You can't believe how bad kudzu can get until you see it for yourself.... It can climb trees and power poles and literally make them disappear... I don't know if you can eat it but if you can you could feed whole communities, cook it down like mustard greens with some salt pork and add rice... JD
Kuzu is a thickening agent like arrowroot and cornstarch that the Japanese make from Kudzu roots. Not enough demand to cover how much that crap grows around Atlanta metro. It's only positive are the nice purple flowers it produces. Not worth it on balance though.
Thanks for the info... I thought they possibly were, didn't think they were poisonous but didn't want to say they were edible and have someone get sick or worse doing so.. JD
I haven’t seen purple flowers on the kudzu around here. I have seen it on the wisteria vines. Wisteria produces long woody runners that will climb up anything. Left alone, it will smother and kill trees, just like kudzu. Wisteria leaves are small, blossoms bloom in long clusters, very pleasant fragrance and bees love them. Kudzu leaves are large, like grape leaves. Don’t want either one anywhere near my property. Both are almost impossible to get rid of.
The Corps of Engineers imported it from China for erosion control. Then they found that the ground would erode under it leaving deep gullies that were covered by the vines.
Good film. I had always heard the railroad was the culprit. I think the railroad did plant it but not on the scale the good ol government pushed it on our farmers. Good to hear the real story.
Use to have a fair amount of kudzu in my backyard here in Florida. I bought some 'Round-Up' and hardly anymore kud'.. left. Unfortunately I also killed a lot of regular greenery. Now I have to hide behind a tree if I want to pee in the backyard.
Yep. Glyphosate and persistence. Best method is to kill the top by cutting the vine near the root, then use a big drill to make a cup in the stub; fill with roundup or other systemic herbicide. It'll take 3-5 years to kill the big tuber underground, but it can be done. Then it's eternal vigilance- kill any small shoots before they get bigger. Best if an entire neighborhood does this, not just one lot. Also: don't chip or otherwise scatter the vine; it'll re-establish from nodes in the vine. Solarize and a burn pit or some other means of killing the top (cut/stack/dry then burn, etc). Leaves the same.
Cattle eat it, but it can ensnare them because of the strength of the vines. Some guys I know cut and bale it, and run it through a chopper when feeding.
Kudzu sucks, but it's got nothing on some of the other invasives spreading throughout FL... Old World climbing fern, skunk vine and the world's #1 pest plant, cogon grass (aka: green gasoline). Cogon grass and Guinea grass are what fueled the fire in Hawaiia. I've got pics and video of it burning here that would make the hair on your neck stand up.
As someone that's spent some time in a cotton field, I have come to despise Johnson Grass and the people that imported it from Aferka I think, also for cattle feed.
All comments are moderated due to spam, drunks and trolls. Keep 'em civil, coherent, short, and on topic. Posted comments are the opinions of the commenters, not the site administrator.
You can't believe how bad kudzu can get until you see it for yourself.... It can climb trees and power poles and literally make them disappear... I don't know if you can eat it but if you can you could feed whole communities, cook it down like mustard greens with some salt pork and add rice...
ReplyDeleteJD
Kuzu is a thickening agent like arrowroot and cornstarch that the Japanese make from Kudzu roots. Not enough demand to cover how much that crap grows around Atlanta metro. It's only positive are the nice purple flowers it produces. Not worth it on balance though.
DeleteThanks for the info...
DeleteI thought they possibly were, didn't think they were poisonous but didn't want to say they were edible and have someone get sick or worse doing so..
JD
I haven’t seen purple flowers on the kudzu around here. I have seen it on the wisteria vines. Wisteria produces long woody runners that will climb up anything. Left alone, it will smother and kill trees, just like kudzu. Wisteria leaves are small, blossoms bloom in long clusters, very pleasant fragrance and bees love them. Kudzu leaves are large, like grape leaves. Don’t want either one anywhere near my property. Both are almost impossible to get rid of.
DeleteYes, the tender shoots are edible.
ReplyDeleteSo is the root.
DeleteHad no idea the U.S .gov was promoting it in the 1930s.
ReplyDeleteStill punishing the South for The War of Northern Agression...
The Corps of Engineers imported it from China for erosion control. Then they found that the ground would erode under it leaving deep gullies that were covered by the vines.
DeleteGood film. I had always heard the railroad was the culprit. I think the railroad did plant it but not on the scale the good ol government pushed it on our farmers. Good to hear the real story.
ReplyDeleteWendigoon has some good vids. Id forgotten he made one on kudzu
ReplyDeleteHe also had good ones on the mlk and jfk assasinations
Don’t forget wisteria. If anything is left after the kudzu, wisteria will gobble it up
ReplyDeleteWe had kudzu vine in Pennsylvania.... lots of it all over the place.
ReplyDeleteMake bio fuel out of it! We have an Scotch Broom problem in my AO, that shit is everywhere!
ReplyDeleteChutes Magoo
Use to have a fair amount of kudzu in my backyard here in Florida. I bought some 'Round-Up' and hardly anymore kud'.. left. Unfortunately I also killed a lot of regular greenery. Now I have to hide behind a tree if I want to pee in the backyard.
ReplyDeleteYep. Glyphosate and persistence. Best method is to kill the top by cutting the vine near the root, then use a big drill to make a cup in the stub; fill with roundup or other systemic herbicide. It'll take 3-5 years to kill the big tuber underground, but it can be done. Then it's eternal vigilance- kill any small shoots before they get bigger. Best if an entire neighborhood does this, not just one lot. Also: don't chip or otherwise scatter the vine; it'll re-establish from nodes in the vine. Solarize and a burn pit or some other means of killing the top (cut/stack/dry then burn, etc). Leaves the same.
DeleteMy sister had it at her house. They also had goats. Goats eat anything, including kudzu. Gone.
ReplyDeleteGoats are great for weed control, unfortunately kudzut grows faster than the goats, lol
DeleteJD
I read that they imported it to feed the cows, but cows didn't like it.
ReplyDeletePeople might have to resort to eating it, or to feed the goats.
Cattle eat it, but it can ensnare them because of the strength of the vines. Some guys I know cut and bale it, and run it through a chopper when feeding.
DeleteKudzu sucks, but it's got nothing on some of the other invasives spreading throughout FL... Old World climbing fern, skunk vine and the world's #1 pest plant, cogon grass (aka: green gasoline). Cogon grass and Guinea grass are what fueled the fire in Hawaiia. I've got pics and video of it burning here that would make the hair on your neck stand up.
ReplyDeleteAs someone that's spent some time in a cotton field, I have come to despise Johnson Grass and the people that imported it from Aferka I think, also for cattle feed.
DeleteDoesn't it seem odd that the worst things in the world come from either Africa or Asia?
ReplyDeleteKudzu, Ebola, Asian long-horned beetles, Africanized bees, snakeheads, Malaysian crotchrot...
Subtle. Very subtle.
DeleteI thought he was going to complain about replica antique farm equipment and replica old fashioned wash machines
DeleteThose were implied by the ellipses...
Delete