Jay,

The link did not come thru on my computer so I will have to guess what the people had in mind. The thing I really like is "Volunteers", and getting involved with the kids.

The garden of course would have done better in the spring, but, if this is connected with a school project, school would have been out before the garden started producing.

I hope it is a project to help the kids feel important. Not everyone can play football or be in the band. I agree it may be a little late, but maybe its timed just right for the kids. At any rate I wish them a lot of luck, and may God bless the volunteers, time spent with a child is never wasted. Larry

Jay,

I can't see your link, but I do agree it is mightly late for fall potatoes for someone planting that far north. Maybe they'll get a crop if they planted Red Norland or something else with a 70-80 or 85 DTM, but even that would be very iffy.

Maybe they'll get lucky and have a late first freeze.

Maybe their intention is to cover up the potatoes and protect them from the first fall freeze and then hope for 4 to 6 weeks of Indian Summer before another freezing night arrives.

Maybe they have volunteers who have a strong urge to help but a weak background in gardening?

Maybe they are in a really warm microclimate?

Who knows?

I don't understand the onions either because I'd think the daylength wouldn't be right in the fall. Maybe, though, they planted a daylength-neutral onion? I'd always thought it would be possible to get a fall onion crop if you could plant a daylength neutral onion but I've never tried it myself. Or maybe they are just hoping for green onions in the fall.

Everything else ought to be OK.

Even here in southern OK, it's best to get your fall potatoes in the ground sometime in mid- to late-July through the first week or so of August. Mid-August is kind of late this far south, so it certainly seems late for that far north.

What the volunteers are doing is admirable and I hope the gardens do well....and I hope the young people have a great learning experience....but I hope they aren't counting on a bumper crop of potatoes.

Dawn

Dawn and Larry,
Fist let me say it is hard for me to post much. The h on my keyboard doesn't work. So have one ordered. One of the drawbacks to a Mac. have to paste one if needed.

I didn't attach a link. Just copied and pasted the sentence about what they were planting. Dawn I had the same concerns about the onions.

Let me say kids aren't involved in growing it. A food bank for food for kids got and acre to garden and volunteers are doing it. Said they just started yesterday. Guess maybe they got the property to late to plant earlier. Said many were non gardeners and were learning. I admire what they are doing. But just concerned they are too late. hopefully it will work out. And tey will know more next summer. I have to paste every h. So if I missed a few and one should be a capital letter please understand. Jay

Jay,

I hope you do not mind if I get on my soapbox but I find that community organizations and events like what you described are about par for today. To put it bluntly yes I think it is too late but what does that really matter? Will there be anyone there to tend it till a harvest, will there be anyone there to harvest? I could be wrong but I have seen it so many times it makes me sick and yes I knowÂ.what am I doing about it? Well my old man told me you should not beat a dead horse so letÂs leave it at that. And please do not call me a dead horse, hehe. I hate taking the defeatist side sometimes, but I have seen it many times with my own eyes. For example I have been in construction as my living all my adult years. Primarily coming up in finish trades now I work in development and planning for consolidated trade contractors for commercial projects. I say that just to give creditability in saying the following: I have been involved in the construction of many "houses for humanity" projects and I have seen how it all works. For the most part they are built by armatures at best that do a terrible job using costly materials donated by companies seeking advertisements and write-offs. Those people go home feeling they did a good job building a home that will not stand the years and will be ridden with issues prematurely. In ignorance of course, I do not blame them, they meant well. Now yes the core trades of the houses are somewhat sound due to the requirements of licensed tradesmen, but there are many "unskilled" trades that are vital to the integrity of a home. In the end you have a home that is not worth the sum of its parts that were donated due to poor construction. There are exceptions to this rule for example the homes Centex used to build for them when I was in the Dallas market. They used the people that built their contract homes and basically said you are doing these for free so of cause we did as they were a big account. That is not the norm and for the most part they will not stand the test of time or last what years they should. Long story short, yes I think it is too late for the most part, but what does it really matter, the warm fuzzy and the press they got make it priceless right? So many public projects are done this way, we just do not have good sense these days and it seems to be getting worse every year.

Christopher
S. OKC