Want to give your soil some TLC? Sow green manure in your garden and you’ll reap the benefits.

Just the other day, I discovered a partially finished 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 a bit of a mess. 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 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, while leaving the good stuff. 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 are essential in crop rotation for edible gardens. But, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few scrumped apples and some woody herbs.

My ambitions for the garden are simple and steady – and improving the soil is top of the list. To update concerned readers, the scaffold is for roof repairs, and the fences are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours are on board with the plan.

Cover crops are like superheroes for soil health. Soil likes to be covered, which is why unwanted plants pop up. Yet by sowing vigorous crops, you can suppress weeds, attract pollinators, shelter beneficial insects, and fix nitrogen.

Cover crops may not look exciting – though some, like certain lupin varieties and a flowering legume, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to grow vigorously rather than be admired. Once established, you can dig them into the soil, chop them for mulch, or let them decompose for earthworms to incorporate. Their work happens underground.

Autumn is perfect for sowing these overwintering crops. My selection includes rye grass, great for clay soil, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and beans that aerate soil.

It feels rewarding in sowing something that won’t stay forever – on the surface, anyway.