I recently found a partially finished bottle of Lucozade left behind in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. A visiting architect 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; after returning from holiday, I spotted a sunflower sprouting in the back corner.
This week, though, some urgent tidying is underway. Being six months pregnant, I’ve enlisted a local gardener to tackle invasive plants like green alkanet and young tree shoots from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Then, in the open patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
My gardening friend Claire has previously discussed cover crops, as they play a key role in seasonal planting for vegetable plots. But, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few scrumped apples and some hardy herbs.
My garden goals are simple and steady – 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 are on board with the plan.
Cover crops work wonders for your garden’s foundation. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why unwanted plants pop up. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, you can suppress weeds, attract pollinators, host pest-eating creatures, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Green manure plants may not look exciting – though some, like lupins ‘Blue Sonet’ and a flowering legume, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to thrive rather than look decorative. After they’ve grown, you can dig them into the soil, cut them for compost, or let them decompose for earthworms to pull down. Their work happens underground.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these overwintering crops. I’ve chosen forage rye, great for clay soil, a nitrogen-lifter, a weed-suppressor, and field beans.
It feels rewarding in sowing something that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.
