I discovered the concept of keyhole gardens during lots of research on gardening and growing food in the deserts of Arizona. Everything we have tried as far as gardening in the desert has been an experiment. Some things have worked, and others have not. In spirit of trying new things, I decided to give the keyhole garden design a try.
To the best of my knowledge, keyhole gardens started in Africa in locations where the soil was dry, rocky and unsustainable for growing food. On our property in the Mojave Desert of Arizona we have a few places that fit this description. Therefore, a keyhole garden seemed like a good fit.
What is a Keyhole Garden?
In short a keyhole garden is a garden shaped like a keyhole with a compost bin in the center. The shape and design allow the user easy access for fertilizing the garden, and the raised nature of the bed makes it easier to work the soil, water, or harvest food from the garden. The garden being raised also helps prevent gardeners from bending over too much.
One final reason to try out a keyhole garden is because they look neat! While we are always concerned with the function of what we build, we also want everything we build to be something we enjoy looking at everyday. So, the unique look of the keyhole garden was also what sold me.
Here is a look at our brand new keyhole garden.
Photo Gallery of our NEW Keyhole Garden
Final Thoughts on Keyhole Gardening
We are proud of our new keyhole garden. All of our desert growing projects are experiments and we have been trying a variety of growing techniques to grow a sustainable crop of food on our developing homestead. A keyhole garden is our newest experiment and we hope it is a success. Regardless, it certainly adds an aesthetically pleasing addition to our overall landscaping!
