Vetch peas are popular climbing plants with one decisive advantage: their plant parts can be harvested and enjoyed. Learn how to propagate the plant to get a bounty harvest here.
The vetchling pea is a climbing plant that has been used for a very long time and is used to grow peas for consumption, further processing and animal feed. Whether as an accompaniment to various dishes, for refinement or as a basis for many dishes or for further processing, for example to obtain flour - the fruits of the vetchling can be used in many ways and therefore make it worthwhile to buy the plant. However, care must be taken when consuming the fruits of the plant and there are a few things to consider when planting and maintaining the crop. Find out below what you need to know and, above all, how the plant is propagated in order to be able to harvest even more of the legumes.
Fun facts about vetchling
Anyone who wants to plant various types of vegetables in their garden bed in order to get a rich harvest in autumn often puts the vetchling on the list of plants to be planted. Incidentally, this can be bought as an annual or perennial plant, so you have to pay close attention to the details when choosing if you want the vetchling pea for your garden that will grow for several years.
Not only the pods of the vetchling with their inner seeds are known to be edible, but also the young sprouts of the vetchling and their blossoms can be harvested and eaten.
» But be careful: If you overdo it with the consumption of peas, pods and parts of the plant, you will ingest an active substance that is slightly toxic for us and which can cause discomfort and he alth problems, such as e.g. vomiting, may be responsible. However, this only occurs when consumed in large quantities over a long period of time.
- carries the legumes mostly at the end of summer
- Most of the whole plant edible
- Blossoms are usually delicately colored from white to violet
- both annual and perennial plants can be bought and planted
- esis a climbing plant, therefore a climbing aid is required
- Blossoms are usually delicately coloured
- Vetchling grows quickly and develops many shoots through which it spreads
- sunny and airy locations are preferred
Advantages and disadvantages of vetchling
Advantages
✔ hardly makes any demands on its location or the substrate
✔ thrives quickly and soon delivers the longed-for harvest
✔ many parts of the plant are edible, for example as a side dish or in a salad✔ quite an attractive plant, especially when it is in bloom
✔ easy to plant, for example can be sown directly in the garden if the temperatures are right
Cons
✘ Likes to be attacked by snails
✘ Needs climbing support to sprout up
✘ Not all varieties are perennial and therefore have to be replanted year after year✘ If you eat too much of the peas, pods or plant parts, this can lead to he alth problems
What are the pros and cons of propagating vetchling?
Of course, it is obvious that several sweet pea plants in the garden with sufficient care in late summer also offer the opportunity to bring in a richer harvest. This may even leave some legumes and pods to freeze instead of releasing them for immediate consumption. It also provides a larger proportion of legumes that can be further processed or fed to livestock.
So if you want to harvest a large crop of vetchpeas for this purpose, you have every reason to put several of these plants in the garden. Certain varieties, such as the broad-leaved vetchling, are also bee-friendly plants and can therefore be planted in large numbers. At the same time, the vetchling spreads well by itself in the bed, so that perennial plants almost take over the propagation themselves and can be used to harvest the legumes every year. This also allows you to collect seeds for the next time you sow the plant.
There is actually nothing to be said against propagating the vetchling if you keep an eye on your consumption of the legumes and also the plant components. The only downside is that a large number of sweet peas also means that you have to provide a lot of climbing aids nearby - for example a fence - or you have to provide them yourself, for example with sticks and wire.
Propagating vetchling - Here's how
Who oneIf you have planted a perennial species of vetchling in the garden or bed, you hardly need to worry about propagating it: the plant spreads almost by itself through spurs of the roots under the ground. As a result, it can sometimes happen that entire garden areas or spots in the bed are taken over by the plant, provided this is allowed and no other assertive plants are in the way. Annual plants often spread as well, but their shoots have died back by the beginning of winter at the latest and can only provide advantages for harvesting in late summer if they have grown fast enough to bear legumes themselves.
Manually, however, you have the option of propagating both perennial and annual vetchling by sowing the seeds. Either purchased dry seeds can be used for this or you can harvest the dry seeds of the vetchling from the pod yourself. Both variants are simply sown in spring in the bed or can also be placed in a cold frame or flower box indoors in winter. The advantage of sowing perennial sweet peas is that the young plants continue to thrive after the winter and will soon bear a bountiful harvest, which can be expected every year.
Pruning recommended
If the planted and propagated vetch peas are perennial varieties, they can be pruned back in late autumn after harvest. This avoids the many shoots withering away after the harvest for the winter. In addition, you help the plant to develop better and faster next spring without old plant parts getting in the way. If you add some compost when loosening the soil around the plant in spring, the perennial vetchling will quickly thrive again and develop strong shoots that can carry a lot of legumes. However, it is important that you water the plant regularly. But don't use too much water.