Gourd Fest 2005 has now moved into the pages of history but the memories are still very much alive to those that attended. There was lots to see, lots to do and lots of people to meet with.
Gourd Sculpture by Annie Boquist
GOURD FEST was a buzz of activity. Friday was spent setting up the tables, competition gourds, workshop areas, vendor booths, a food area and a CGS sales area. Saturday brought sunny skies and Gourd Fest was on. Volunteers, in their bright yellow T-shirts, welcomed hundreds of visitors, some from the US and from other parts of Canada. Sunday brought a heavy rain storm which didn’t dampen the spirits of this gourd crowd.
Green Dragon by Lois Dean “Gourd Animals” - 1st Place Ribbon & Peoples’ Choice Award
The Competition
Everyone that participated was a winner although there were a few lucky ones that went home with ribbons & trophies. The Competition was such a delight with entries coming in right up to the last minute. There was quite a selection of categories as you will see from the photos. More entries showed in the Beginners than the Advanced … next year the Advanced will fill up as Beginners grow up!
Bracelets by Catherine Genge
The Workshops
The workshops were very diverse from beading to making dream-catchers to drums. Some were set up in the Northern Dipper’s 100 year old barn. Others were held in the gazebo, which is surrounded by flower gardens and covered with thick grape vines. Everyone was happy with all that they learned and some wished that they could have split themselves in two in order to participate in more workshops!
The Demos
The Demos are always a full house. This year the topics were great. Everything from Transferring Patterns by Gary Devine to Mending Cracked Gourds by Expert Ed McAuley to How to Attach Feet to a Gourd by Vicky Beard. The Demos were both educational and fun and went all day, both days!
The Entertainment
Someone once said ”A picture is worth a thousand words.” Here they are....
Hula Dancers Using Bottle Gourds for Music and Symbolism
A Perfect Performance From This 4 Yr Old!
The Drumming Circle was large and traveled around the globe with different beats!
Raffle Winner France Benoit Pulls Winning Ticket
For CGS Shadow Box
“Come If You Can, We’ll Be There Anyway…”
Ed & Darienne McAuley are hosting their 5th Annual Fall Gathering, Saturday, September 17, 2005 at their farm in Caven, Ont. (Near Peterborough) Times are 10:00 AM until folks leave and the atmosphere will be casual. Potluck – remember this is not a cooking contest - just buy something! As usual, coffee and morning goodies will be supplied, along with dishes and cutlery.
Spouses, significant others and dogs (no cats please) are all welcome, plus extra lawn chairs if you have them. You don’t have to RSVP…but it would be nice to have some idea of how many are coming. Anyone needing directions please Email Darienne at roadsend@pipcom.com or phone at 705/799-0614.
There will be tables and chairs set up for those who wish to work on gourds or have something to demonstrate to the rest of us. There will be raw gourds for sale along with other related gourd supplies. Sometime in the late afternoon there will be a Canadian Gourd Society meeting with Peter Bell presiding. Discussions will include plans for next year’s Gourd Fest.
So…Come If You Can, We will Be Here Anyway. Ed & Darienne McAuley
Gourd growing - Gourds in August
We have been pollinating for the past few weeks and now we have stopped. Gourds take 120 days to mature and depending on the fall weather they may not have time to mature. This year we have honeybees in the gourd field so we are depending on Nature to give us a hand.
At this time of year you should be walking your trellising or gourd patch for the following reasons:
Trellised gourds: The vines of the gourd plant are incredibly strong & can support heavy gourds. If you are growing on wire, check that your gourds are not growing into the wires. Gently move them out using 2 hands... the vines will be able to support them. If they do need extra support use pantyhose. Place the gourd in the "top" of the pantyhose and tie it up using the legs.
Ground grown gourds: Go through your gourd patch and place your gourds in an upright position. This will ensure there will be no flat spots on the sides of the gourd but on the bottom so they sit well.
Powdery Mildew is a fungus caused by a spore which is carried by the wind. It will appear as small grayish white spots on the leaves. Once it gets hold it will cover the plant and eventually kill it. Some gourd varieties are more susceptible than others. If you do get this fungus cut off the
infected leaves and destroy. There are a couple of methods you can use to alleviate this problem. In Ginger Summit's book "Gourds In Your Garden" she recommends 2 Teaspoons of baking soda
& 2 Teaspoons of lightweight horticultural spray oil mixed with 1 gallon of water. Spray both sides of the leaves well. Or go to your Garden Center as they will be able to recommend an appropriate solution to fight powdery mildew. For more information click here.
Cucumber beetles: Watch your population and do not let it get too high. They will start eating into your fruit and will badly scar or destroy the shell. For more information click here.
Remember:
Always keep your gourd patch clean from debris and dead vines.
For a more natural approach Ginger Summit's Gourds In Your Garden recommends that one can plant radishes, catnip or broccoli around and throughout the gourd patch. Let them go to seed. For information on this book click here
At Northern Dipper…
Aug is the month of the porch. We are replacing posts on 3 of our porches which were built in the early 1900’s. We are also building a new porch over our downstairs kitchen porch. Plus a couple of days off to visit Georgian Bay and a short trip to Wpg to visit family. Along with the gourds and orders...it is going to be a busy month!
To see photos of growing gourds click here.
Ed McAuley Relaxing with 4 Dogs – (L-R) Royal, Homer, Morgon and Chloe
NEXT ISSUE:
The next issue will contain more photos from the Gourd Fest as well as a tutorial on Painting Swan Gourds from Ontario Artist Sue Bonifacio.
Also a Gourd Grow Report, Tool Report and more! See you then…Pam Grossi & Peter Bell
Back issues of our newsletter Gourd Fever are on our Website. If you have missed any issues there are some interesting tutorials and grow information you may want to check out.
PS If you have any stories or ideas that you would like to contribute to this newsletter please send to info@northerndipper.com
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