Spring vetch: description, medicinal properties and application

Spring sowing vetch is used as a fodder crop. It is a common annual herb belonging to the legume family. It is considered a high quality pet food and contains 46 feed units per 100 kg of dry grass. The mass of the green part of the grass can reach 70%. Vetch is grown along with peas, oats, cabbage and other crops.

Description of the plant

Spring vetch belongs to the legume family, which includes 85 species. According to the description, the plant is very remarkable, it can be seen in the fields, meadows and squares.

The root system of spring crops is branched. The stem is erect, ascending, can reach 1 meter in height. The leaves are oblong, eight-pair, have a small notch. The plant has branched tendrils. The plant is drought-resistant, photophilous and undemanding to soils. But it does not grow well on heavy and acidic soils. It is resistant to cold, diseases and pests. The only exception is aphids, which often infect the culture.

Flowers are small, solitary, reach 2 cm in length, have a lilac or pinkish color. The fruit is a bean, which reaches a length of up to 6 cm. Each bean has 9 seeds. Spherical seeds, slightly flattened.

The grass is pollinated independently. The plant blooms in late June, early July. The harvest is at the beginning of August. You can harvest 2 times a summer.

Vetch is a good honey plant. From a hectare you can collect up to 20 kg of fragrant and tasty honey.The seeds can be used as fertilizer. To do this, the plant is sown, and then buried in the ground. Such a fertilizer is not inferior in characteristics to manure and retains its qualities for 5 years. Spring vetch has several wild species that are very similar to the crop in all characteristics.

Distribution

The culture is spread throughout the European part of Russia, in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The plant grows in the forest-steppe zone of Moldova and Ukraine. Spring vetch is grown in western Siberia, in the foothills and mountainous parts of Crimea.

Often found as a weed in wheat fields, the plant can be found in garbage places. Lilac flowers of common vetch are often found in parks and squares. You can buy seeds of a leguminous plant in specialized stores.

Uses

Vetch refers to spring. It does not require special care and is resistant to slight frosts. Many gardeners call this crop seed peas. This culture has been known since ancient times. Even then, the grass was used as animal feed. Today, common vetch is grown as a fodder raw material, the plant is used as a fertilizer, and also as a rich source of silage and hay.

Quite often, spring vetch is sown on fields that are fallow. The plant is a good nitrogenous fertilizer, it loosens the soil, and also significantly improves its qualitative composition, which is important before planting other crops.

Vick is good to plant simultaneously with other crops. Grass prevents weeds from growing and also attracts insects that pollinate the flowers. It is a good fodder grass, with a high content of vegetable proteins.It is eaten by animals both directly on pastures and in the form of hay. It is possible to sow several times during the summer.

Fit features

The legume is planted for fertilizer and as animal feed. Depending on this, the landing dates change.

For fertilizer, the plant is planted simultaneously with other herbs. Spring crop prevents the growth of weeds. Mow it after the grass has grown enough.
Grass can be planted for fertilizer at the end of August. In this case, it is mowed in early spring, until tomatoes, peppers and cabbage are planted.
For animal feed, grass is planted in early spring, and mowed at the stage of appearance of beans. Vetch is planted along with other forage grasses, which helps to overcome the bitter taste of the forage grass.

The grass contains vitamins and many minerals. Most of them are during the flowering of the legume. Currently, spring vetch is considered one of the most valuable fodder crops.

Healing properties

Grass is actively used in folk medicine. All parts of the plant are used to treat diseases. The herb has the following medicinal properties:

Diuretic and laxative.
Hemostatic and healing.
Calming.

Compresses with grass are used for the speedy maturation of abscesses and for the rapid cleansing of sores and wounds. On the basis of spring grass, an alcohol tincture is prepared, which helps with a number of diseases. Healers recommend using a decoction of the roots of the herb to treat hepatitis.

Vetch is planted as a fodder plant in many countries of the world. This herb is rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. To muffle the bitter taste, the legume is planted along with other forage grasses.