On this day, I am reminded that freedom is not only something we inherit from history, but something we practice in how we live, speak, care for one another, and stay rooted in truth. A free people are strongest when we remember our connection, honor the dignity of each person, and choose courage over fear. May this day bring gratitude, responsibility, and a deeper sense of unity. Thank you for being an important part of the Oasis Builders community both here and abroad. You are all greatly appreciated.

This is made for warmer climates although the concept would work anywhere warm. @Mohammad Irtaza Tafheem @Oliver Wing

We are in many different areas... what are you doing in the garden? What are your high and low temps currently? A few of my volunteer tomatoes started turning a bit lime green so looking at nitrogen or too much water or humidity in the tunnel... I started by checking ground moisture levels where 2 beds were on the dry side and one bed on the wet side. Thinking nitrogen could be the issue up front, I added fish hydrolysate and liquid hemp to the rain barrel and set the pump to come on for an hour 3 times today letting it soak in a bit between as I turn a compost pile I am working on. I also hung a mesh bag of worm casting in the barrel with a small air pump keeping it oxygenated. Temps in the low 70'sF (21C) this week with night temps around 40F (5C). Plan to pull the poly probably later part of the week. I need to cover the pump and controls for the rain barrel system. Weather moderate although I know overnight, nature will turn the heat up; just a matter of time. Spinach went to seed and sugar snaps peas doing the same. Still have a little lettuce growing under the tomatoes; pruning back the daikon radishes for airflow; adding them to the compost pile.

Mother’s Day reminds us that much of life is built quietly. A garden does not begin with harvest. It begins with steady care, watering, protecting, feeding, and tending small things before abundance is visible. Mothers often live the same. They tend the unseen layers of a home through comfort, encouragement, concern, peace and love. Nature teaches us that living systems grow stronger through steady care, and many families are rooted by that kind of love. Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, foster mothers, and nurturing women who help life grow around them.

Most of us start the same way with a few rows, and a few crops. Some doing well, some struggle and many with bare soil in between. Water might be running off in one place and drying out too fast in another. Nothing wrong with that, rows are often where gardening begins. Observing over time we start noticing the garden does better when the soil is covered. What we find is it does better with roots in the ground. It does better when more life is present above and below ground. This the shift we see from rows to living systems. Not chaos as some call it, not overplanting and not tearing everything out to start over.. Rows to living systems is just a better more natural pattern. A living system starts to form when we: - protect the soil with compost, leaf litter, and mulch on top - reduce bare space with closer, thoughtful planting - add simple plant relationships instead of only single crops - build the biology below the surface instead of only feeding the plant above it This is where gardens begin to hold moisture better in dry times, absorb rainfall more evenly in wet times, and support steadier plant health throughout the season. The goal is not to make the garden look wild as in some chaos gardening, but to help it function more like nature while still keeping the clarity and order that helps us manage a aesthetic backyard. That is how a produce bed starts becoming: - more drought resilient - more flood tolerant - more biologically active - more productive over time Small steps with on bed, one guild at a time. What best describes your current garden setup?