Hairy Vetch Seeds - Flower, 30 seeds

Quantity: 30 Seeds / pack

Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa) is a vigorous cool-season legume grown as a cover crop and green manure. Its climbing vines reach 6-8 feet, fixing nitrogen in the soil while smothering weeds, and bloom with clusters of lavender-purple tubular flowers in late spring. Note: the seeds are poisonous to livestock; mow plants before they set seed to keep them from becoming weedy.

Why choose our seeds?

• Nitrogen-fixing legume cover crop for soil building
• Vigorous 6-8 foot vines that smother weeds
• Clusters of lavender-purple tubular blooms in late spring

How to grow Hairy Vetch seeds

Choose Your Planting Method

• Outdoors only: Direct sow in late summer or fall, at least 30 days before the first frost, so roots establish before winter. In cooler regions it can also be sown in spring.
• Hairy vetch is not suited to indoor growing.

Prepare Your Materials

• Prepared garden bed or field soil
• Rake for covering broadcast seed

Sowing the Seeds

• Sow 1/2 to 1 inch deep; broadcast the seed over the soil and rake it in lightly, or drill in rows.
• For garden beds, sow about 1-2 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet.

Provide the Right Conditions

• Light: Full sun.
• Temperature: 60-75°F (15-24°C) for germination.

Germination

• Seeds typically germinate in 7-14 days with adequate moisture.
• Keep the seedbed moist until seedlings are established.

Transplanting

• Hairy vetch is direct-sown and not transplanted.
• Seedlings form a low leafy mat that survives winter, then grows rapidly in spring.

Care Tips

• Sun: Full sun.
• Water: Water well until established; plants need adequate moisture to reach full growth.
• Mow or till the plants before flowering in spring for green manure, and to prevent self-seeding.

Bloom Time:

Late spring, typically late May to June.