I decided to plant out my Courgettes , Butternut Squash and a couple of Pumpkins ( for the children to carve for Hallowe'en )
I spent most of the morning pulling out bindweed roots .
I worked hard to get as much as I could out ..every last little bit of it ...hopefully .
Then flipped over the paving slabs to make two fairly level steps .
One on pointe at the back , this should allow me to step in and water everything .
A watering hole in the middle . Watering into this centre hole will encourage the roots of the plants to go down deeper . I have chicken-wire all around to keep the bunnykins out .
Planted them all out ! Time for lunch and a flop !
🌿☀️🌿
Never heard of a keyhole bed
ReplyDeleteSorry it's taken me a while to get back to you about the "Keyhole Vegetable Bed "
DeleteOh it's not meant to be a garden feature , but is an important idea for people living in drought stricken places . The idea is the good earth is mounded up into a hillock ; some people build it up much higher around the edge with rocks or could be bricks ; that would be great too , so not having to bend down , if you are elderly or have a bad back (like me ! ). The deep hole in the centre , the "water hole " I have a very large pot in mine with holes in , you water into this well and it takes the water deep down and the plants put their roots down deep to get the moisture .You can make a basket weave fence around this watering hole and you can also make a basket weave sort of "hat" to shade the watering hole from the hot sun. You create a path into the centre and from there you can reach all around the bed to tend all of your vegetables . The shape is therefore like a keyhole . You make it to suit your needs and for me , I have surrounded mine with chicken wire to keep the rabbits out . I also have another paving slab to make it easier for me to step across . You make it to suit your needs .
It's not some trendy garden feature , but is a serious way of growing food in drought stricken places . I first saw this on a South African family farming website a long time ago and I still do this to pass this knowledge on and to teach others to be able to grow their own food in such difficult places .
Over the winter I cover it over with fallen leaves , spent compost , grass clippings and seaweed to replenish the good earth and this also keeps the weeds down . love Debbie 🌿