Just the other day, I discovered a half-empty bottle of an energy drink left behind 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.
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 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 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 previously discussed green manure, as they play a key role in crop rotation for edible gardens. However, the only things I’m picking from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some woody 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 yet to be fixed, but the neighbours are on board with replacing them.
Green manure work wonders for soil health. Soil likes to be covered, which is why weeds appear. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, you can suppress weeds, bring in bees, host pest-eating creatures, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Cover crops aren’t always showy – though some, like certain lupin varieties and a flowering legume, have pretty flowers – but their role is to thrive rather than look decorative. After they’ve grown, you can turn them under, chop them for mulch, or let them decompose for earthworms to pull down. Their work happens below the surface.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these cold-season plants. My selection includes rye grass, which breaks up heavy earth, Italian ryegrass, a weed-suppressor, and beans that aerate soil.
It feels rewarding in planting seeds that won’t stay forever – at least above ground.
