Book on plants

[897tgigvib]

Seed Obsesser, I recommend you hang onto that book.

It'll come in real handy while you are taking your horticulture classes in college.

Might even want to consider signing up to take some prerequisite college classes already, while you're still in high school if you have a nearby local college or junior college.

Those a to z books are also very handy to have if you work at a nursery to keep in the office for when customers come in with difficult questions. Also for when the boss is trying to decide what to order from the wholesaler.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Grandpa works at the library so brings home free books all the time. He digs them out of the garbage, they were just going to through them out.

I don't go to a public school but an online one. Yup, we do everything on the computer.

I'll have to ask my adviser and see if they have any pre - college classes. Never knew you had to go to college to be a horticulturist, guess I should have figured that though.

 

[897tgigvib]

Oh yes Seed Obsesser, College is the best route for a horticulturist! In fact, starting out after that series of life pursuits at your age will lead you further into horticulture than you know, but one thing you need is:

STICK TO IT-NESS

The degrees of it in college and university are considered, for the most part, SCIENCE degrees. (Exceptions would be things like floral design). Almost all science degrees will require that you pass through 4 semesters of Calculus.

So, be working through your Math courses with all A's!

Other courses to be working on with straight A's are BIOLOGY. The first semester of Biology, and the final semester of COLLEGE ALGEBRA will be the PREREQUISITE classes to have completed before you begin the SERIOUS BOTANY classes.

You will be using math formulas that have for a basis:

G of f (ab) = x + 1

...once you get into your 2nd semester of your 4 semester class set of CHEMISTRY. Also, you'll be taking 2 semesters of ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, probably simultaneous with or after finishing the 4th semester of the chemistry 4 semester set.

After the 4 semester BIOLOGY class set you take one or two semesters of MICROBIOLOGY.

STARTING TO SEE WHY NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME FOR YOU TO START, RATHER THAN WAITING UNTIL 18 LIKE MOST DO?

What I am suggesting is that you should DIVE INTO IT HEADFIRST, RIGHT NOW!

See, while you are taking all these difficult courses, you will also be taking the FUN STUFF, and you don't want the difficult classes to bog you down from learning the fun stuff.

FUN CLASSES INCLUDE: Theory of composting, Sustainable Agriculture, Practical Small Farming, Germplasm Theory, Genetics, Evolution.

Of course, there are also the other required courses such as COLLEGE ENGLISH, HISTORY, HUMANITIES, and these days BASIC COMPUTER SCIENCE (windows, word, etc.)

Then, begin looking into INTERNSHIPS. Summer internships each summer, followed by a full year internship after graduation.

BEING AN INTERN AT AN EXCELLENT PLACE IS CRITICAL!

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Look into getting the full COLLEGE CATALOGS of the really great Horticultural/Agricultural Colleges such as:

CORNELL UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA POLYTECH SAN LUIS OBISPO

If you check into financial assistance at some OHIO colleges and junior colleges, also at these universities, you may be surprised.

There are also some excellent JUNIOR COLLEGES.

SANTA ROSA JUNIOR COLLEGE has an excellent set of horticulture related degrees and certifications. Their degrees are the 2 year kind, ASSOCIATE IN SCIENCE for most hort/ag related fields.

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Do not let this overwhelm you!!! I tossed this out to you while you are 16!

What I want you to do is look at, and maybe obtain actual copies of, the COLLEGE CATALOGS of these places. Get them just as you might order up a seed catalog!

In fact, get lots of them, even places such as Yale. For the fun of it, (I'm curious too), try getting the catalog for CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY.

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This will all show you what course work you can do NOW.

You have such an advantage these days I did not have!!! COMPUTER ONLINE CLASSES!!!

Print this message up. Tack it over your garden workbench after laminating it. Collect those COLLEGE CATALOGS, and study them.

IT ALL BEGINS WITH THE MATH.

ARCHIVE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE APPLICABLE MATH FORMULAE, PUNNET SQUARES, VARIABLE CODOMINANT TYPES...and all those things of the nature that folks forget as they get older.

This is all stuff I SURE WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TOLD TO ME WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE!!!

 

[897tgigvib]

BTW Seed, show my message above to your counselor. Your counselor will probably say...

"yep, that's about right", but of course with all the wisdom and experience of a counselor will have improvements for it. After all, I'm just an ole gardener...

 

[seedcorn]

Got it today. Get a hernia lifting it. Good on flowers, unimpressed with vegetables. Think DD will like it though. Thanks for everyone's help.