Want to give your soil some TLC? Plant cover crops in your garden and you’ll improve your yields.
I recently found a partially finished bottle of an energy drink 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 sprouting in the back corner.
This week, though, some urgent tidying is underway. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve enlisted a professional gardener to tackle troublesome weeds like green alkanet and young tree shoots from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Then, in the newly cleared patches, I’ll be sowing cover crops.
Cover crops act like heroes when it comes to improving soil health.
My gardening friend Claire has written about green manure, as they are essential in seasonal planting for vegetable plots. But, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few foraged apples and some hardy herbs.
My garden goals are simple and steady – and enhancing soil health is top of the list. For those wondering, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the fences are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours are on board with replacing them.
Cover crops work wonders for soil health. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why unwanted plants pop up. But by sowing vigorous crops, you can suppress weeds, attract pollinators, shelter beneficial insects, and fix nitrogen.
Green manure plants aren’t always showy – 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 turn them under, cut them for compost, or let them decompose for earthworms to incorporate. The real magic happens below the surface.
Now is the ideal time for sowing these overwintering crops. I’ve chosen forage rye, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and beans that aerate soil.
It feels rewarding in planting seeds knowing it’s temporary – on the surface, anyway.
