Shallower plantings will give good stands if there is sufficient moisture. Vetch does not require nitrogen fertilization. This legume grows best in soils high in available potassium. Requirements for phosphorus, calcium and other minerals are less pronounced. O should be adequate.
Vetches are more tolerant to acid soil conditions than most legumes.
Soils should be limed to a pH of about 6.0. Hairy vetch is the most winter-hardy of the vetches. It is the only vetch that can be grown in the Upper Midwest. Weeds are rarely a serious problem in vetch fields, especially when seeded in late summer or early fall. Repeated production of rye and vetch on the same land, however, favors growth of winter annual and perennial weeds.