Vetch control in perennial plot

[Rally1148]

Hey all,

So I am planning on planting a clover/chicory/burnet mix this fall in a plot that is about half an acre, and I've basically let the area go fallow this summer after I planted rye, oats, peas and brassicas last fall. My plan is to burndown and then till (or visa versa), or just till. I'm not too worried about weed control for this year, as I'll plant with a nurse crop of rye, oats, peas and brassicas again. Next spring/summer I may or may not mow the plot so that the rye doesn't go to seed.

I've gotten that far, but my biggest fear/problem is that the hairy vetch I've had growing there this year has already gone to seed. Additionally, a few years ago we had some hairy vetch take that area over and seed. It has a hard seed coat, so it can be in the bed for a while before sprouting. My current plan is to do the regular clover mowing to take care of the other weeds, and use my weedwhacker and "spot mow" the vetch throughout the spring. The area in question only has a few sections where the vetch is heavy, so about a quarter acre total.

Do you think that this is my best approach to combat newly sprouted vetch without hurting my perennials?

 

[piker53]

I have the same problem/blessing......I actually view it as a good thing to have volunteer vetch in my plots.....great for nitrogen fixing and OM. I think your plan of following with a brassica mix should be symbiotic, with the vetch adding N to your crop.

 

[wiscwhip]

Good thoughts piker! I was going to post on this the other day when Rally first posted it and I got busy at work and forgot about it after I first read it. Rally, since vetch isn't that terrible as deer food and is excellent at soil building, what makes you want to get rid of it so badly? I can't see where having a bit of vetch in a perennial plot would be all that bad. Seems it would just add to the diversity of a perennial plot. If it is already in a 1/4 acre of a 1/2 acre plot and you really want it gone, you may have to nuke it all and start from scratch, possibly multiple times before you get it all? Vetch is a persistent bugger! I think your idea of spot cutting with a weed whacker could work, but you would have to stay on top of it and not allow it to set seed in the future. The bad thing is, vetch is one of those plants that will flower at a lower height every time you cut it. Keeping it low enough to not set seed gets harder the more you mow. No matter what you do, if you want it gone eventually, do not let it set seed again.

 

[Rally1148]

Good thoughts piker! I was going to post on this the other day when Rally first posted it and I got busy at work and forgot about it after I first read it. Rally, since vetch isn't that terrible as deer food and is excellent at soil building, what makes you want to get rid of it so badly? I can't see where having a bit of vetch in a perennial plot would be all that bad. Seems it would just add to the diversity of a perennial plot. If it is already in a 1/4 acre of a 1/2 acre plot and you really want it gone, you may have to nuke it all and start from scratch, possibly multiple times before you get it all? Vetch is a persistent bugger! I think your idea of spot cutting with a weed whacker could work, but you would have to stay on top of it and not allow it to set seed in the future. The bad thing is, vetch is one of those plants that will flower at a lower height every time you cut it. Keeping it low enough to not set seed gets harder the more you mow. No matter what you do, if you want it gone eventually, do not let it set seed again.

I'd be fine if it were just a bit, but it ends up being so much that it chokes out the other plants. It's to the point where it was really hard to walk through.

I'll make sure that I don't let it set seed again, although it may have done just that this summer :/. How do you think a weed wiper would work for that stuff?

 

[wiscwhip]

No real experience with weed wipers and vetch Rally, but I would think it should work, as long as the vetch is taller than the non-target plants. You could try the weed wiper, and if that doesn't get the desired results, you may have to just spray the bad areas, hope the clover just gets set back and not killed and the chicory and burnet could be reseeded later on after the vetch is under control. Not really an ideal situation to deal with, that's for sure.

 

[Rally1148]

Not really an ideal situation to deal with, that's for sure.

That's the truth. I'd love to be able to do an entire year of spraying, but I don't own the equipment, and my neighbor (who does it for me) was hesitant on doing that much.

We'll figure it out eventually.

 

[Rally1148]

On a half acre plot, I'd simply stay on top of the vetch next year with aggressive spot spraying...then throw more of your perennial seed down on those spots. That said, I don't get too bent out of shape with vetch control. I suppose if the stuff was taking over (your sure its hairy vetch and not crown vetch?) I'd spend a year nuking the crap before planting.

I'm not 100% sure it isn't crown, but it definately has the deep purple flowers that hairy vetch has. I've never seen any pink on them.

 

[wiscwhip]

Something you can check is to look at the stems and leaves for pubescence. Crown vetch(not a true vetch) has no pubescence whatsoever, while hairy vetch is covered in it, thus the name "hairy". One other thing, hairy vetch should also have tendrils at the leaves on the ends of the stems, crown vetch has no tendrils.

Rally see the new thread I started on Legume ID.