🔗 Share this article

I recently found a half-empty bottle of Lucozade left behind in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. A visiting architect commented, “Are you sure that’s Lucozade?” which made me see it differently.

All this is to say, the garden is in disarray. Sometimes neglect has its perks; coming back from a trip, I spotted a sunflower growing in the back corner.

Now, however, some urgent tidying is underway. Being six months pregnant, I’ve enlisted a professional gardener to tackle troublesome weeds like green alkanet and robinia saplings 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.

A fellow garden writer has written about green manure, as they are essential in crop rotation for edible gardens. But, the only things I’m picking from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some woody herbs.

My garden goals are modest and consistent – and improving the soil is top of the list. For those wondering, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the fences are still wobbly, but the neighbours are on board with replacing them.

Green manure work wonders for your garden’s foundation. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why unwanted plants pop up. But by sowing fast-growing plants, you can control weeds, bring in bees, host pest-eating creatures, and fix nitrogen.

Cover crops aren’t always showy – though some, like lupins ‘Blue Sonet’ and a flowering legume, have pretty flowers – but their role is to thrive rather than be admired. Once established, you can dig them into the soil, cut them for compost, or leave them on the surface for worms to incorporate. The real magic happens underground.

Now is the ideal time for sowing these overwintering crops. My selection includes rye grass, great for clay soil, a nitrogen-lifter, a weed-suppressor, and field beans.

It feels rewarding in sowing something knowing it’s temporary – on the surface, anyway.