Want to give your soil some TLC? Plant cover crops in your garden and you’ll improve your yields.
Just the other day, I discovered a partially finished 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?” giving me a new perspective.
In short, the garden is in disarray. 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 necessary firefighting is underway. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve hired a professional gardener to remove troublesome weeds 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 green manure.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
My gardening friend Claire has written about cover crops, as they play a key role 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 hardy herbs.
My ambitions for the garden are simple and steady – and improving the soil is my main priority. For those wondering, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the fences are still wobbly, but the neighbours are on board with replacing them.
Cover crops are like superheroes for soil health. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why unwanted plants pop up. Yet by sowing vigorous crops, you can suppress weeds, attract pollinators, shelter beneficial insects, and fix nitrogen.
Green manure plants may not look exciting – though some, like certain lupin varieties and a flowering legume, have lovely blooms – but their role is to thrive rather than look decorative. Once established, you can dig them into the soil, cut them for compost, or let them decompose for earthworms to incorporate. The real magic happens underground.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these cold-season plants. I’ve chosen forage rye, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and field beans.
There’s satisfaction in planting seeds that won’t stay forever – at least above ground.
