A keyhole bed is an effective method of growing food in areas that are generally difficult to cultivate. The idea is popular in permaculture methods of gardening and is now being widely used in dry, arid lands such as Africa. The beds can be very productive for their size and will compliment larger scale vegetable production and are particularly useful for people with mobility issues.

How do they differ from raised beds?

Raised beds are generally open units with all of the space being planted. With keyhole beds the shape allows you to do a few important things like water and feed from the centre of the bed.

What shape is it?

The keyhole bed can really be any shape depending on the location, but it will require the 'keyhole' at the centre to allow access and the centre of the beds should be reached whilst standing next to the bed. This stops the soil being trodden on and easy access for weeding and cultivating. The beds are usually circular for simplicity and about 6-10 feet in diameter as a rough guide.

The 'keyhole' centre can be filled with kitchen waste making it a miniature compost bin.

The bed is then watered through this compost so the nutrients leech into the soil.

It's popular to pour used washing up water into the beds.

The underground seepage of the watering allows for more to reach the roots and less evaporation from the surface.

What can I make it with?

The centre piece for the compost can be made from wood, straw, bamboo, wire netting or even cardboard. The sides can be made from wood or stones, depending on what there is locally.

The ground can be covered with cardboard to keep the weeds down then after the structure is built it can be filled with soil, manure, straw, ash, for potassium, sticks, and even things like cut hair from the barbers and old cans for iron.

The video below shows the basics of how to make the bed and gives you an idea how useful keyhole beds really are.

Click here for details on how to make your own rectangular raised bed

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