How to Grow and Care for Vetches

Common vetch (Vicia sativa) is an annual herb plant also commonly called vetch, tare, and garden vetch. It is often considered a weed, but is also utilized for manure and animal feed for livestock across the world. When grown for agricultural purposes, it is sown in dense fields.

Hairy vetch is often grown as a cover crop, or to provide forage or fodder for animals. However, use caution when planting and check your local regulations, as this plant is considered an invasive species in many states in the U.S. and several other countries.

Bird vetch (Vicia cracca) is a flowering species of vetch native to Europe and Asia. In North America, bird vetch is considered an invasive species and a weed. In these environments, the flowering plant often grows in industrial disturbed environments like oil fields.

Broad bean (Vicia faba) is a fruit-bearing flowering plant related to the pea. Its origins are unknown. The broad bean is also called the broad bean or the faba bean. This plant is widely cultivated for human consumption and has a broad range of culinary uses.

Bush vetch (*Vicia sepium*) is a nitrogen-fixing, perennial, leguminous, climbing plant that flowers from spring to summer. Bush vetch grows in Western Europe, Russia, including Siberia, Crimea, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. This species is often found growing on hedgerows, grasslands, the edges of woodland, and roadsides.