Keyhole garden

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A keyhole garden (Engl. Keyhole Garden) is a special form of raised bed , which takes its name from the circular shape. Due to its indentation towards the middle, the garden resembles a keyhole from a bird's eye view. The structure and shape of the keyhole garden were created under the influence of the permaculture concept .

Layout and function

A representation of the keyhole garden design.

A typical keyhole garden is a circular raised bed, which is usually piled up at waist height with a diameter of approx. 3 meters. The indentation that gives the garden its name is left free, through which the gardener then has easy access to the center of the garden. During the construction, an outer wall made of field stones or other suitable materials is built around the bed. This should ensure the stability of the construction and counteract undesirable influences on the interior of the bed, such as larger temperature fluctuations. The interior of the keyhole garden consists of several alternating layers of wood ash, dung and normal soil. The bottom layer is made of materials that seal the bottom down to keep warmth and moisture in the bed. The materials that can be used for this are very variable and the application examples range from aloe leaves to crushed tins . In the center of the bed is the "basket", which is usually a frame made of sticks and grass, which keeps a free space open to the bottom of the bed. In this free space, compostable materials, such as kitchen waste , can then be regularly filled, which support the nutrient content of the garden bed. Thanks to the filtering properties of the basket, domestic water can also be used for a large part of the garden's irrigation.

Dissemination and use

In addition to the sporadic spread among amateur gardeners in the European and Anglo-American region, the concept of the keyhole garden was also taken up by several aid organizations. The specific structure of the raised bed offers numerous properties that make the keyhole garden very suitable for use in development projects . The usual procedure is to provide individual households with the expertise and the means to build and maintain the gardens - seeds, tools, and evaporation protection in areas where there is not enough water - so that they can then grow their own vegetables. In this way, in regions in which large parts of the population mainly eat only one type of food, the long-term basis for nutritional supplements is to be laid in order to counteract malnutrition that is harmful to health . Another intended side effect is the increase in household income by selling any harvest surpluses.

The following properties of the garden design led to the assessment that the keyhole garden was classified as a promising concept for development aid:

  • The low costs and the high availability of the materials required for construction ensure that the economic barrier to building a keyhole garden can be kept low. This also enables people with little or no financial resources to access the project.
  • Since fertilizing with natural and usually readily available materials such as kitchen waste eliminates the need to buy extra fertilizers, this is another cost advantage.
  • By planting certain combinations of pest-resistant plant varieties in an appropriate arrangement, the use of pesticides and the associated financial expense can be avoided.
  • The possibility of saving water by watering the keyhole garden largely with domestic service water makes the concept particularly attractive for regions suffering from droughts and water scarcity.
  • The compact design with the additional protection provided by an outer wall allows the garden to be used even on very stony and heavily eroded terrain. This makes the garden largely independent of the soil conditions on site.
  • The height of the garden and the indented access to the middle make it easier for the elderly or sick people to work on the raised bed.
  • The high fertility and the sheltered arrangement of the bed make it possible to plant around five different types of vegetables, often all year round.

Projects using the keyhole garden

  • The Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe wants to supplement its already existing food aid project in Djibouti with the construction of keyhole gardens.
  • The British aid organization "Send a Cow" is the first organization to successfully use the Keyhole Gardens as part of its development aid.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Permaculture  - Internet Archive p. 78; P. 105.
  2. ↑ a b teca.fao.org ( Memento of the original from June 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / teca.fao.org
  3. ↑ youtube.com
  4. ↑ countryworldnews.com
  5. ↑ a b fao.org (PDF).
  6. ↑ Vegetable gardens in the desert
  7. ↑ "African Gardens Project" by "Send a Cow"