Is Hek a keyhole garden? And why garden professionals love them

A conventional garden design is a keyhole garden to gain popularity, a unique botanical garden design designed for stability. Garden professionals like this because it makes efficient use of space and, once manufactured, is easy to maintain. A keyhole garden also saves time and labor compared to traditional vegetable gardening, as it has an underlying feature that every time you pour water in the garden, releasing nutrients in the soil.

Below, we break down what a keyhole garden is and how to design one for your external location.

What is Kihole Garden?

A keyhole garden is a raised bed garden with a very innovative design and function. It is usually a circular shape that contains a wedge -shaped indentation (like a pie with a slices, or a keyhole).

The indentation cylinder -shaped manure allows an easy access point to reach the basket. Nutrients are released in the surrounding soil in the bed raised by giving water to the compost, which works A retaining wall To maintain moisture. The manure basket usually consists of some type of cover made of permeable materials, to allow aeration and to keep the insects out, usually a cone or cylinder with chicken wire, or a trailis.

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How to make a keyhol garden

The keyhole garden can be constructed from a variety of materials, such as any other raised beds. Stone, brick and wood are the most flexible to design a keyhole garden, and is a good cost -effective approach to the project. Once the initial building is done, this garden design is very efficient and saves time and labor.

1. Design your keyhole garden: Create a simple design suitable for materials you are using. Find out which size will fit in your chosen space, and make sure it is a place with a lot of sun. The easiest design is to start with a circle, making it easier to connect the Kehole section. See some pictures of Kehole Garden online for ideas. The standard size for the keyhole garden is of six feet diameter, but you can adjust it to meet your needs.
2. Make a raised bed: Using stone, brick, or wood, build your lifted bed. The sides should be about one foot high. Integrate the manure basket in your design, as it will be added before adding soil.
3. Add a manure basket: Create your manure basket of permeable materials (such as wooden fence slats, chicken wire, bamboo, or willow privacy screen). It should be spherical or oval and at least 18 inches wide for a six -foot garden. Keep the sides up and add small rocks or gravel to the bottom to secure it. Then to provide drainage, fill the basket with two-thirds with small rocks.
4. Add a compostable first layer to the garden: Once the basket of compost is secured in place, you can do it Add a layer of manure material To help make good drainage on your raised bed. It may include branches, small rods and leaves.
5. Add layers of soil and modifications: Add a layer of soil of a few inch thick garden, then a layer of modifications (wooden ash, coffee groundsCompost manure, peat moss, etc.), then more garden soil until it is six inches either over the sides of the bed raised.
6. Add manure to the basket: Fill the manure basket with manure. It will need to be replenished sometimes. Once you start filling water, it will quickly filter the rock base before reaching the soil, so you will need to uplift it a little more often.
7. Add a removable manure cover: It should be a structure that will weaken pests like rodents or birds, which is trying to go into a manure basket.

Best tips for a successful keyhole garden

When planting and maintaining your keyhole garden, keep these tips in mind.

• Water regularly to the compost basket: This allows nutrients to allow soil to allow. If the garden becomes very dry then you can add some supplemental water to dry areas.
• To prevent too much nutrients from overloading the plants, apply vegetables from at least 18 inches from the compost basket.
• With the balance between leafy and root vegetables, apply at least four types of vegetables in the keyhole garden. A suggested mixture may include: onion and/or garlic to prevent pests of insects; Carrots, radishes and turnip for root veggie; And a mixture of leafy greens such as Kail, Swiss Chord, Spinach and Herbs.
• Practice the fellow planting as much as possible.
• Maintain compost by adding compostable scrap, as well as coffee ground, wooden ash, chopped leaves and grass clipping. The basket may need to be replaced every few years.