When we first started gardening and growing our own crops, we were overwhelmed by the many, many questions we had. What kind of soil do you need? What kind of vegetables should you plant where? And when? How do you water your plants? What do you need to get started?
Supercharge your gardening skills today
Online gardening courses are great way to overcome feeling overwhelmed and give you a plan of (garden) attack. Yes, they do exist! You can probably find gardening courses in your area, but we prefer online courses. They offer the convenience of taking them whenever you have the time and pause whenever you need to take notes or try something out.
We personally followed so many courses over the years to learn specific skills (also outside of gardening) that we love to share some of those great courses with you. Below we discuss both paid and free online gardening courses you can take advantage of right now!
Best online gardening courses
1. Beginner’s guide to vegetable gardening by Rick Stone
(Udemy, $29.99)
Are you focussing on growing vegetables all year long? Learn when you need to sow your seeds and seedlings to give your veggies the best survival chances. Discover the joy of getting your hands dirty and the pride you’ll feel when you harvest your first zucchini, eggplant or tomato!
This low-priced beginner online course is perfect for first time or novice growers. It starts with the basics of where, when and what to grow and will help you set up your vegetable garden entirely. Take your time to watch the videos, make notes, and get your hands dirty right away! Have a look at beginner’s guide to vegetable gardening here.
2. Self-sufficient vegetable gardening by Sally Nex
(Learning With Experts, $99)
If you’re looking for the best value for money courses, Learning With Experts is the place to be. Whether you want to design your dream garden, grow your own flowers or become fully self-sufficient with your own vegetable garden, it’s all there.
The Learning With Experts platform offers one of the best learning experiences we’ve seen so far. The tutors are of a very high level, you’re able to assess what you’ve learned after each lesson and you can enroll at any time. On top of that, you also get access to a community and can ask for feedback while you’re learning. Check out the self-sufficient vegetable gardening course.
3. Vegetable Gardening: How to Grow Healthy, Fresh Food at Home by Teena Spindler
(Udemy, $19.99)
If you’re looking for an in-depth, yet cheap online course that covers basically everything you need to know about vegetable gardening, this one’s for you. You’ll learn to grow delicious, healthy vegetables in a garden of any size. The course covers anything from garden design, soil preparation, plant selection, pest and disease control all the way to harvesting your freshly grown produce.
Take me to this wondeful beginner course.
4. Beginner’s guide to indoor gardening by Tyler Welsh
(Udemy, $34.99)
Don’t have a big backyard? Looking to grow some indoor vegetables? Don’t worry! There are plenty of ways to grow indoors. Spruce up your cooking with homegrown herbs, spices and vegetables. This beginner course won’t only get you started with growing vegetables, but also discusses the ins and outs of keeping houseplants.
Go to the indoor gardening beginner’s course.
5. MasterClass gardening course by Ron Finley
(MasterClass, $180)
This special Ron Finley’s gardening course is definitely our personal favorite! ‘The gangster gardener’ (sounds cool, right?) is a true gardening guru. Not only does he teach you how to grow in different circumstances, but he’s also a true gardening activist. Ron Finley has used gardening to improve the communities around the world.
To give people the power of growing their own food and to make them less dependent on other factors. He’s promoting a planting revolution and has made a beautiful online course that will leave you motivated, inspired, and halfway through planting your vegetables before the class is even done.
The only downside of the MasterClass courses is the fact that you need the $180 annual subscription, including all 85+ courses in a variety of disciplines. So, there’s no option to buy an individual course. However, all the MasterClass courses are truly exceptional, taught by the best of the best. And be honest, who doesn’t want to learn cooking by Gordon Ramsay or acting by Natalie Portman?
Check out Ron Finley’s gardening MasterClass here.
6. Indoor gardening: Grow like a superhero by Rory Kagan
(Udemy, $24.99)
Another lovely indoor gardening course you can start right away. In 1.5 hours Rory Kagan prooves that indoor gardening isn’t as complicated and intimidating as it might seem. He helps you take the guesswork out of indoor gardening and become a superpro. It’s a fun and entertaining course that teaches you the key proficiencies at each stage of the growing process and is filled with practical tips to make your life easier.
Start growing like a superpro now.
7. RHS: Vegetables and Fruits by Dr. Noel Kingsbury
(Learning With Experts, $99)
This accredited course is part of an RHS level 2 collection of 8 super interesting courses. covers everything you need to know to grow your own vegetables and fruits. From selecting what to grow to optimizing and storing your fruits and crops. Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of various bed systems as well as pest and disease control.
Check out the vegetables and fruits RHS course here.
8. Gardening in cold climates by Maria Janowiak
(Udemy, $29.99)
Here’s another great beginner’s guide that goes into depth on gardening in cold climates. You’ll master the basics of growing flowers and vegetables in climates where winter temperatures fall below freezing. An important part is selecting the right plants to grow. The course starts out as a beginner’s guide, but touches on advanced topics as well. The only thing you need is a bit of soil to start growing.
Check out our favorite guide to gardening in cold climates.
Best free online gardening courses
Of course, YouTube offers a lot of free information, and is great to answer very specific questions or techniques. We’ve used it a lot and have listed some interesting beginner videos below.
While these individual gardening tips and tricks are very helpful, we still feel that an actual course offers many benefits. Mostly because it walks you through each step and guides you along the way. Most paying courses are very reasonably priced and can give you a head start!
1. Start a vegetable garden
A short video with some great gardening tips by the lovely Carrie Rad.
2. How to start gardening and grow your own food
A great beginner’s video for learning and getting motivated! Our friends at Roots & Refuge Farm help anyone who has the desire to start growing food but feels overwhelmed at the onset of learning how to garden.
3. Easy to grow vegetables
We’ve discussed the topic before in our own beginner’s guide on growing vegetables, but here’s a video by the Australian Self Sufficient Me. Enjoy these 5 vegetables that are too easy to grow!
If you have found other courses you love, feel free to let us know in the comments below so we can add them to the list!
