A tomato grows in the garden of Melissa Sharapova on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, in Ely, Iowa. Iowa State University is offering an online vegetable production course, beginning Jan. 14, 2013. (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)

The course is designed to introduce growers to principles and practices of vegetable crop production and provide information needed to grow and manage a vegetable production enterprise. “Course participants may have in mind an enterprise that ranges from a backyard garden, community or school garden, small acreage, to a large commercial enterprise,” said Nair.

Nair will cover crop classification; planting methods; soil, water, and pest management; organic production; cover cropping; crop rotation; season extension strategies; and postharvest handling. The course is offered for credit and as a non-credit course. A high speed Internet connection is needed to participate in the Web-based classes.

Registration can be made online. To take the course for credit, go to http://www.distance.iastate.edu/registration/registration.php. To register for the non-credit offering, go to http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/vcpm13/home.html.

The course as non-credit is $150 (link for registration: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/vcpm13/home.html ) and is between $773.50 and $1070 depending on if you wanted to take if for undergraduate or graduate credit. To register contact Lori Youngberg (lyoung@iastate.edu)

There still is a scholarship students  can apply for at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGVtcU56VTdORzQyMWdHdVh1SGs1VXc6MA#gid=0

Scholarships are available through Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education to help cover the course cost. Scholarship applications also can be made online. For answers to registration questions, please contact Lori Youngberg at lyoung@iastate.edu.