Common Vetch

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

to keep them in check — plant Belgian EndiveExcellent, CarrotExcellent and DandelionExcellent nearby.

🌼 Beneficial companion — draws Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Ground beetles

Ground beetles

Carabidae

Night-active ground hunters, taking slugs, cutworms and leatherjackets at soil level.

that help control

on neighbouring plants.

Growing from seed

Direct-sow Common Vetch outdoors about 4 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in cooler soil (around 10–18 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 10 days. Grow in full sun, spaced about 10 cm apart. Expect the first blooms in roughly 90 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  Brown Mustard
  

  Brown MustardExcellent pair

  • ❧Brown Mustard attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps and more, which prey on the Aphids and Cutworms that attack Common Vetch
  • ❧Common Vetch fixes nitrogen in the soil that Brown Mustard feeds on
  • ❧Common Vetch draws Bees and Bumblebees that improve pollination for both
• 
  Chaytor's Lavender
  

  Chaytor's LavenderExcellent pair

  • ❧Chaytor's Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly that attack Common Vetch
  • ❧Common Vetch fixes nitrogen in the soil that Chaytor's Lavender feeds on
  • ❧Common Vetch draws Bees and Bumblebees that improve pollination for both
• 
  Wasabina
  

  WasabinaExcellent pair

  • ❧Wasabina attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps and more, which prey on the Aphids and Flea beetles and more that attack Common Vetch
  • ❧Common Vetch fixes nitrogen in the soil that Wasabina feeds on
  • ❧Wasabina suppresses pests that trouble Common Vetch

How to grow Common Vetch

1. Sow-4 weeks from frost
2. Germinates10 days
3. Space10 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~90 days

Water: Low · Height: 80 cm · Soil: Well-draining, average — adaptable