I recently found 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?” which made me see it differently.
All this is to say, the garden is a bit of a mess. Sometimes neglect has its perks; 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 local gardener to remove troublesome weeds like a prickly weed 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.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
A fellow garden writer has previously discussed green manure, as they play a key role in seasonal planting for edible gardens. However, the only things I’m picking 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. For those wondering, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the fences are still wobbly, but the neighbours agree with replacing them.
Cover crops work wonders for your garden’s foundation. 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 aren’t always showy – though some, like lupins ‘Blue Sonet’ and a flowering legume, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to thrive rather than be admired. After they’ve grown, you can turn them under, chop them for mulch, or leave them on the surface for worms to pull down. The real magic happens below the surface.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these cold-season plants. My selection includes forage rye, which breaks up heavy earth, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and field beans.
There’s satisfaction in sowing something knowing it’s temporary – on the surface, anyway.
