Ramsey County

October 3, 2005

Howdy!!!!!!
The first snow of the year, doesn’t that sound appealing?  Well, hopefully that will miss us and find somebody else more wishing for snow.  We have been very fortunate to this point with the weather we have been having, knowing that we will eventually get a frost.  I can remember many years ago, having a late harvest and being able to complete my harvest, with neighbors having plenty left to combine.  We moved our harvest equipment over to a good friend’s farm, east of Edmore, and were able to harvest for 2 days before we sat through 8 inches of wet snow.  We thought the world came to an end and was busy looking for an extra dryer but when the snow settled, the crop came off without a hitch.  The nice thing with rain is the ground seems to dry much faster.  Talking of snow, I know this is premature but we used to run a bunch of cows and during the calving season we dreaded those snow storms but seemed in the fall was our indicator that rounding up the cattle and weaning the calves was a priority.  The corn chopping was done but still had many loads of hay and straw to get home.

Even though we do not like getting cold or even less snow we need to be thankful for the weather we have had this fall, ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING.

Drying Gourds????
Drying Gourds can be a very rewarding time and it can also be a frustrating time as precautions need to take place keeping the gourds from spoiling.  It is always fun to see the different shaped gourds as my mother-in-law had a gourd shaped very similar to a duck.  As we prepare to dry our gourds we need to find a location that is out of the way but yet very handy to keep an eye on them for an extended period of time.  It could take from 1-6 months to dry gourds.  The first step in drying our gourds is to place them in a well ventilated area and not touching each other, keeping an eye on them for the first sign of mold.  This process allows for the drying of the outer skin, so keep those outer skins free of mold by wiping them free of the mold, which starts the decaying the process.  After the skins are dry, about 1-2 weeks place the gourds in a WARM, well ventilated area and again not touching each other.  This step is allowing the gourds dry internally and could take up to 6 months.  You will know when the gourds have dried, upon shaking them the seeds rattle.  The other thing to remember about gourds is if one side of the gourd has not changed color, make sure you place the green side towards the sun and it should eventually even out the color around the gourd.

Calendar!!!!!!
            October 4                    Ramsey County Gardener class 7pm
            November 15               Farmers Night out, 6 pm
            December 1                 Cattleman’s Night Out 6 pm

524 4th Ave NE #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake  ND  58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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