Just the other day, I discovered a half-empty bottle of Lucozade 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; after returning from holiday, I spotted a sunflower sprouting 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 robinia saplings from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Next, in the open patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
A fellow garden writer has written about green manure, as they are essential in crop rotation for edible gardens. However, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some woody 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 still wobbly, but the neighbours are on board with replacing them.
Cover crops work wonders for soil health. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why unwanted plants pop up. But by sowing fast-growing plants, you can suppress weeds, attract pollinators, shelter beneficial insects, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Cover crops may not look exciting – though some, like certain lupin varieties and bird’s foot trefoil, have lovely blooms – but their role is to grow vigorously rather than look decorative. Once established, you can dig them into the soil, chop them for mulch, or leave them on the surface for worms to incorporate. The real magic happens below the surface.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these cold-season plants. My selection includes rye grass, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and field beans.
It feels rewarding in sowing something that won’t stay forever – at least above ground.
