Just the other day, I discovered a partially finished bottle of Lucozade left behind 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 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.
This week, though, some urgent tidying is underway. Being six months pregnant, I’ve enlisted a professional gardener to remove invasive plants like a prickly weed and young tree shoots from the neighbour’s tree, while leaving the good stuff. Then, in the open patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
My gardening friend Claire has previously discussed cover crops, as they play a key role in seasonal planting for vegetable plots. 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 improving the soil is my main priority. To update concerned readers, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the fences are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours agree with replacing them.
Cover crops work wonders for soil health. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why weeds appear. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, you can control weeds, bring in bees, shelter beneficial insects, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Cover crops 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. After they’ve grown, you can dig them into the soil, cut them for compost, or leave them on the surface for worms to incorporate. Their work happens below the surface.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these overwintering crops. My selection includes forage rye, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and field beans.
It feels rewarding in sowing something knowing it’s temporary – at least above ground.
