• Age: 11
• Grade: 6

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.

Wim Vander Zalm is a frequent guest on Studio 4 with Fanny Kiefer on Shaw Cable TV, host for fifteen years of CKNW's GardenTalk program and Q&A columnist for a decade for GardenWise and BC Home & Garden magazines, He is known to many as the "plantdoctor" and has gardeners everywhere turning to his web column, "Ask Wim." He lives in Port Coquitlam, BC.

Wim Vander Zalm's profile page

Just Ask Wim!

Wim Vander Zalm shares his wisdom and expertise using a question answer format. The information is readily usable for anyone interested in gardening, whether in a large plot or in containers. Both novice and advanced gardeners will appreciate the comprehensive responses. Most gardening topics are covered including vegetables, fruits, herbs, annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, lawns, hanging baskets, transplanting, pruning, pests and composting in clearly labelled chapters. Answers to questions are comprehensive and provide for most eventualities. Numerous colour photographs are used to assist many of the responses, e.g. steps on how to trim a hanging basket, or to highlight a topic.

Vander Zalm owns two gardening centres, hosts CKNW’s Garden Talk, is a columnist for Garden Wise and BC Home & Garden and is a regular on The Bill Good Show.