Raised Beds - African Style

[Elijay]

A different way of constructing a raised bed is to build a Keyhole Garden. If you want to know more please follow this link. The charity 'Send a Cow' has instructions on it's web site for Keyhole Gardens and Bag Gardens. The info is meant for schools but I think the idea is worth copying. There is more info on this website.

[mandyballantyne]

Cool, that looks great and I do have a lot of stones and bricks

Thanks for the link and welcome to the vine, Mandy

[Snadger]

Good idea! It's a little bit unclear but I pesume the straw 'filters' the waste water so you could use soapy or dish water?

[Elijay]

Yes you can use any 'used' water provided it doesn't contains chemicals that are likely to upset the plants. Bath & washing up would be fine.

It is a circular raised bed with one section missing, if it was a clock it would be between 11 and 1 o'clock missing, so you can get into the centre. You start by driving in some stakes into a circle maybe 2 foot across, and then tie or weave them into a loose basket with whatever you have. Then you pile earth around them, and make a perimeter wall of stone or rubble or brick... and you pave the missing section to give you a decent footing and then put sloping walls either side of that, the earth is higher in the centre and lower at the edges.

Another way of visualising it would be to imagine the bed was a well risen sponge cake - they always rise in the centre. Some one cut out the centre with a cookie cutter and then eaten a slice.

Into the central hole goes all the composting material you can lay your hands on, and water. This should feed the intensive bed that you have created round it. You continue to add stuff to the centre.

For any male gardeners here, the height of this should just about be right for the odd casual pee.. added nitrogen you know!

You can inter-crop, succession crop and do any tricks you know of to keep it productive. The radius needs to be small enough that you can reach it all with a bit of a stretch. If you looked at it from above it would look like an old fashioned keyhole. Here is another link

[Flummery]

Interesting. I remember seeing an item on the television a good number of years ago about African Door-yard gardens. These were small plots the shape and size of a door, with a spade's depth taken out of them and mounded to one side. They were kept open for about a month and all kitchen waste and grey water was put in the bed, then after those few weeks the original earth was piled up and then the plot was planted. They got some great crops from very sandy and inhospitable looking soil. The underlying waste layer obviously wouldn't have broken down yet but certainly acted as a water reservoir. When that was planted a new garden was started. Eventually there would be a succession and each time the reservoir technique was used. This would be bound to improve the soil over time too.

[mrs dog]

i have grown everything in my garden by burying all household waste then covering and never had anything that didn't do well in it. My soil would be good for making pots but not for much else! Jan

[Elijay]

I've just found a PDF file on how build an African style 'Bag' garden. This would be great for small spaces or it could be used to grow salad leaves/herbs and sited near the kitchen.