Kudzu imported from China by the SNIP It was cultivated by Civilian Conservation Corps workers as a solution for the erosion during the Dust Bowl.[16] The Soil Erosion Service recommended the use of kudzu to help control erosion of slopes which led to the government-aided distribution of 85 million seedlings and government-funded plantings of kudzu which paid $19.75 per hectare ($7.99/acre).[7] By 1946, it was estimated that 1,200,000 hectares (3,000,000 acres) of kudzu had been planted.
I'm from the government and here to help :-)
Actually, Kudzu is an excellent feed for many animals from milk cows to rabbits to chickens and pigs.
Grown in China FOR that reason. People actually eat it like a cooked green.
But culturally we don't so it costs big money for herbicides and overgrown lands.
Kudzu is also a phenomenal nitrogen source for your home grown compost. Just the leaves and most tender vines, shredded (with a lawnmower if you lack a shredder) then mixed in with the rest of your compost ingredients. Think of it as a natural plant growth hormone, after all, it does grow a foot a night.
I learned this from a book written by Charles Wilber, the world record holder for tomato production from a single vine.
Having grown up in east-central AL, I was aware of the benefits and pitfalls of kudzu. Cattle loved it, and it was excellent quality forage; but it would pull a 5-strand barbed-wire fence down to ground level within a couple of years, necessitating clearing and re-stretching the wire. The only 'natural' way to eliminate it, back in the day, was to graze it out of existence, but if a vine managed to get up into a tree, it was protected from herbivores. I've eaten kudzu leaves, battered and fried, and they're good! Kudzu blossom jelly is very aromatic - and the flowers are quite pretty in their own right. However the 'Vine that Ate The South' moniker is kind of overstated. Yes, in open, ungrazed spaces at woods' edge, , particularly right alongside roadways, it looks like it's taking over, but if you ventured just a few yards into the forest... it's not there. There's very little kudzu here in southern west-central KY, and I've not been 'home' to AL in quite some time, but evidently, there's a Japanese kudzu bug that was accidentally introduced into the ATL area, and is spreading outward, causing decline of kudzu vines. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/true-story-kudzu-vine-ate-south-180956325/#:~:text=The%20myth%20of%20kudzu%20has,grip%20is%20far%20more%20tenuous.&text=In%20news%20media%20and%20scientific,acres%20across%20the%20United%20States.
Lucky P I took a trip to Pineapple, Al several years ago and on the 2 lane county road the kudzu had climbed the pine trees and power poles. It had created a canopy so thick it was a lot darker underneath the overgrowth.. I've never eaten any, I don't think I know anyone who did but as long as it wasn't sprayed by the road crews I suppose it would be ok to eat if cooked right.. JD
The northern parts of the country get to deal with a slightly different pest, the Multiflora rose. "Plant it as a natural cattle fence instead of barbed wire," the government said. Yeah....right. Shit is damn near impossible to kill off once it gets established. Doesn't spread near as fast as kudzu, but it does spread aggressively. And the reason it's supposed to make such good fencing? Yup..full of little thorns, all up and down every bit of the bush.
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Kudzu imported from China by the SNIP It was cultivated by Civilian Conservation Corps workers as a solution for the erosion during the Dust Bowl.[16] The Soil Erosion Service recommended the use of kudzu to help control erosion of slopes which led to the government-aided distribution of 85 million seedlings and government-funded plantings of kudzu which paid $19.75 per hectare ($7.99/acre).[7] By 1946, it was estimated that 1,200,000 hectares (3,000,000 acres) of kudzu had been planted.
ReplyDeleteI'm from the government and here to help :-)
Actually, Kudzu is an excellent feed for many animals from milk cows to rabbits to chickens and pigs.
Grown in China FOR that reason. People actually eat it like a cooked green.
But culturally we don't so it costs big money for herbicides and overgrown lands.
Kudzu is also a phenomenal nitrogen source for your home grown compost. Just the leaves and most tender vines, shredded (with a lawnmower if you lack a shredder) then mixed in with the rest of your compost ingredients. Think of it as a natural plant growth hormone, after all, it does grow a foot a night.
DeleteI learned this from a book written by Charles Wilber, the world record holder for tomato production from a single vine.
Kudzu is nasty stuff.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up in east-central AL, I was aware of the benefits and pitfalls of kudzu. Cattle loved it, and it was excellent quality forage; but it would pull a 5-strand barbed-wire fence down to ground level within a couple of years, necessitating clearing and re-stretching the wire. The only 'natural' way to eliminate it, back in the day, was to graze it out of existence, but if a vine managed to get up into a tree, it was protected from herbivores.
ReplyDeleteI've eaten kudzu leaves, battered and fried, and they're good! Kudzu blossom jelly is very aromatic - and the flowers are quite pretty in their own right.
However the 'Vine that Ate The South' moniker is kind of overstated. Yes, in open, ungrazed spaces at woods' edge, , particularly right alongside roadways, it looks like it's taking over, but if you ventured just a few yards into the forest... it's not there.
There's very little kudzu here in southern west-central KY, and I've not been 'home' to AL in quite some time, but evidently, there's a Japanese kudzu bug that was accidentally introduced into the ATL area, and is spreading outward, causing decline of kudzu vines.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/true-story-kudzu-vine-ate-south-180956325/#:~:text=The%20myth%20of%20kudzu%20has,grip%20is%20far%20more%20tenuous.&text=In%20news%20media%20and%20scientific,acres%20across%20the%20United%20States.
Very informative, Lucky. Thanks.
DeleteLucky P
DeleteI took a trip to Pineapple, Al several years ago and on the 2 lane county road the kudzu had climbed the pine trees and power poles. It had created a canopy so thick it was a lot darker underneath the overgrowth..
I've never eaten any, I don't think I know anyone who did but as long as it wasn't sprayed by the road crews I suppose it would be ok to eat if cooked right..
JD
The plant that ate the South.
ReplyDeleteLooks to be something on a trailer behind it.
ReplyDeleteKlaus
The northern parts of the country get to deal with a slightly different pest, the Multiflora rose. "Plant it as a natural cattle fence instead of barbed wire," the government said. Yeah....right. Shit is damn near impossible to kill off once it gets established. Doesn't spread near as fast as kudzu, but it does spread aggressively. And the reason it's supposed to make such good fencing? Yup..full of little thorns, all up and down every bit of the bush.
ReplyDelete