I recently found a partially finished 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.
In short, 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.
Now, however, some necessary firefighting is underway. Being six months pregnant, I’ve enlisted a local gardener to remove invasive plants like green alkanet and robinia saplings from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Next, 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 previously discussed green manure, as they play a key role 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 hardy herbs.
My garden goals are simple and steady – and enhancing soil health is my main priority. For those wondering, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are still wobbly, but the neighbours agree with replacing them.
Cover crops work wonders for soil health. Soil likes to be covered, which is why unwanted plants pop up. 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 lupins ‘Blue Sonet’ and bird’s foot trefoil, have pretty flowers – but their role is to thrive rather than look decorative. Once established, you can dig them into the soil, chop them for mulch, or let them decompose for worms to pull down. Their work happens below the surface.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these overwintering crops. I’ve chosen rye grass, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, a weed-suppressor, and field beans.
It feels rewarding in planting seeds that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.
