Want to give your soil some TLC? Sow cover crops in your garden and you’ll improve your yields.
I recently found a half-empty bottle of Lucozade placed in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. A visiting architect commented, “Are you sure that’s Lucozade?” giving me a new perspective.
All this is to say, the garden is in disarray. But there’s a lot to be said for negligence; coming back from a trip, I spotted a sunflower growing in the back corner.
Now, however, some urgent tidying is underway. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve hired a professional gardener to remove invasive plants like green alkanet and young tree shoots from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Next, in the newly cleared patches, I’ll be sowing green manure.
Cover crops act like heroes when it comes to improving soil health.
My gardening friend Claire has previously discussed cover crops, 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 scrumped apples and some woody herbs.
My ambitions for the garden are modest and consistent – and enhancing soil health is my main priority. To update concerned readers, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the garden boundaries are still wobbly, but the neighbours agree 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 fast-growing plants, you can control weeds, bring in bees, shelter beneficial insects, and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Green manure plants may not look exciting – though some, like lupins ‘Blue Sonet’ and bird’s foot trefoil, have pretty flowers – but their purpose is to thrive rather than be admired. Once established, you can turn them under, cut them for compost, or let them decompose for earthworms to incorporate. The real magic happens below the surface.
Autumn is perfect for sowing these overwintering crops. I’ve chosen forage rye, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, a weed-suppressor, and field beans.
It feels rewarding in sowing something that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.