach its participants workplace skills–using horticulture and woodworking training as a medium–to help them reach employment goals in a variety of industries.
Training is facilitated by program director, avid gardener, and former wood shop teacher, David Cutcher. Classes take place in the training garden located behind the Options Mississauga store front print shop, at 113 Lakeshore Rd West; accessible through the driveway between the store and its neighbouring building on the right.
Outcome Goals
Demonstrated abilities suitable for applicable industries. These include:
Skills Taught
Examples of Produce
Fully-grown plants:
Those who participate will receive a share of the profits from the produce sold. Profit share amounts will be dependent on the amount of work contributed by participants.
Cost of Program
The cost of the program is $50 and participants attend twice a week (Mondays and Fridays), with periodic retail shifts at the Port Credit Farmer's Market on Saturdays during its operation. The fees for the program help cover the cost of staff wages, program planning, facility rental, seeds, equipment and materials.
Training is facilitated by program director, avid gardener, and former wood shop teacher, David Cutcher. Classes take place in the training garden located behind the Options Mississauga store front print shop, at 113 Lakeshore Rd West; accessible through the driveway between the store and its neighbouring building on the right.
Outcome Goals
Demonstrated abilities suitable for applicable industries. These include:
- Understand worksite and tool safety
- Maintain a garden and produce sellable crops
- Build and/or deconstruct simple wooden items and structures
- Customer service skills at related events such as farmers markets
Skills Taught
- Plant identification
- Planting seeds
- Transplanting seedlings
- Proper watering
- Maintaining soil
- Trimming and pruning
- Weeding
- Harvesting
- Woodworking
- Use of hand and power tools
- Preparing and maintaining an indoor grow room - setting up trays for microgreens with accompanying grow lights
Examples of Produce
Fully-grown plants:
- tomatoes
- beans
- corn
- cucumbers
- zucchini,
- radish,
- carrots,
- lettuce,
- assorted herbs and spices
- garden mix
- broccoli
- sunflower
- radish
Those who participate will receive a share of the profits from the produce sold. Profit share amounts will be dependent on the amount of work contributed by participants.
Cost of Program
The cost of the program is $50 and participants attend twice a week (Mondays and Fridays), with periodic retail shifts at the Port Credit Farmer's Market on Saturdays during its operation. The fees for the program help cover the cost of staff wages, program planning, facility rental, seeds, equipment and materials.
