Common Vetch is a smooth seeded vetch that is a wonderful addition to cover crop mixes and is also useful as animal feed. Vetch’s are a type of legume so they can, in combination with appropriate bacteria in the soil, make atmospheric nitrogen available to your other plants. As nitrogen can be one of the more easily lost of the nutrients needed to grow crops having vetch growing either alongside your other crops or as a cover crop the winter before planting summer vegetables can greatly increase yield’s of your other plants. Common vetch blooms early in the year and is loved by pollinators and other beneficial insects so it can reduce pest pressures in your garden as well.

One of the foundational practices of organic production is the use of cover crops. What is not so well known is that you can use cover crops to great effect in your home garden. This seed is useful both as a winter cover crop here in California as well as a Hay crop if you have animals or take on a new adventure and process some for the table.

Our favored cover crop in our vegetable areas is a mix of Common Oats, Common Vetch and Oilseed Radish. We offer this both as packets of individual seeds as these are useful plants on their own as well as pre-mixed for your convenience.

Sold per packet; 1 tablespoon seed.

Did you know: Before Alfalfa production became so widespread Vetch was grown as a Hay crop?