Hairy Vetch is an annual or biennial or perennial grown for its pods, ready to pick about 150 days after sowing. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 10. Its early spring flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees and native bees, even though the pods are the prize. A nitrogen-fixer, it draws nitrogen from the air and feeds it back to the soil — turn it under or leave the roots in place, and the next planting inherits a richer bed.
Hairy Vetch — the short answer
Hairy Vetch: grown in zones 3–10, full sun, pH 4.9–8, about 150 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 3–10
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 4.9–8
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 150 days
- USDA-NRCS
- Frost-kill temperature
- 5°F
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Hairy Vetch on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether hairy vetch actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score hairy vetch against your land's real conditions.
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See Hairy Vetch
What Hairy Vetch is
Hairy Vetch grows as an annual or biennial or perennial and reaches around three feet at maturity. It blooms purple in early spring.
How to grow Hairy Vetch
Hairy Vetch grows in USDA zones 3 through 10 and is ready to harvest about 150 days after planting. Hairy Vetch does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 4.9 to 8, on well-drained ground. It needs around 1,800 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 90 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
3-10
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
4.9 - 8
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
5°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Minimum Growing Temperature
39.2°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Days to Maturity
150 days
Hairy vetch; cover crop; no strat.
USDA-NRCS
GDD Required
1800+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
3 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
90+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant hairy vetch in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Hairy Vetch prefers pH 4.9 to 8 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band. It fixes its own nitrogen, so skip the high-nitrogen feed and instead dust the seed with a matching rhizobium inoculant at sowing.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at maturity
Hairy Vetch is ready about 150 days after sowing (USDA-NRCS). Pick the pods young and tender, before the seeds inside fully swell.
Where Hairy Vetch thrives
On hardiness alone, hairy vetch grows across most of the country — its range (USDA zones 3 through 10) is unusually wide. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 3–10 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 40°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 47 outright and splits 4 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 3–10·Where Hairy Vetch growsOpen map →
Where Hairy Vetch stands, state by state
Hairy Vetch is rated for zones 3–10 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 47 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 4 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 3–10
47 states
3 of 47 shown
The line runs through
4 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Florida · zones 8b-12a
3 of 4 shown
Hairy Vetch’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Hairy Vetch
Growing guides for hairy vetch
In rotation planning, hairy vetch counts as a Legume — beds recover best when legume crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Good to know
Hairy Vetch offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Your land is one point inside Hairy Vetch's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Hairy Vetch will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether hairy vetch actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Hairy Vetch
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Hairy Vetch in my zone?
Hairy Vetch grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 10 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Hairy Vetch take to grow?
Hairy Vetch is ready to harvest about 150 days after planting (USDA-NRCS). Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Hairy Vetch?
Hairy Vetch is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Hairy Vetch need?
Hairy Vetch needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Hairy Vetch need?
Hairy Vetch prefers soil pH 4.9 to 8, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Hairy Vetch attract pollinators?
Yes — hairy vetch's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees and native bees. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Is Hairy Vetch safe for pets?
No toxicity database we draw on publishes a rating for hairy vetch, so we don't have one to report. Check the ASPCA Poison Control plant list before planting it where pets browse.