Raised bed gardening can be combined with composting to give you the benefit of healthy plants and sustainable waste disposal with something called a ‘keyhole garden’. A round, raised garden bed with a notch in the center allows gardeners to deposit organic matter in the central pit of the bed to break down and create great compost.
Garden keyhole it incorporates composting into the soil in your garden so that the nutrients go directly into the soil you are growing in. I’ve thought about making my own keyhole garden, but I’ve always been a little intimidated by the project. Then I saw it Costco has pre-made 4 x 4 inch keyhole garden beds for sale. Sign me up!
I love that you can toss leaves, kitchen scraps, plant trimmings, and other yard waste right into the composting section and let the garden do the work for you. It’s so simple and perfect for my backyard garden.
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Why use a keyhole garden?
Keyhole gardening is a technique developed in Africa to help address low soil fertility. It is a compact and efficient way of gardening that increases soil fertility and health and has become popular in the US as well. Keyhole gardens are essential raised beds and soil composters in one.
THE Vita Keyhole Composting Bed from Costco it’s a great entry point for curious gardeners looking to improve their soil and strengthen their plants. You can use a keyhole garden for vegetable beds, decorative beds, cut and come beds or whatever you choose. This innovative gardening method makes it so you don’t have to lubricate to get the garden of your dreams. You’ll also never have to pick up a fork to compost again.
Composting in your keyhole garden can reduce household waste by up to 30% and all the energy from food scraps and yard waste goes directly into your garden. I especially like that this keyhole garden from Costco uses BPA and phthalate-free polymer so you don’t have to worry about chemicals leaching into your produce. Compost-fed soil also requires less water, as water from the remains is added directly to the bed.
How to use Vita Keyhole Garden
(Image credit: AI/Future/Vita)
The Vita keyhole bed has a generous basket in the center of the bed where you will do your composting. As with any composting, you need a healthy mix of “greens” and “browns”. Green refers to items that have a high content nitrogen such as grass clippings, tea bags, kitchen scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels (no meat, fat or dairy) and freshly pruned plant material. The coffees are high carbon content and can be things like paper, dried leaves, small twigs, sawdust, wine corks (not rubber) and coffee grounds.
When setting up your new keyhole garden, simply slide the boards onto the posts and place the basket in the center. No tools required and super quick to put together! You can start filling the bed with organic matter such as logs, sticks, leaves, grass clippings and even cardboard to fill it. Water the layers as you add them to help them start to break down – it’s just like filling a hügelkultur bed! Then add 6-8 inches (15.2-20.3 cm) of topsoil to finish it off.
You can plant your garden and start adding compost to the central basket as soon as it is assembled. Easy peasy!
The Vita Keyhole Composting Garden Bed is so quick and simple to get started and is virtually maintenance free. I also like that it comes with a 20 year warranty against material defects, and Costco is also known for their product durability and great customer service.
I can’t wait to start my own keyhole garden!
More keyhole gardening arrangements
Vita
6′ x 6′ Keyhole Garden Bed
A more traditional shape for a keyhole garden with plenty of room to grow! The central cutout allows you to easily add clippings to the bin and access your plants.
Vego garden
In-Bed Composter
Already have a raised bed? You can add this metal composting basket to any existing bed to reap the same benefits of a keyhole garden. Happy composting!
Vita
8′ x 12′ Keyhole Garden Bed
A dream setup for me! This large, enclosed raised bed features 4 composting baskets and fencing with a secure door to keep pesky critters away from your plants.
