I recently found 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 in disarray. 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. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve enlisted a professional gardener to tackle invasive plants like green alkanet and robinia saplings from the neighbour’s tree, while leaving the good stuff. Next, in the open patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Cover crops act like heroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
My gardening friend Claire has previously discussed cover crops, as they are essential in crop rotation for edible gardens. But, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some woody herbs.
My ambitions for the garden are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is my main priority. To update concerned readers, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are still wobbly, but the neighbours agree with the plan.
Green manure are like superheroes for soil health. Soil likes to be covered, which is why weeds appear. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, you can control weeds, bring in bees, host pest-eating creatures, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Green manure plants may not look exciting – though some, like certain lupin varieties and a flowering legume, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to thrive rather than look decorative. After they’ve grown, you can turn them under, cut them for compost, or let them decompose for worms to pull down. Their work happens underground.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these cold-season plants. My selection includes forage rye, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and beans that aerate soil.
There’s satisfaction in sowing something knowing it’s temporary – at least above ground.
