Common vetch: varieties, growing and uses

Vetch is not one universal winter plant

Packets offer different vetches. Common vetch is Vicia sativa; other species and selections may differ in hardiness. The trade name winter tares does not prove Vicia sativa is the same as hairy winter vetch, Vicia villosa. Read the botanical name and sowing guidance before planning overwintering. A small trial strip shows growth in your soil without committing the whole garden.

Include the family in your garden plan

Nitrogen fixation depends on a working relationship between roots and bacteria; there is no fixed free quantity of fertiliser per square metre. Vetch belongs to the pea and bean family. Consider that when refilling a bed after legumes. Grass in a mixture offers support and different root forms, but does not make rotation family-free. Mark the end date and check tendrils spreading onto paths or neighbouring young plants.

Scent, flavour and use

This selection is intended as green manure. Do not harvest unknown vetch seeds or pods as edible peas.

Care, cutting and harvesting

Use Vicia sativa offered as green manure. Sow according to the chosen batch and avoid a very dry or strongly acidic position. Keep early growth sufficiently moist and contain the bed.

Cutting here is a step towards terminating the crop; check whether remaining stems survive.

Terminate while the crop is still easy to handle and before unwanted seed formation. Leave time between incorporating it and a new sowing of fine seed.