I recently found a half-empty bottle of Lucozade left behind in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. A visiting architect joked, “Are you sure that’s Lucozade?” which made me see it differently.
In short, the garden is in disarray. Sometimes neglect has its perks; coming back from a trip, I spotted a sunflower growing in the back corner.
This week, though, some necessary firefighting is underway. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve enlisted a professional gardener to remove troublesome weeds like a prickly weed and robinia saplings from the neighbour’s tree, while leaving the good stuff. Next, in the newly cleared patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Cover crops act like heroes when it comes to improving soil health.
A fellow garden writer has written about green manure, as they play a key role in crop rotation for edible gardens. But, the only things I’m picking from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some hardy herbs.
My garden goals are simple and steady – and improving the soil is my main priority. For those wondering, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are still wobbly, but the neighbours are on board with the plan.
Green manure are like superheroes for soil health. Soil likes to be covered, which is why unwanted plants pop up. But by sowing fast-growing plants, you can control weeds, attract pollinators, host pest-eating creatures, and fix nitrogen.
Cover crops may not look exciting – though some, like lupins ‘Blue Sonet’ and bird’s foot trefoil, have pretty flowers – but their role is to thrive rather than be admired. After they’ve grown, you can dig them into the soil, cut them for compost, or leave them on the surface for worms to pull down. Their work happens underground.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these overwintering crops. My selection includes rye grass, which breaks up heavy earth, a nitrogen-lifter, vetch, and field beans.
There’s satisfaction in sowing something that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.
