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CROWNVETCH – is a perennial
legume with dark green foliage and pinkish-lavender to white
clusters of flowers with a mature plant height of 3 feet. It
is prostrate in nature, with indeterminate growth. Flowers bloom
on long stalks from June to September. Crownvetch reproduces
by rhizomes and by dropping seeds. It takes 2-3 years to establish
but once established, it grows aggressively to crowd out weeds
and grass. It grows in a variety of soils with low fertility
and has excellent drought tolerance but poor shade tolerance
and it prefers a pH over 5.5. Seed at 25 pounds per acre. Where
erosion is a problem, seed with a nurse crop. It is very slow
to germinate.
HAIRY VETCH - is adapted
to light sandy soils as well as heavier ones. The plants may
be conspicuously hairy or nearly hairless and usually have purple
flowers and glabrous pods. A nearly hairless selection called
smooth vetch but sold as hairy vetch, is the most commonly vetch
in the US. Vetches should be pastured only when the ground is
dry to avoid soil compaction and to reduce possibility of bloat
in cattle and sheep. Vetches are usually harvested for hay when
the first pods are well developed. Diseases of vetches include
anthracnose, leaf spot, and downy mildew, several stem and root
rots, rust and root-knot nematodes. Many of the insects attracted
to forage legumes attack vetches. |
