Vicia sativa Seeds - Common vetch

The common or cultivated vetch, in Latin Vicia sativa, is a leguminous annual plant cultivated on a large scale as a forage plant, but also used as a green manure between two vegetable crops. It can fix atmospheric nitrogen in its roots, help to loosen the soil, limit weed growth, and prevent soil compaction caused by rain. Sow from March to June or from July to September in an empty plot in the vegetable garden or raised bed. It should be dug in from May to August or from October to February depending on the sowing date. It is particularly suitable for poor and heavy soils, avoid using this green manure before planting beans, peas, onions, garlic, and shallots.

Vetch has flexible stems with pinnate leaves consisting of several leaflets and ending in a tendril. This tendril allows it to easily cling to supports since vetch has a climbing habit. Vetch is often sown in association with a cereal crop (such as rye), which serves as a support. Its violet flowers have an irregular corolla with 5 petals. It produces elongated pods with protein-rich seeds. Thanks to its vigorous growth and extensive coverage, it effectively suppresses weeds. Vetch is suitable for clay soils but is not very frost-resistant.

Green manures like vetch are widely used in organically cultivated gardens and have many advantages. They nourish and improve the soil by providing various nutrients and stimulating soil microbial life. Their roots loosen, break up, and aerate the soil. A vegetative cover protects the soil from leaching (nutrient loss in sandy soil), rain compaction (formation of a crust in loamy soil), and erosion (caused by runoff on sloping terrain during heavy rains). This vegetative cover also helps to limit weed growth. Finally, green manures are often attractive to pollinators as they provide nectar and pollen.

Green manures are sown on uncultivated plots or intercalary plots between rows of vegetables. They can be naturally destroyed by frost or by mowing before seed formation. Once destroyed, they can be left in place as mulch, shredded and incorporated into the top layers of the soil, or collected and added to compost.