If you leave the soil on your vegetable patch bare over winter, you can let some of the minerals leach away, however if you were to plant a green manure, such as these lovely Field Beans, not only would you help the soil hold onto the minerals, you would benefit the fertility by the nitrogen that the bean roots add.
These beans are known as nitrogen fixers, and help turn nitrogen into the air into a source available for plants to use, so you don’t need to any from a packet.
At this time of year you can cut the plants back to ground level and add the tops to your compost heap, leaving the soil rich in goodness and ready to plant. They keep weeds at bay too.
The best bonus of all is you can use the pretty flowers and tips to pep up a spring salad.
