Career summary

Details for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse


Description

Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties may include tilling soil and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; cleaning, grading, sorting, packing and loading harvested products. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities.

Tasks

  • Harvest plants, and transplant or pot and label them.
  • Operate tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, and self-propelled machinery to plow, harrow and fertilize soil, or to plant, cultivate, spray and harvest crops.
  • Set up and operate irrigation equipment.
  • Repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment.
  • Harvest fruits and vegetables by hand.
  • Clean work areas, and maintain grounds and landscaping.
  • Sell and deliver plants and flowers to customers.
  • Sow grass seed, or plant plugs of grass.
  • Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress.
  • Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.
  • Identify plants, pests, and weeds to determine the selection and application of pesticides and fertilizers.
  • Regulate greenhouse conditions, and indoor and outdoor irrigation systems.
  • Cut, roll, and stack sod.
  • Feel plants' leaves and note their coloring to detect the presence of insects or disease.
  • Provide information and advice to the public regarding the selection, purchase, and care of products.
  • Maintain and repair irrigation and climate control systems.
  • Dig, cut, and transplant seedlings, cuttings, trees, and shrubs.
  • Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
  • Repair farm buildings, fences, and other structures.
  • Maintain inventory, ordering materials as required.
  • Record information about plants and plant growth.
  • Dig, rake, and screen soil, filling cold frames and hot beds in preparation for planting.
  • Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.
  • Inspect plants and bud ties to assess quality.
  • Trap and destroy pests, such as moles, gophers, and mice, using pesticides.
  • Move containerized shrubs, plants, and trees, using wheelbarrows or tractors.
  • Tie and bunch flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees, wrap their roots, and pack them into boxes to fill orders.
  • Load agricultural products into trucks, and drive trucks to market or storage facilities.
  • Haul and spread topsoil, fertilizer, peat moss, and other materials to condition soil, using wheelbarrows or carts and shovels.
  • Plant, spray, weed, fertilize, water, and prune plants, shrubs, and trees, using gardening tools.

Interests

  • Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Education, training, experience

  • Education - Some of these occupations may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.
  • Training - Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.
  • Experience - Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, a person can become a waiter or waitress even if he/she has never worked before.

Knowledge

None found.

Skills

None found.

Related careers

None found.