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 artists, growtips, info & more

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

 

Volume 1, Number 6

www.northerndipper.com 

Email: info@northerndipper.com

In this issue

Review of GOURD FEST 2005

 

What Are The Chances?

 

Gourd Sightings & Trivia

 

Growing Gourds In August

 

"Winners of the Gourd Competition"

Close–up of “Butterfly Reprose”

by Lynette Dawson

“Gourd Using a Weaving Technique” 

1st Place Winner, Best of Show 2005 & Best of Division


 Vase with Gourd Flowers  by Gaston Touchette  –“Gourds With Floral Arrangement ” 

Mexican Singer by Mary Druissi-Yaber 1st Place Ribbon – “Anything Goes”


Competition Gourds


Cactus by Anna Petek  Each thorn is  from a rose bush.

 

Gourd Doll by Artist Jan Taylor 1st place Ribbon Winner


What are the chances…

 

  

That France Benoit was chosen to pull the winning ticket for the Mask Raffle and it was her name that she pulled out!

  

 

Lamp by Artist Steve Generaux

 

Gourd Container by B.C. Artist Denise Bachman

Sit your gourds upright so the flat spot is on the bottom


 There are still lots of flowers and gourds under the lush leaves.

Green Gourd Perfect for Green Peeling in the Fall

There are many types of birds in the gourd field. We work around them.


   Gourd sightings and trivia

 

Our friend called last week to let us know she had seen a large Bottle gourd on Beast Master. They were making something out of it but the Beast Master was called away to scuffle so it is a mystery to us what exactly was happening with that gourd! For more info on Beast Master click here

 


Published by Northern Dipper Enterprises
Northern Dipper Farm
1666 Villa Nova Road
RR1 Wilsonville, Ontario
N0E 1Z0 Canada
(519) 443-5638
 
Get your gourds in Canada from Northern Dipper, your Canadian gourd supplier
Every month, you'll receive info, tutorials, and features on artists. PLUS Growing Tips from April to November. Every month, you'll receive info, tutorials, features on artists and much more.
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