I recently found a partially finished bottle of an energy drink placed 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 a bit of a mess. Sometimes neglect has its perks; after returning from holiday, I spotted a sunflower growing in the back corner.
This week, though, some urgent tidying is underway. Being six months pregnant, I’ve hired a local gardener to remove invasive plants like a prickly weed and robinia saplings from the neighbour’s tree, while leaving the good stuff. Next, in the newly cleared patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Cover crops act like heroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
My gardening friend Claire has previously discussed cover crops, as they play a key role in seasonal planting for edible gardens. However, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some hardy herbs.
My garden goals are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is my main priority. To update concerned readers, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours are on board with the plan.
Cover crops work wonders for soil health. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why weeds appear. Yet by sowing vigorous crops, you can control weeds, attract pollinators, host pest-eating creatures, and fix nitrogen.
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 be admired. Once established, you can turn them under, cut them for compost, or let them decompose for worms to pull down. The real magic happens underground.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these overwintering crops. I’ve chosen forage rye, which breaks up heavy earth, a nitrogen-lifter, vetch, and beans that aerate soil.
It feels rewarding in planting seeds that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.
