I recently found a partially finished bottle of an energy drink placed in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. An architect friend joked, “Are you sure that’s Lucozade?” giving me a new perspective.
All this is to say, the garden is a bit of a mess. Sometimes neglect has its perks; coming back from a trip, I spotted a sunflower sprouting in the back corner.
This week, though, some urgent tidying is underway. Being six months pregnant, I’ve hired a local gardener to tackle troublesome weeds like green alkanet and robinia saplings from the neighbour’s tree, while leaving the good stuff. Then, in the open patches, I’ll be sowing cover crops.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to improving soil health.
A fellow garden writer has written about green manure, as they are essential in seasonal planting for vegetable plots. But, the only things I’m picking from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some woody herbs.
My garden goals are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is top of the list. For those wondering, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the fences are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours agree with the plan.
Cover crops are like superheroes for your garden’s foundation. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why weeds appear. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, you can suppress weeds, attract pollinators, shelter beneficial insects, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Green manure plants may not look exciting – though some, like certain lupin varieties and a flowering legume, have pretty flowers – but their purpose is to thrive rather than be admired. After they’ve grown, you can dig them into the soil, chop them for mulch, or leave them on the surface for earthworms to incorporate. The real magic happens below the surface.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these overwintering crops. I’ve chosen forage rye, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and field beans.
There’s satisfaction in planting seeds that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.
