Keyhole Garden
I've been busy getting our keyhole garden ready for the season. Oh, and we had a solar eclipse.
This past weekend, Oklahoma decided it was spring again, so I finally got our keyhole garden ready for the season. It had been just week after week of bad winter-like weather. I could finally move the rest of the soil into the new garden bed. There is one last thing to do before we start planting for the season: give the keyhole garden a nice deep soak. The forecast says there’s a chance for rain this week, but we’ll probably still water it in with the hose as usual.
Some of you might not know what I’m talking about. I mentioned our keyhole garden quite a few newsletters ago, and then just in passing. You can watch the garden's progress in shorts on the Blog Oklahoma YouTube channel.
So what is a keyhole garden?
A keyhole garden is a tall circular raised bed with a notch on one side. In the center, near the notch, is a composting bin. The notch gives easy access to the bin, where you place kitchen scraps and other compostable matter. The notch and the bin give the appearance of a keyhole, thus the name.
This design and method of gardening makes it easier to maintain your garden. It provides easy access to all points in the bed by having everything within reach. This method reduces your need for artificial fertilizers. The compost bin provides the nutrients your plants need. This is also a good drought-resistant method of gardening. The tall circular raised bed is good at holding on to water.
The keyhole gardening method was developed and proven in southern Africa in the mid-1990s. It soon spread to other countries, including the U.S. It’s quite popular in Texas.
We first learned about keyhole gardens in 2015. We found a company down in Texas that manufactured and sold keyhole garden kits. We ordered one and have been using it ever since. In fact, it’s the same garden bed I just moved. Ha!
We can recommend a keyhole garden. They’re great for small kitchen gardens. They suit those with limited space in their backyards or who live in drier climates. The circular raised bed is ideal for people with limited mobility.
I’ve provided links below for more information about Keyhole gardening. And please follow the Blog Oklahoma YouTube channel for updates on how our keyhole gardening is doing.
More later. Time to wait for Donna to pick out which tomatoes and peppers she wants to grow this year.
Links:
Keyhole Gardens: What Are They, The History Behind Them, And Photos | Insteading
How Keyhole Gardens Can Make A World Of Difference | Frame It All
Total Solar Eclipse
Oklahoma just experienced a Total Solar Eclipse—quite literally an hour ago as I’m typing this into Substack. We had about 89% partial eclipse here in Elk City, Oklahoma. Just after 1:15 pm CDT, it started getting noticeably darker. When we reached maximum coverage around 1:42 pm, it was as dim as if we were under a heavy thunderstorm. It was overcast with high cirrus clouds, but the sun stayed visible throughout the show, giving the eclipse a hazy glow.
I’m looking forward to seeing all the pictures of totality as they come in. Here are a few pictures I took. I couldn’t get my iPhone’s primary camera to focus on the sun through the eclipse glasses. I ended up using the face camera to capture the partial eclipse.
In The News
A look at some of the latest headlines from around Oklahoma and beyond.
Oklahoma's SoonerSelect program launched, despite opposition from some providers | KOKH
More electric vehicle charging stations in the works along Oklahoma’s interstates | Oklahoma Voice
Oklahoma court rules 'McGirt' does not apply in Osage Nation | KGOU
Kiowa Tribe looks to collaborate with public schools to ensure tribal teachings | KSWO
Dispute over distribution of Oklahoma teacher pay raises led to legislative dust-up | Oklahoma Voice
Treat, McCall top Stitt in tribal compacting case at Oklahoma Supreme Court | KOSU
Ryan Walters’ shadow looms over election losses in three Tulsa School Board races | The Frontier
Advocates, lawmakers push for school board elections to be held in November | KOKH
Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame welcomes first female inductee | KGOU
Harold Holden's real life Pistol Pete starts his last ride to Stillwater | KOSU
A faster spinning Earth may cause timekeepers to subtract a second from world clocks | AP News
Lou Conter, last survivor of USS Arizona from Pearl Harbor attack, dies at 102 | MSNBC
About Oklahoma: Greer County
Welcome to Greer County.
Greer County is in the southwestern part of the state. It was founded in 1860 as Greet County, Texas, but it was turned over to Oklahoma Territory after an 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision. It was split into Beckham, Jackson, and Greer counties at statehood in 1907. In 1909, Greer County was split again to form Harmon County.
Mangum, Oklahoma, near the center of the county at the intersection of U.S. Highway 283 and State Highway 24, is the county seat and the county’s largest community. It’s home to the Old Greer County Museum and Pioneer Hall of Fame. Also, The 2008 Toby Keith film Beer for My Horses was about Mangum, Oklahoma, even though it was filmed in New Mexico.
Other notable communities include Willow and Brinkman in the northern, Granite in the eastern, and Reed in the western parts of the county.
Greer County shares Quartz Mountain State Park and Lake Altus-Lugert with neighboring Kiowa County.
Established: 1896
County Seat: Mangum, Oklahoma 73554
Nation: none
Map: Google Maps
Area: 639 mi2 (1,655 km2)
Population: 5,491 (2020 Census)
Time Zone: UTC−6 (Central), DST observed
Area Code: 580
Congressional District: 3
State House District: 52
State Senate District: 38
Weather: NWS Norman
Tourism Region: Great Plains Country
History: Oklahoma Historical Society
Historic Places: Exploring Oklahoma History
More Information: Wikipedia
Extras
Here are some more things I hope you'll find interesting.
This Invention Made Disney MILLIONS, but Then They LOST It! | Corridor Crew
Whatever Happened to LAND of the LOST? | Dan Monroe / Movies, Music & Monsters
Frutiger Aero: Gen Z's make-believe nostalgia | J.J. McCullough
What caused the Power Failure : The Dali Incident | Chief MAKOi
Stunning 4K SKYSHOW Artemis 1 Video | skyshowtv
Feedback Welcome
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Have a great week.
– K.