I recently found a half-empty bottle of Lucozade placed in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. An architect friend joked, “Are you sure that’s Lucozade?” which made me see it differently.
All this is to say, 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 hired a professional 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 green manure.
Green manure are superheroes when it comes to boosting soil quality.
A fellow garden writer has written about green manure, as they play a key role in seasonal planting for vegetable plots. But, the only things I’m picking from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some woody herbs.
My ambitions for the garden are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is top of the list. For those wondering, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours agree with replacing them.
Green manure work wonders for soil health. Soil likes to be covered, which is why weeds appear. But by sowing vigorous crops, you can suppress weeds, bring in bees, shelter beneficial insects, and fix nitrogen.
Green manure plants aren’t always showy – though some, like lupins ‘Blue Sonet’ and a flowering legume, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to grow vigorously rather than be admired. After they’ve grown, you can dig them into the soil, chop them for mulch, or leave them on the surface for earthworms to pull down. Their work happens below the surface.
Autumn is perfect 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.
There’s satisfaction in planting seeds knowing it’s temporary – on the surface, anyway.
