Common Vetch has overtaken Hillside

by Mary
(Osseo, Michigan)

Can you recommend a ground cover that will overpower the common vetch? I have tried round-up, but the vetch keeps coming back. It is a steep hill, so impossible to mow. I live in Zone 4-5.

Mary - there is no plant that will overpower ground vetch. Period. Unless it is a very tall and dense shade tree like Spruce or Pine and the vetch disappears with sunlight and water competition.

This is a pernicious plant that is very difficult to eradicate. Multiple sprayings are required if you decide to go with Roundup.

You can also cover it with clear plastic and let it sit for a year to bake the soil clear of plants and seeds. This is called soil solar sterilization/pasteurization and it works nicely on problems such as this. I don't know the area you're trying to deal with but that's the only way I know to get both the plants and the seeds.

Good luck with it.