Just the other day, I discovered a half-empty bottle of an energy drink placed 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 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 necessary firefighting is underway. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve enlisted a local gardener to tackle invasive plants like green alkanet and robinia saplings from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Then, in the open patches, I’ll be sowing cover crops.
Cover crops act like heroes when it comes to improving soil health.
A fellow garden writer has written about green manure, as they are essential in crop rotation for edible gardens. But, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some hardy herbs.
My ambitions for the garden are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is top of the list. 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 weeds appear. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, 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 pretty flowers – but their role is to thrive rather than be admired. Once established, you can turn them under, cut them for compost, or leave them on the surface for worms to pull down. The real magic happens below the surface.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these cold-season plants. My selection includes forage rye, which breaks up heavy earth, a nitrogen-lifter, vetch, and beans that aerate soil.
It feels rewarding in sowing something that won’t stay forever – at least above ground.
