I recently found a partially finished bottle of an energy drink left behind in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. A visiting architect commented, “Are you sure that’s Lucozade?” which made me see it differently.
In short, the garden is a bit of a mess. Sometimes neglect has its perks; after returning from holiday, I spotted a sunflower growing in the back corner.
Now, however, some urgent tidying is underway. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve hired a local gardener to remove troublesome weeds like a prickly weed and young tree shoots from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Next, in the newly cleared patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
A fellow garden writer has previously discussed cover crops, as they play a key role in seasonal planting for edible gardens. However, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few scrumped apples and some woody herbs.
My ambitions for the garden are simple and steady – and enhancing soil health is my main priority. To update concerned readers, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are still wobbly, but the neighbours are on board with the plan.
Green manure work wonders for soil health. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why unwanted plants pop up. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, you can suppress weeds, attract pollinators, shelter beneficial insects, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Cover crops aren’t always showy – though some, like certain lupin varieties and a flowering legume, have lovely blooms – but their role is to thrive rather than look decorative. Once established, you can dig them into the soil, cut them for compost, or let them decompose for earthworms to incorporate. The real magic happens below the surface.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these cold-season plants. My selection includes 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 – at least above ground.
