keyhole garden

KEYHOLE GARDEN
yesterday a reader wanted me to tell her how to do
the keyhole garden ive written about several times before

whats a keyhole garden
its basically a circular garden thats 8-12 ft in diameter
thats about 3 ft high
with a pie wedge that allows you to step into it to work
the garden
in the center is a 12 in circular composter that goes from
the bottom of the garden to about a foot or so above the
soil level

each keyhole garden looks different
but they all  have that look
of a pie with a piece of pie cut out

the materials for the sides are different based on whats
available
the soil is commonly made by the builder
by greens and browns that are available to the builder

these keyhole gardens were designed for arid conditions
like in third world countries using whatever is available
to grow food

here at the country n i have two of these
one is a large 10 ft water trough that had rusted out the
bottom
i simply placed newspapers and cardboard in the bottom
then filled in with ladybug hill country soil from the
natural gardener
they had already done all the work on the soil

on my other keyhole garden i used a 6 ft water trough
with the bottom cut out
i made my own soil for this one
using first cardboard on the bottom and the sides
then newspapers
then sticks and logs to rot and hold moisture
then leaves those that some of you have given me
then dirt i dug out of the hole where i put the water trough
then my compost i make in my chicken run which is
made of leaves and chicken poop
then more newspapers then more leaves then more dirt
then more compost
then on top i placed my best compost

in the center i put a central composter thats 12 in in diameter
thats  made of chicken wire
i pour water and liquid compost in there
i keep it full of compost and any recycle stuff i have
this feeds the keyhole garden
and waters it

i do supplemental watering with a dripper hose if its needed

i also add a good organic fertilizer when i add the good compost
on top

i then plant it and let nature run its course

this last year i had the best crop of peppers basil and egg plant
that i planted in this keyhole garden ive ever had
the root mat of the plants were the thickest ive ever seen

the other keyhole garden the large one ive turned into my winter garden
this year was the best winter garden crop ive had

to maintain these
you just add composting materials in the composter
keep it moist
supplement water as needed
lightly fertilize it with organic fertilizer at planting
its easy to maintain

here is one a friend named jim
built after reading my blog on keyhole gardening

here is the link to an article on keyhole gardens that is a good one
to read and use as a guide

here is a link to dr deb tolmans field guide ton how to build a
keyhole garden

here is a link to hgtvs blog on the keyhole garden method
it has several pictures of different ones

dr deb tolman lives in clifton texas and actually does seminars
where the group will build one in a day and plant it that day
within a month all the stuff placed in layers has composted
heres the link to her website

go to the right upper part of my blog
use your computer as your smartphone may not show this
type in keyhole garden in the   search this blog   block
you will find multiple blogs on
keyhole gardens

build you own keyhole garden
and
you will find the key to gardening success

the organicgreen doctor

plant them and they will come

PLANT THEM AND THEY WILL COME

these beautiful monarchs start in mexico where they have
lost a huge amount of their habitat
go up through texas
think of us as a waystation for these guys
then
they travel on north to canada and the northeast

then in the fall they start migrating south again
taking several generations to do this



transferring its genetic codes genome that is from
caterpillar to chrysalis to the beautiful butterfly

the problem
is that their numbers have decreased by 50%

its breeding ground in mexico has decreased significantly
due to deforestation there
then theres the weather
the cold the heat the drought
thats added to the loss of habitat and just killing those guys

there is a lot of development in the us
we call it progress
which is destroying their habitat

then its the pesticides
these guys are pests are they
that are killing them

then theres the weed killers thats used to spray on crops
those gmo ones that are resistant to the weed killers
all else dies
including the plant the monarchs feed on
the milkweed
the only butterfly that uses the milkweed as its host plant

wipe out the milkweed and you will wipe out the monarchs

so far we us humans are doing a good job of doing that
wiping them all out
we seem to be quite adapt at destroying species
think like the buffalo

so what can we do to help monarchs

plant milkweed
i plan this year to plant several milkweeds in my garden
to provide the host plant for the monarch
 
plant a butterfly bush to help attract them

plant flowers like zinnia dahlia salvias coneflowers indian blankets
to name a few

provide water for them
I have my several water ponds so they
can drink all they want

plant fruit trees
do not use pesticides on your property
you know that stuff you can get at the boxstores and spray
to kill any living thing
maybe even yourself

be careful even when using organic stuff as they can
harm the monarch caterpillars and butterflies

if each of us do this and also plant a few milkweeds
could we save a species from extinction
could we save these insects for our future generations

if you have ever seen a yard full of monarchs
you know why this is all worth the effort

i plan to
please do your part to help these beautiful insects out
plant your milkweed now
then do more to you habitat for them

lets make it easier for them as they are traveling through
our area

you will be glad you did
and
if you have children around
they just love monarchs and butterflies

weve harmed them
now
lets save them for the future generations to enjoy

the organicgreen doctor

leave him alone

LEAVE HIM ALONE
thats what i thought last night as i was watching the Olympics

i like the winter olympics a lot
but
this year i havent watched as much as i have in the past
why
im not sure
because  i like to hear the stories of all the hard work
coming down to the final moment
when in some of these events the blink of the eye
is the difference between winning or losing

i think i dont like to watch them because of all the damn
commercials
since i have a dvr
as i watch a show
and fast forward it through the commercials
i realize how many commercials
and how many minutes are taken up by them

then theres the fact that now with the internet
and all the ways we can hear the results
and all those spoiler alerts they warn us about
makes me just want to listen to find out what was spoiled

why cant they do like the world cup and do commercials
only at halftime

or maybe just show the olympics live like they do during the
ncaa tournament when you get to watch any game
on multiple different sites

then you could watch what you want to watch

then
last night the final straw happened that made me turn
off the tv

its the bode miller interview
i already knew he had won the bronze medal
you know via one of those spoiler alerts i couldnt avoid
and
i had already heard about the story of his brother who died of
a seizure
he had a severe head injury from an accident
he was an accomplished skateboarder
found dead in his car

then we all knew this would be bodes last olympics
he had failed up to this moment to metal

as i watched
i knew i already knew the results
i kept hoping that maybe just maybe he would win anyway
as he was in the lead
and
it looked like no one else would overtake his time

they did eventually two of them and one tied him
a blink of the eye it was
but
he won a medal a bronze

the camera stayed on him for a long time
he wanted to win so bad and at least medal
it meant a lot to him and to the memory of his brother
his beautiful wife was there with him

then in his moment the interviewer came over and started
to ask him questions
about his brother
only three questions
which he had difficulty answering as he began to tear up

she persisted on to the third question

please back off you bitch is what i thought aloud
and
it seems as most of the internet did also

this is whats wrong with television and reporting now

just leave him alone please

the oganicgreen doctor