Cover crops.
This is a mix of blue lupin and mustard but the lupins stole the show. You are supposed to chop them down before they flower but the blue lupin flowers are so pretty I can't help myself!
Cover crops are used between growing seasons for several reasons. They out-compete weeds. Some improve the soil. (In this case the lupins are legumes, which are nitrogen fixers, adding nitrogen to the soil. The mustard releases chemicals which can eliminate certain plant diseases from the soil.
Additional benefits depend on what you do with it when it's finished. If you chop your cover crop and lay it over the garden bed to dry, you have just made your own mulch. If you dig your cover crop into the soil you have just added nutrients back into the soil; this is often called 'green manure.' Alternatively you can chuck it into your compost bin, either green or after letting it dry, depending on what's going on with your composting system.
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