Cottonwood Community Garden: August Work Party

The last Sunday of nearly every month, anyone with a plot in the gardens is asked to come out to a Work Party. Keeping the gardens up and running requires a lot of time and effort and everyone needs to lend a hand.

I volunteered for kiwi duty. Unfortunately only myself and one other person were able to make it today. Both of us are new to kiwi care and unsure of the required maintenance. We ended up just going around removing weeds, young raspberry bushes/locust trees, and trimming off the dozens of branches reaching over the side of the trellis. We decided not to touch the ones growing vertically over the trellis. Some will be trained for next year and others removed. It seemed safer than risking damage to the plant. There are two varieties and the fruit won't be ready until October/November.

A young mouse also payed us a visit near one of the compost bins. It seemed really timid but instead of running like a normal mouse it just froze. Perfect for a photo! This photo is a bit low quality but the pose is great.

Now for another Vancouver surprise, the giant slugs. This one even comes with an orange racing strip! The coffee cup is an extra large for comparison.