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Hairy Vetch

Vicia villosa

Legume, Seed Code: VIVI

• Seeds per pound: 20,000
• Plant Height: 6-24 Inche
• Planting Rate: 25-35 PLS lbs. per Acre
• Precipitation requirements: 18-20 Inches

Hairy Vetch is also known as Winter Vetch and Sand Vetch.

Hairy vetch is a legume used primarily for soil improvement along roadsides and for bank stabilization. Vetches are also grown for pasture. They withstand trampling, provide grazing during May and June and have a feeding value slightly lower than that of clover and alfalfa. The protein content of vetch hay ranges from 12 to 20%, depending on the stage of development of the crop when cut.

Vetch is often grown with a small grain for forage. The grain supports the weak stems of the vetch and reduces lodging. Vetch can be difficult to grow for seed. The pods mature unevenly and tend to shatter easily.

Hairy vetch is usually grown as an annual or winter annual. When hairy vetch is sown in late July or August, the seed germinates readily and the plants generally form a crown before the first snow. In spring, the plant produces 3 to 10 long, weak, branching stems or vines 3 to 6 ft long. The purple and white flowers appear in mid-June and are borne in a cluster. Seed pods, bearing 4 to 8 seeds each, mature unevenly from July 10 to July 25. Pods tends to shatter soon after maturity. When hairy vetch is spring sown, it will bloom and produce some seed the same season.

Hairy vetch is the most winter-hardy of the commercial vetches, though it may not survive a winter without a snow cover. Plants on poorly drained soil will kill more easily than those on well-drained land. Late seeding and unusually cold fall weather also result in more winter injury. Protective covering by a companion crop or crop waste reduces the danger of winter kill. Hairy vetch will not successfully overwinter in many northern areas of the Midwest. Check on the adaptability of hairy vetch to your location before planting.

Although the vetches are not drought resistant, this is rarely a problem. The crop is summer-seeded and harvested the following July before the hot, dry conditions of late summer. Vetches grow well on a wide range of soil types, but are best adapted to loamy and sandy soils. It can be grown following any crop harvested before mid- August. Vetch seeded into small grain stubble need not be plowed or disked before sowing. The stubble may provide enough winter protection to overwinter a vetch crop by holding snow on the field. Plowing or heavy disking is essential on heavy soils and firmly packed soils, or where there is heavy weed infestation. Grassy fields should be plowed or thoroughly cultivated during July before planting vetch.

In central Wisconsin or Minnesota, the best time to plant vetch is from July 25 to August 30. Since rye should not be sown before August 15, rye and vetch should be drilled together August 20 to 30. Hairy vetch is the most winter-hardy of the vetches. It is the only vetch that can be grown in the Upper Midwest.

Price (per Pound):$3.00