Just the other day, I discovered a partially finished bottle of Lucozade placed in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. An architect friend commented, “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; after returning from holiday, I spotted a sunflower growing in the back corner.
Now, however, some urgent tidying is underway. Being six months pregnant, I’ve enlisted a professional gardener to tackle troublesome weeds like a prickly weed and robinia saplings from the neighbour’s tree, while leaving the good stuff. Then, in the open patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to improving soil health.
A fellow garden writer has written about cover crops, as they play a key role in seasonal planting for vegetable plots. 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 top of the list. For those wondering, 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. 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 enrich the soil with nutrients.
Green manure plants aren’t always showy – though some, like certain lupin varieties and bird’s foot trefoil, have pretty flowers – but their purpose is to grow vigorously rather than look decorative. Once established, you can turn them under, cut them for compost, or leave them on the surface for worms to incorporate. The real magic happens below the surface.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these cold-season plants. I’ve chosen rye grass, which breaks up heavy earth, a nitrogen-lifter, a weed-suppressor, and beans that aerate soil.
There’s satisfaction in planting seeds knowing it’s temporary – on the surface, anyway.
