Enrich soil with green manures
They'll give your plot a nutrient boost and keep weeds away, too!
Green manures aren’t anything to do with animal dung – they’re fastgrowing, intermediary crops that are so-named as they work a lot like conventional manures, adding valuable nutrients to the soil when dug in at a later date.
Sow them now in an empty spot on your veg patch or in bare border gaps, and you’ll be able to enjoy full beds before being able to reap the rewards by using them to spice up your soil. Here we give the lowdown on what to do and which are the best manure plants for your garden.
What are the benefits of green manures?
■ They’re excellent weed suppressants, providing dense foliage over the next few months so not a single weed will see the light of day! ■ They’re really beneficial to wildlife as shelter and food, and the flowering kinds are a real treat to look at, particularly when covered in happy bees. ■ Their roots prevent soil erosion, and as they’re growing they protect the soil surface from wind and rain erosion and leaching of vital nutrients by holding them. ■ They improve soil structure when dug in, help retain moisture and provide a wealth of good nutrients, particularly nitrogen, for the plants that follow them.
■ They can be used as catch crops, sown in between other crops as companions, which will attract pollinators in search of food, who in turn will pollinate crops nearby. ■ Through good root systems, they improve water flow through the soil, breaking it up to let it through, which benefits plant growth.
■ They take the work out of digging over your compacted soil by rooting low and breaking up the soil for you! ■ There’s a green manure for every spot – they can be planted anywhere and in most soils – even poor, light ones.