Click to see and read how to build a keyhole garden

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Step 1 Instructions

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Plan it before you plant it. We’re used  to arranging gardens in neat rows.  But did you know a circle-shape can  hold more plants? Our garden beds  normally lie low to the ground. But a  taller bed can save a gardener a lot  of bending over and hold a lot more  rich soil. We tend to keep compost  separate from the garden and then  incorporate it later. But why not  dump the compost right into the  middle of the bed so it can start  feeding plants right away? 

In parts of Africa, very  little rain falls. Overused  soil lacks nutrients.  Many people are ill and  struggle to bend over.  How can they grow  food? A big idea helps:  the keyhole garden.

Build It! KeyholeGarden

You’ll need:  • a sunny space six feet in diameter • cinder blocks  • rocks  • chicken wire • sticks and twigs  • cardboard • straw  • manure

Take a hint from the people in Africa.  Build your own  keyhole garden.  This is a BIG project,  so you’ll need  permission and help  from your parents.

Click below to see what  supplies you will need . . .

1. Build a compost basket. In the middle of  your 6-foot circle, create a smaller circle of  chicken wire. At the bottom of this, place a  layer of small rocks. (The rocks will allow  excess water to drain out of your basket.)  Cover the rocks with a layer of topsoil.  When you begin to compost, you’ll drop  kitchen and garden scraps on top of this  material. Little by little, the nutrients in the  compost will leak through the chicken wire  into the garden soil in the rest of the bed.

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2. Build your keyhole bed. Use your  cinder blocks (or rocks, bricks, metal,  or wood) to build a 6-foot circle  around your compost basket. Make  the bed a height you can easily reach.  But don’t build all the way around.  Leave one segment out and build  inward. You’re making a keyhole  shape. It’s like slicing out a piece of the  pie. This will make every part of your  garden easier to reach for weeding.

3. Fill it! Your bed needs drainage just like your compost bin. Fill the bottom with rocks, broken plant pots, tin cans, or twigs—or all of the above! Next, pile in cardboard, straw, topsoil, compost, and manure. Finally, add a layer of top soil. Your bed will collect and use water without becoming flooded.

4. Rest. By now, you’ve probably worked up quite a sweat! Let yourself and your garden rest. In about a week, come back and plant. You can grow all kinds of vegetables in your bed. Keep feeding it good compost all year long. Pour water right into the compost basket, and it will water the bed.