I recently found a partially finished bottle of an energy drink 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 a bit of a mess. Sometimes neglect has its perks; 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 local gardener to remove 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 cover crops.
Cover crops act like heroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
My gardening friend Claire has written about cover crops, as they are essential in crop rotation for vegetable plots. But, the only things I’m picking from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some woody herbs.
My garden goals are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is top of the list. To update concerned readers, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the fences are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours are on board with replacing them.
Green manure are like superheroes for soil health. Soil likes to be covered, which is why weeds appear. But by sowing vigorous crops, you can suppress weeds, attract pollinators, host pest-eating creatures, and fix nitrogen.
Cover crops aren’t always showy – though some, like lupins ‘Blue Sonet’ and bird’s foot trefoil, 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 pull down. Their work happens below the surface.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these overwintering crops. I’ve chosen forage rye, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, a weed-suppressor, and field beans.
There’s satisfaction in planting seeds that won’t stay forever – at least above ground.
