Production Nursery Grower
What the work is
Plans, organises, controls and coordinates the propagation and growing of horticultural plant stock for wholesale. May also grow plants and seedlings for retail customers.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Plans and coordinates the production and marketing of horticultural plant stock for wholesale
- Selects seeds, seedlings, bulbs, plant stock, fertilisers and other supplies required for horticultural nursery production
- Coordinates and develops strategies for cultivating, fertilising and watering to maintain optimal production, plant health and growing conditions in nurseries
- Organises nursery operations and routines, such as propagating, replanting, pruning, staking, grading and packaging of horticultural plant stock
- Plans and coordinates the sale, purchase and dispatch of horticultural plant stock
- Directs and oversees general nursery activities to maintain plant health by managing biosecurity and other risks, and controlling pests and weeds
- Plans and oversees the provision and maintenance of nursery equipment and infrastructure
- Maintains and evaluates records of nursery activities, monitors market activity, and plans production accordingly
- Manages business capital, including budgeting, taxation, debt and loan management
- May select, train and supervise production nursery staff and contractors
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional stone fruit orchard and packing shed in a river valley during peak harvest. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- The first ripe fruit of the season is perfect and a buyer asks for more
- A busy picking day where the crew is in a good rhythm and the fruit is clean
- You get through a frost night without losing the crop
Hard days
- A late frost or hailstorm threatens months of work in a single night
- Not enough pickers when the fruit is ripe, and it will not wait
- A buyer rejects a load and you have to work out why while the next truck is waiting
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 151234, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.