How late can you plant vetch?
Although it has a large seed, the vetch seedling is weak and fragile and may not survive if seed is sown in heavy soils at depths greater than 3 cm. On light, friable soils, seed can be sown slightly deeper. The long growing season of NWPV allows sowing to be spread from February to mid-June.
What is hairy vetch good for?
Hairy vetch fixes large amounts of nitrogen (N) that help meet N needs of the following crop, protects soil from erosion, helps improve soil tilth, and provides weed control during its vigorous growth in the spring and when left as a dead mulch at the soil surface. Hairy vetch can also be grazed or harvested as forage.
Is hairy vetch invasive?
Cow vetch and hairy vetch are invasive species. Cow vetch and hairy vetch spread over other vegetation, smothering it. These plants usually don’t cause problems in healthy native prairies.
What is vetch used for?
A poultice of the leaves has been used to treat spider bites, an infusion of the plant has been used as eyewash and an infusion of the tops has been used as a wash in sweat houses. American vetch has also been used as a panacea, an aphrodisiac, and a good luck charm.
Can you plant vetch in spring?
The plant is sometimes planted in spring, especially in agricultural applications. In the garden, hairy vetch cover crops are usually grown through the winter and plowed into the soil before spring planting.
Does hairy vetch make good hay?
Hairy vetch is also used as fodder and can be grazed, or cut for hay and silage. It is commonly grown with a small grain crop (rye, wheat or oats) or with annual ryegrass to provide good quality forage (Hannaway et al., 2004).
Is hairy vetch poisonous?
The toxin in hairy vetch responsible for the symptoms is not known. The seeds of hairy vetch when eaten in quantity by cattle and horses cause nervous signs and death. The seeds of Vicia sativa have been reported to contain cyanide. An annual with stems 4-6 feet in length, with hairy stems and leaves.
Will deer eat hairy vetch?
Hairy vetch is a widely adapted, winter hardy cool-season annual legume that supplies an abundant amount of palatable forage for deer and turkeys and other wildlife in late spring into early summer. It also produces an excellent seed crop that attracts quail and turkey.
How do I ID my hairy vetch?
Spherical shape, mottled-brown, black, gray. Important Identifying Characteristics: Hairy vetch has a vine structure and its stems grow from 2 to 4 inches in length. Blue-violet 20-32 florets in long racemes.
What can you do with a common vetch?
Vetch (Vicia spp.) is classified broadly as either grain or forage vetches. Grain vetch, or common vetch (Vicia sativa) varieties MoravaA, Rasina , Blanchefleur, Languedoc and Cummins are grown for forage, hay, grain and green manure. Grain from common vetches can be used to feed ruminants, as birdseed, or as seed for green manure or forage crops.
Where is the best place to grow vetch?
Vetch is valued for its benefits to following cereal and oilseed crops in the rotation which are usually greater than from other pulses. Grain vetches have been grown in lower to mid- rainfall cereal areas of southern Australia, and their grain yields have been similar to pea yields in these areas.
What are the benefits of growing vetch seed?
The versatility of vetch allows cropping for grain or hay production, early grazing as green pasture or for dry grazing, hay production or green manure. Vetch is valued for its benefits to following cereal and oilseed crops in the rotation which are usually greater than from other pulses.
How much rain does a purple vetch need?
Purple vetch (e.g. Popany) is later maturing requiring over 450 mm annual rainfall. Together with peas, vetches are quite versatile and are the best adapted pulse to lower rainfall areas. Grain vetches are valued for their adaptability to a similar, but wider range of rainfall to field peas.