How to Sow a Greencrop

Greencrops (also called greenmanures) are awesome! Diversity, homegrown fertility + living mulch all in one.

• Use them to prepare soil for OR restore soils after, a heavy feeder – you use less compost this way
• Sow them beneath/ beside bigger crops like broccoli, pumpkin or beans, as a life giving, living mulch
• Use them for a quick, handy gap filler when you run out of mulch. The very best soil fertility comes when our soil is kept covered with plants

There are 2 ways to go about this. Both are awesome, thing is which one suits your situation best.

1. Sow your greencrop beneath an existing, finishing crop – read all about it here
2. Or if you have a clear area because the chooks have been on it or you’ve harvested a whole bed of potatoes, for example, follow along below.

First up we must ready our ground. Chop down old crops – ideally leaving the roots in play, but dont break your heart over this bit – do what works.

I’ve just harvested the no dig potatoes from this bed so needed to smooth the little piles of compost out. Roughly is fine, ironing out isn’t required. If your soil is compacted, aerate it with your fork by sliding the fork in pulling it back towards + repeat. Don’t turn the soil over.

And because the worst thing you can do to soil is leave it bare and vulnerable, I’m sowing the greencrop right away.

Put a little thought into what greencrop you need. Make sure it suits the season, and the purpose. If its for building soil go for a mixture, or if its for a living mulch go for lower growing varieties.

Scatter sow the seed over top of the soil. Be generous and please don’t try to evenly space those wobbly balls. We want a wild thicket.

Good soil contact makes a difference. Give it a reassuring pat with your hands to connect it well with its new home. In the case of a whole bed, you can pat away all day with your hands, or do as I do, and tamp it down with the flat end of your nail rake.

If your soil is dry, moisten it. Mine is perfectly moist so I can skip this step today.

Mulch can be done in 2 ways.

Either, a lovely layer of your homemade brew. This gorgeousness is buckwheat, yarrow, meadowsweet, parsley and dandelion, and took me all of five minutes to collect from my herbal border. Free, 100% organic and bursting with nutrients – the Queen of all mulches.

Sprinkle it on top of the seed in a thickness that disappears the seed from sight. Bear in mind if its freshly harvested, it’ll shrink pretty smartly.

Bird net, or whatever you use for bird protection, is an essential next step – dont skip it! 5 minutes extra to ensure all your work isn’t undone.

Or, if you don’t have enough mulch simply lay shadecloth or hessian over top the sown seed and peg or weight it down. Leave it there as long as poss until the seedlings are big enough to withstand weather and birds. Peel it away once the crop is up and away.