Just Released: JUST ASK WIM!

Just Ask Wim!: Down-to-Earth Gardening Answers

by Wim Vander Zalm

HARBOUR PUBLISHING | March 27, 2013 | Trade Paperback

What vegetables can I plant as winter crops? How can I avoid bitter bolting lettuce? When is the best time to cut back rhodos? How do I overwinter my geraniums and fuchsias? What fastgrowing evergreen hedge will work for my narrow urban yard? How late can I plant spring-flowering bulbs? What should I do about the chafer infestation that is destroying my lawn? Why aren''t my berries bigger? What fruits and vegetables grow best in patio pots?

These are just a few of the burning questions that renowned gardening expert Wim Vander Zalm answers again and again as owner of two Art Knapp Plantland garden centres and a long-time regular on CKNW''s The Bill Good Show.

Just Ask Wim! covers horticultural concerns about all kinds of plants: vegetables, fruits and berries, herbs, annuals and perennials, shrubs, trees, hedges and vines, plus how to grow a healthy lawn organically . . . or replace the troublesome turf with one of many other groundcover options. Wim also shares organic pest and weed management ideas, common-sense pruning tips, fertilization and soil-building advice, plus his often-requested mulch recipe.

Friendly, funny and always down to earth, Wim is the guy to ask whenever there is a need to know about how to make the most of any garden--urban or otherwise. In addition, his comprehensive Get It Done! checklist takes the reader right through the year, month by month, pinpointing just what to do and when for a stress-free, successful gardening experience.

 

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Planting a Living Wreath

This is an easy project that takes less than an hour to create. The finished product will be a beautiful viola wreath that will look fabulous hanging on your front door or perhaps on your garden gate! Any shady but readily seen area in your garden will work. Other varieties of plants such as impatiens, succulents or black mondo grass could be substituted.

Early spring is the best time to start these wreaths, although I have planted some succulent wreaths during the lazy days of summer and they still turned out fine. Just be sure to lay them flat for a few weeks in a protected spot so the plugs can ‘root on’ before hanging them upright.

Wreath supplies:
Wire wreath form 16 inch, large bag of fresh sphagnum moss, light potting mix, 12-16 ‘plugs’ (starter size plants)

Step 1: Take the back piece off the form and lay upside down on a flat surface. Begin stuffing handfuls of moss inside the ring. Don’t skimp on the moss because it has to hold the upcoming soil (next step) in and the plant plugs.

Step 2: Fill the inner ring with soil. You don’t need a whole lot, so don’t worry if there isn’t much room. Moisten the soil lightly.

Step 3: Cover the soil layer with additional moss and replace the wire back piece. Flip it back to the top side.

Step 4: Separate your violas into individual plants being sure to cut away any excess roots. Make holes with your fingers in the moss just large enough to squeeze your plants roots in. Insert the plant. Firm the moss around each plant as you go. Try to alternate your plantings between the inner ring and outer side of the ring.

Step 5: When finished planting the wreath (remember it will fill in as it grows so don’t plant it too thickly) lightly spray with water. Now lay it flat protected from heavy rains for 2-4 weeks to allow new root growth that will anchor the plugs. Mine rests in my unheated greenhouse.

Maintenance of your living wreath involves deadheading spent blooms and occasional waterings. If it is hung where rainfall reaches it, you will only have to water during dry, warm spells. Spray lightly with a garden hose. If it is hung on your front door and there is an overhang, check more often for dryness. It should be kept moist at all times. Feeding will be minimal. You can lay it flat in a sink or plastic tub filled with a mild fish fertilizer mixture for approximately 15 minutes. Immediately hang
back up. This wreath will bloom through until fall at which time the violas will be finished. If you use succulents instead of violas, it will last indefinitely.

Happy Gardening, Shelagh

Easy Seed Planting Tip

For handy reference during the growing season, place empty seed packets under glass like this after sowing directly outdoors. They will stay dry and you can always access them if you need to re-read the info on the back.

These are mesclun seeds I started in my greenhouse.

My Top 5 Fertilizers

These 5 fertilizers are a staple in my home garden inventory. I always have a supply of them on hand
because I am constantly using one or few of them together for so many tasks. I have a few oddball plant foods that I use occasionally for specific plants but my ‘Top 5’ are the most versatile. If I had to garden on a desert island, then these are the plant foods I would smuggle in my suitcase!

1. Bone Meal – This product is as organic as you can get. It is simply ground and crushed animal bones which offer a natural source of slow release phosphorus which stimulates root growth. It can be used when planting any plant with a woody stem. It will provide a long-term feed for the roots. If a rootball is healthy, then healthy top growth will naturally follow after planting. The roots are the heart of the plant and bone meal is a ‘heart-healthy’ soil additive. It is used only at planting because it is sprinkled in the bottom of the planting hole and the rootball is set on top of it.

2. Blood Meal – Again, another byproduct of the meat packaging industry, is blood meal. It is simply
dried blood and blood is one of the best natural sources of iron. Iron is a mineral that plants need for
healthy growth and some plants (such as boxwood, camellia, liriope, etc.) need higher amounts than
most other plants. Iron deficiencies appear as overall yellowing of foliage often with the veins of the
leaf remaining green. Applications of blood meal to anemic looking shrubs, will produce a deeper
green leaf in a months’ time. I have used this product on pretty much anything that displayed a pale
green colour to its leaves. This includes houseplants, skimmia, Mexican mock orange shrubs, rhodos
and ivy vines. Broadleaf evergreens seem to be more susceptible to iron deficiencies so I recommend
each year applying blood meal at the drip line in early spring (now is good!) to any broadleaf
evergreens that have suffered in the past. Simply scratch it in to the earth and immediately water. It is
said by some that this practice can attract wildlife or roaming cats but I’ve never had any problem. And I have a cat that is most inquisitive!

3. Liquid Transplanter – Another gem of a product, this is a fertilizer with added rooting hormone.
Used in conjunction with bone meal, it will give your new shrub or tree it’s best chance at establishing itself quickly. The bone meal is used as a long term root food and the liquid transplanter is used for a quick acting root food. Saturate the soil immediately after planting with a diluted solution of transplanter, then reapply one month later. There should only be need for two applications.

4. Osmocote 14-14-14 – Commercial and retail nurseries apply this food to all their nursery stock! Here at Knapps we use osmocote in early spring on all our shrubs, trees and roses. You’ve probably seen it when you’ve purchased plants for your yard. It looks like little round grey balls on the soil surface. It is a slow release, balanced food that releases small amounts of feed with every watering. Depending on rainfall in a given season, it can last upwards of 6 months! For the time-challenged gardener (such as myself), it is wonderful because it means you don’t have to devote more than one day to feeding your woody stemmed shrubs. It is also used in annual hanging baskets as an alternative to weekly liquid fertilizing again by those of us who want to find the easiest and most time-saving method of feeding.

5. Fish Fertilizer – Good old fish fertilizer! Yes, it may seem old school, but some things just stand
the test of time. Mild and organic, it fills a niche for using on plant material that is delicate, soft and
not what we call “heavy feeders”. Many leafy plants such as hostas, ferns, herbs, spinach and lettuce
benefit from regular applications of this product. Any fertilizer applied in the liquid form is released
instantly hence the need to apply often. Fertilizers applied in the dry form are all slow release and
provide a constant minimal amount of nourishment. When fish is applied to herbs, I recommend using earlier in the growing process and holding off as you get closer to harvest time so there isn’t a chance of the fish fertilizer affecting the essential oils in the herb leaves.

There you have it, my top 5 favorite fertilizers. Every gardener will have their own favorites and some may disagree with me but I’ve always had success with these and encourage you to add them to your garden shed as staples. Happy gardening!

Just In! Vegetable Roots, Sets and Bulbs

We now have in stock garlic bulbs (regular, red and elephant) which can be planted soon. If you have raised beds, they can go in now because the soil will be better drained than ground level beds which will still be quite saturated from our recent heavy rains. Garlic is harvested late July.

Also arrived is our 2013 asparagus crowns. Choose from purple, Jersey Knight and Mary Washington. Asparagus is a crop that takes a few years to establish but once it gets going, it can produce for many years. They can be planted now.

For the onion lover, we offer Spanish, yellow, red, shallots and multipliers. Again, if your growing area is raised then you can plant much sooner than you could with ground level areas. Not only will the soil be less saturated, it will also be warmer and warm soil is crucial for starting vegetables.

For the horseradish fan, we also have packaged horseradish root. This root crop is fun to grow if you want to make your own horseradish. Allow a lot of room for this perennial in the garden. Zone 3

The Orchard Mason Bee

This little guy is known as “The Super Pollinator”. He’s 75% more efficient, per bud, than a honeybee. At 2/3 the size of a honeybee, he could be mistaken for a black fly. He is found within the lower mainland and Vancouver Island. The mason bee will visit and pollinate 1600 flowers in one day! Their life cycle is about 4-6 weeks and they are ideal pollinators for fruit trees. We currently stock all you need to get started utilizing these little workhorses from the bees themselves ($29.99 for 10) to the bee houses (starting at $24.99 for a house with 15 tubes) to refill packages of the cardboard tubes (16 for $19.99 and up). Be aware: Mason bees are only available for a brief window each year. If you’re thinking of increasing your flora’s natural pollination, then don’t delay.

Great New Bulb Combo Packs

New for Spring 2013, are professionally chosen flowering bulb combinations pre-packed ready for
consumers to use to enhance their garden beds. Sun or shade, there is a combination right for you!
Complementing colours are chosen as well as plants are matched with similar light requirements. There is even a collection designed for planting in a container! All the planning is done for you, all you have to do is “dig and drop”. I think these also make great hostess or birthday gifts, all that is needed is a bow! Here are just a few of these stunning collections:

Sunny Delight
This is a full sun perennial garden combination. Note the bright, bold colours that will pop in the
landscape! Included are 1 yellow daylily ‘Stello d’Oro’, 5 ‘Blue Barlow’ columbine, 1 pink coneflower and 5 purple gayfeather (liatris). Growing heights range from 12 inches to 36 inches. $16.99

Shady Patio & Decks
A shade perennial collection, this grouping in designed for planting in a pot on a shady patio. Three
perennials of different heights, bloom colour and leaf shape make up this pack. Planted in a good
looking ceramic pot, this arrangement will look fabulous! Included are 1 astilbe dwarf pink, 1 bleeding heart ‘Luxuriant’ and 1 dwarf hosta ‘Yellow Edge’. Growing heights range from 8 inches to 24 inches. $16.99

Pumpkin Pie
How can you resist with a name like that? Varying shades of orange are the theme here (really?). This
is an all dahlia combination being taller varieties so they would be best placed further back in sunny
beds. Dahlias bloom mid to late summer and well in to the fall. As a cut flower, they are outstanding!
Included are 1 dahlia ‘Holland’s Festival’, 1 dahlia ‘City of Alkmaar’, 1 dahlia ‘Bishop of Oxford”, and 1 dahlia ‘Glory of Noordwyk’. Growing heights range from 36 inches to 48 inches. $12.99

Hot in the Shade
Another shade perennial collection, this spring to summer flowering group will provide years of
enjoyment! Included are old favorites such as 5 lily of the valley, 1 bleeding heart, 5 toad lily and 1
hosta ‘Gold Edge’. Growing heights range from 8 inches to 24 inches. $16.99