Vetch

Vetch is an annual plant that belongs to the legume family but it is above all a very useful green manure in the garden. It requires little water, grows quickly and has a strong covering power that suffocates weeds. It is grown in the garden as a green manure to enrich the soil with nitrogen and to suppress undesirable plants. This green manure belongs to the Fabaceae family. The most widespread is the common vetch which exists in spring or winter varieties. There is also the Vicia Sativa Var, the taller Krakow vetch and the Cerdanya vetch which provides a large amount of biomass. It is very easy to grow.

We sow the vetch directly in the ground, by covering the seeds with a small centimeter of soil. Spring vetch is sown from the end of March to the beginning of June. For winter vetch, which is more resistant to frost, it is sown from the end of August to October. This green manure can be sown in the sun or in semi-shade. A well-drained, rather cool soil is chosen. Spring vetch must be destroyed with a scythe or shears before flowering and seed formation. It is left to decompose before the first plantings. Winter vetch buries itself in the soil and is destroyed two to three months after planting.