Want to give your soil some TLC? Sow cover crops in your garden and you’ll enrich your soil.
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 joked, “Are you sure that’s Lucozade?” giving me a new perspective.
All this is to say, the garden is a bit of a mess. But there’s a lot to be said for negligence; coming back from a trip, I spotted a sunflower sprouting in the back corner.
This week, though, some urgent tidying 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, but keeping desirable plants. Then, in the open patches, I’ll be sowing cover crops.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
My gardening friend Claire has previously discussed green manure, as they are essential in seasonal planting for vegetable plots. But, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few scrumped apples and some woody herbs.
My ambitions for the garden are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is my main priority. To update concerned readers, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the fences are still wobbly, but the neighbours agree with the plan.
Cover crops are like superheroes for your garden’s foundation. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why unwanted plants pop up. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, you can suppress weeds, bring in bees, shelter beneficial insects, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Green manure plants may not look exciting – though some, like certain lupin varieties and a flowering legume, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to grow vigorously rather than look decorative. After they’ve grown, you can dig them into the soil, chop them for mulch, or leave them on the surface for worms to incorporate. Their work happens below the surface.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these cold-season plants. My selection includes 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 – on the surface, anyway.