With Spring right around the corner many peoples thoughts are already turning to this year’s plantings. One choice that many don’t know about is a keyhole garden. They are popular in Africa where there is more sun than rain. Not surprisingly they are making their way to Texas and in areas where drought like conditions are the norm. As you begin to learn about them you will begin to realize that these gardens are an amazing way to compost and grow simultaneously and they are small enough to put almost anywhere.

Photo from the Texas Co-op Power website.

Photo from the Texas Co-op Power website.

From the Texas Co-op Power website: A keyhole garden is the ultimate raised-bed planter. It is often built in the shape of a circle measuring about 6 feet in diameter that stands waist-high and is notched like a pie with a slice cut away. A hole in the center holds a composting basket that moistens and nourishes the soil. The garden, which from above looks like a keyhole, can be built with recycled materials and requires less water than a conventional garden.

How do the gardens work? From the Permanent Culture Now website: The composter in the centre of the keyhole system provides a number of important inputs for the system, firstly it provides nutrients from the materials that are composting in the centre of the system, and as a result of watering the system through the composter this ensures that more valuable minerals and nutrients go from the composter through to the plants that live in the system. The central composter also generates heat which in turn warms the soil up in the system which aids the growth of the plants.

Materials for the garden are readily available and if you can stack bricks and twist wire you can make a keyhole garden! For plans to make these amazing little gardens take a look here.