I recently found a half-empty bottle of an energy drink 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.
All this is to say, the garden is a bit of a mess. But there’s a lot to be said for negligence; coming back from a trip, I spotted a sunflower sprouting in the back corner.
Now, however, some urgent tidying is underway. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve enlisted a local gardener to remove troublesome weeds like a prickly weed and young tree shoots from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Then, in the newly cleared patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Cover crops act like heroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
A fellow garden writer has previously discussed cover crops, as they are essential in seasonal planting 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 ambitions for the garden are modest and consistent – and enhancing soil health is top of the list. To update concerned readers, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are still wobbly, but the neighbours agree with the plan.
Green manure are like superheroes for soil health. Soil likes to be covered, which is why unwanted plants pop up. Yet by sowing vigorous crops, you can suppress weeds, attract pollinators, host pest-eating creatures, and fix nitrogen.
Green manure plants aren’t always showy – though some, like certain lupin varieties and bird’s foot trefoil, have pretty flowers – but their purpose is to thrive rather than look decorative. Once established, you can turn them under, chop them for mulch, or leave them on the surface for worms to pull down. The real magic happens underground.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these cold-season plants. I’ve chosen forage rye, which breaks up heavy earth, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and field beans.
There’s satisfaction in sowing something knowing it’s temporary – at least above ground.
