Keyhole Gardens

•  Center compost basket provides a steady supply of plant nutrients.
• Uses less water with mulching and moisture from center basket: drought-tolerant
• Garden can be modified per owners needs, like child or handicap accessibility
• The short bed distance (from outer wall to center basket) is easy to tend
• Gardens require a small area
• Recycle material use makes the gardens inexpensive or free to build.
• The raised design removes threat of trampling by pets and humans
• Saves compost steps by adding garden wastes to the hand center compost basket.

Construction: The garden perimeter is made (coconut husks, lumber, brick, concrete), leaving a cutout and a center hole. Vegetation compost (twigs, leaves, etc) is put in to fill the garden area. 4-6 inches of soil is put on top of the vegetation and it is ready to plant.

Watering is through the center hole, no need to water all over the garden. Food scrapes are also put in the center hole. These scraps then break down adding nutrients to the soil. 

Side cutout view shows the construction of the keyhole garden.

Demonstration garden

Liahona Farms (located behind Liahona where we live) has a demonstration garden including these keyhole gardens. 

The keyhole gardens contain vegetables for the dinner table: lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, onions, bok choy, spinach, okra, green beans.

In addition to the keyhole gardens, there are regular fields where crops are planted such as ufi (yams), corn, watermelon, 2 varieties of taro, manioke, and kumala (sweet potato).

Tevita Makihele is 2nd from left

A grand opening was held at the demonstration garden. Stake Leaders were invited to the farm to see and be instructed in keyhole gardens and their benefits. 

Tevita Makihele, farm manager, explained the purpose of the  keyhole gardens and how they are constructed. Tevita told the leaders that he and his team will go to the villages and help build the gardens. Once the soil sets for a week, Tevita will provide seedlings (started at Liahona Farms) to help the people get started.

VILLAGE GARDENS

All homes of Kahoua 1st ward have a keyhole garden. Kahoua 2nd ward has all but one enjoying the benefits of a vegetable garden out the back door of their homes. Having these vegetables planted at their homes rather than in the bush allows for the cook to step out the back door and pick, or have the children pick and bring in vegetables, for the meal. Thus the families have better diets.

Paea Taueli of  Kahoua grows tomatoes, onions, lettuce, green beans, and other vegetables. She says having this garden has improved the eating habits of their family. They have healthy green vegetables every day.

Her extended family helped to build and plant the keyhole garden. She says her children and their families also eat from this keyhole garden.

Gardens do not have be made in the standard keyhole fashion to be beneficial to the family. Whatever works for the family is great.

At this home in Kahoua:

• Old tires were used to plant tomatoes in. 
• Coconut husks were put in rows to make neat patches for other vegetables.
• Boxes were made (look at the back by the fence) to grow other vegetables. 

This garden in Ha'alalo is not the traditional round but is square.  It is located steps from the door, thus making use of the vegetables easy. 

Also as seen in the picture, the family has a chicken coop. They collect eggs daily to supplement their diet.

The families planting gardens and raising chickens are on their way to better nutrition and healthy living.

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven … A time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2