Just the other day, I discovered a half-empty bottle of an energy drink placed in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. A visiting architect commented, “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 growing in the back corner.
Now, however, some necessary firefighting is underway. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve enlisted 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. Next, in the open patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
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 scrumped apples and some woody herbs.
My garden goals are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is my main priority. For those wondering, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours are on board with replacing them.
Cover crops work wonders for your garden’s foundation. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why weeds appear. But by sowing fast-growing plants, you can suppress weeds, bring in bees, shelter beneficial insects, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Cover crops may not look exciting – though some, like certain lupin varieties and bird’s foot trefoil, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to thrive rather than look decorative. Once established, you can turn them under, chop them for mulch, or leave them on the surface for earthworms to pull down. Their work happens underground.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these cold-season plants. I’ve chosen rye grass, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and beans that aerate soil.
There’s satisfaction in planting seeds that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.
