Vetch is a type of vine that is grown chiefly as feed for cattle and sheep. A form of vetch called horse bean or broad bean is grown for its seed, which is eaten as a vegetable. Vetches are also used as fertilizer.
The leaves of vetches have many leaflets. Vetches have tendrils (threadlike structures) that attach themselves to other plants for support. Vetches have weak stems that grow 2 to 5 feet (60 to 150 centimeters) long or more. Most vetches require a cool growing season.
Farmers throughout the world grow vetch to make such animal feed as hay, pasturage, and silage. In the United States, vetch is most widely grown as a crop in the southern half of the country and in the Pacific Coast States. Because of the mild winters in these areas, farmers can plant vetch in the fall. The plant grows in the winter and is plowed in the spring. This process fertilizes the soil.
