I recently found a partially finished bottle of Lucozade placed 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 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 enlisted a professional gardener to tackle troublesome weeds like green alkanet and young tree shoots from the neighbour’s tree, while leaving the good stuff. Then, in the newly cleared patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Cover crops act like heroes when it comes to improving soil health.
My gardening friend Claire has written about green manure, as they are essential 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 ambitions for the garden are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is top of the list. For those wondering, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours are on board with replacing them.
Green manure work wonders for soil health. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why weeds appear. But by sowing vigorous crops, you can control weeds, attract pollinators, shelter beneficial insects, and fix nitrogen.
Green manure plants may not look exciting – though some, like certain lupin varieties and bird’s foot trefoil, have lovely blooms – but their role is to thrive rather than be admired. After they’ve grown, you can dig them into the soil, cut them for compost, or leave them on the surface for earthworms to pull down. Their work happens below the surface.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these cold-season plants. I’ve chosen 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.
