I am patiently watching my soil temp in the hoop house; well maybe not so patiently. With the little heater in there. I was able to keep the ground temp at 46F through the 10F (-12C) weather. The temps will hit 60F (15C) by Monday, truly only a tease but I will pull some mulch back on the planting rows about 6" wide by 24' long making 4 rows in our test bed. With some luck, the soil will near 50 F (10C) so I can plant some daikon radishes on Monday as well as spread some cardboard and mulch to expand another bed. Why daikon radishes you say. I will discuss daikon radish in another post so as not to make this post to long. One of the key principals in working with nature when gardening is to always keep your soil cover 365 days a year. Hopefully the attached with prompt some thought. Let's discuss in the chat what you do, is this a new concept or a concept you have used for years? https://www.skool.com/oasis-builders-8012/classroom/54fca587?md=55dfe6ad8c86485dac7a226e0b468266

Went through my seed yesterday; using the seed I have on hand; this will be my early planting; starting with spinach tomorrow. Hoop house soil temp 47 degrees. Hoop house soil appears to be about 10F (-12C) warmer than historic averages. Will put me 30 days ahead of typical planting.

Daikon radish is nature’s tiller. Clay beds, beds crusted over, paths that got walked on too many times. Daikon sends one strong taproot straight down. It pushes into the hard layer, opens tiny cracks, then widens them. That creates new air space for worms, water, roots, microbes. Daikon also mines the subsoil. It pulls up nutrients from deeper down, then stores them in the root and leaves. When we chop it down or let it winter kill, that nutrition returns to the topsoil as it breaks down. The root becomes a soft tunnel that the next crop can follow. How we use it in the garden Plant it thick like a living drill bit.Keep it moist until it sprouts.Let it grow without disturbance. No pulling. No digging. When it is time, we either chop it at the soil line or let frost take it. Leave the root in place. Cover with mulch. Let the soil life do the rest. https://www.skool.com/oasis-builders-8012/classroom/54fca587?md=0ad574d9bef442469c9d80b6cd74f35e

I am planning a Family Resilience series. The goal will be to create a calm place where families learn what resilience means, allowing them to build more into their lives, step by step. Many of our community members already carry resilience in their life. As we share our wins and misses in the journey, those coming behind us will benefit. This series will meet members where they are. It will bring practical education with real examples, so our Inner Circle stays solid. Inner Circle means assuring the non-negotiables: food, water, shelter, first aid, and planning ahead for the unexpected. With spring nearing, we will start a 16-week gardening module. Posts will live in a category named Spring Oasis Build, so we can follow, comment, learn together, and share wisdom with the next generation. Our example build will use a hoop house in Zone 7b for a near year-round growing scenario. Our community spans Zones 3 to 10 across several countries so calendar dates will shift by zone. We will use shared anchors to stay aligned; last and first frost date, average nighttime lows, and soil temperatures at 2 in (5 cm) and 4 in (10 cm) depth. As well, each household will have different time availability, budget, and space. We will do what we can and allow nature to multiply our effort. Project Description: We will focus on one 12 ft by 22 ft planting bed, divided into four rows, each 3 ft by 22 ft. After a narrow herb border plus access paths, planted area will be about 225 sq ft. Our soil texture will vary as well. Our test bed is second year clay base with a couple inches of one year old organic matter on top. Each playing along can set their own area although for comparison, it would be nice to designate an approximate 200 sq ft space. Through community decision, we will only use heirloom seeds. Goal: We will grow $1,000 in grocery replacement value through succession planting. We will keep the same bed in production by rotating crops through the seasons. We will track growing conditions and harvest totals plus estimated grocery value as we go.

Let's take the damage of rain one step further. https://www.skool.com/oasis-builders-8012/classroom/54fca587?md=67b89ff3634d45cdbce1af032e54173c