Just the other day, I discovered a half-empty bottle of Lucozade placed 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.
In short, the garden is in disarray. 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 necessary firefighting is underway. Being six months pregnant, I’ve hired a local gardener to tackle invasive plants 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 cover crops.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to improving soil health.
My gardening friend Claire has written about cover crops, 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 foraged apples and some woody herbs.
My ambitions for the garden are simple and steady – and enhancing soil health is my main priority. To update concerned readers, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the fences are still wobbly, but the neighbours are on board with the plan.
Green manure work wonders for soil health. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why unwanted plants pop up. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, you can suppress weeds, bring in bees, host pest-eating creatures, and fix nitrogen.
Cover crops aren’t always showy – though some, like certain lupin varieties and bird’s foot trefoil, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to grow vigorously rather than be admired. Once established, you can dig them into the soil, cut them for compost, or let them decompose for worms to incorporate. The real magic happens underground.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these overwintering crops. My selection includes forage rye, which breaks up heavy earth, a nitrogen-lifter, vetch, and field beans.
There’s satisfaction in planting seeds that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.
