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 in disarray. But there’s a lot to be said for negligence; coming back from a trip, I spotted a sunflower growing in the back corner.
This week, though, some necessary firefighting is underway. Being six months pregnant, I’ve hired a professional gardener to tackle invasive plants like green alkanet and young tree shoots from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Then, in the newly cleared patches, I’ll be sowing cover crops.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
My gardening friend Claire has written about cover crops, as they play a key role in crop rotation for vegetable plots. However, 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 enhancing soil health is my main priority. For those wondering, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours are on board with the plan.
Green manure work wonders for soil health. Soil likes to be covered, which is why weeds appear. Yet by sowing vigorous crops, you can control weeds, bring in bees, host pest-eating creatures, and fix nitrogen.
Green manure plants may not look exciting – though some, like certain lupin varieties and a flowering legume, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to grow vigorously rather than look decorative. After they’ve grown, you can turn them under, cut them for compost, or leave them on the surface for earthworms to incorporate. Their work happens below the surface.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these cold-season plants. My selection includes forage rye, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, a weed-suppressor, and field beans.
There’s satisfaction in planting seeds that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.
