Kudzu control:
Once established, kudzu, called a "biological wildfire" by the head of Alabama's Forestry Service," grows rapidly, extending as much as 20 m (60 ft) per season at a rate of about 30 cm (12 inches) per day.
That's 100 feet a year from what can be 30 different vines extending from a single root crown.
This vigorous vine may extend 1030 m (30100 ft) in length, with basal stems 110 cm (14 in) diameter. Kudzu roots are fleshy, with massive tap roots 1020 cm (48 in) or more in diameter, 12 m (36 ft) or more in length, and weighing as much as 180 kg.
The heart is the massive tap root, or root crown--Because that's what it grows out from.
For successful long-term control of kudzu, it is not necessary to destroy the entire root system, which can be quite large and deep. It is only necessary to use some method to kill or remove the kudzu root crown and all rooting runners. The root crown is a fibrous knob of tissue that sits on top of the root (rhizome). Crowns form from vine nodes that root to the ground, and range from pea-size to basketball-size. The older the crown, the deeper they tend to be found in the ground because they are covered by sediment and plant debris over time. Nodes and crowns are the source of all kudzu vines, and roots cannot produce vines. If any portion of a root crown remains after attempted removal, the kudzu plant grows back.
Mechanical methods of control involve cutting off crowns from roots, usually just below ground level. This immediately kills the plant. Cutting off vines is not sufficient for an immediate kill. It is necessary to destroy all removed crown material: Buried crowns can regenerate into healthy kudzu. Transporting crowns in soil removed from a kudzu infestation is one common way that kudzu "miraculously" spreads and shows up in unexpected locations.
Close mowing every week, regular heavy grazing for many successive years, or repeated cultivation may be effective, if this serves to deplete root reserves. If done in the spring, cutting off vines must be repeated as regrowth appears to exhaust the plant’s stored carbohydrate reserves. Cut kudzu can be fed to livestock, burned, or composted.
Late-season cutting should be followed up with immediate application of a systemic herbicide to the cut stems, to encourage transport of the herbicide into the root system. Repeated applications of several soil-active herbicides have been used effectively on large infestations in forestry situations.
The purple flowers of Kudzu are also used to make a sweet jelly. This jelly is known better in the southern United States. This jelly has been described as tasting like either a cross between apple jelly and peach jelly or bubblegum.
How lucky you are!
Medicinal uses of kudzu:
http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/nations-weissman2.html
Uses
The non-woody parts of the plant are edible. The young leaves can be used for salad or cooked as a leaf vegetable; the flowers battered and fried (like squash flowers); and the starchy tuberous roots can be prepared as any root vegetable. The starchy roots are ground into a fine powder and used for varieties of Wagashi and herbal medicines. When added to water and heated, kudzu powder becomes clear and adds stickiness to the food. It is sometimes known as "Japanese arrowroot", due to the similar culinary effect it produces.
Its leaves are high in vitamins A and C, as well as calcium and protein. Its roots are rich in starch and its flowers are an excellent honey source.
The name Kudzu appeared first in Kojiki and Nihonshoki as a type of vine or Kazura used commonly by the people who lived in Kuzu, an area around present-day Yoshino, Nara prefecture. It is unclear whether the name was taken from the people or the name of the plant was applied to the people. Kudzu has been in use for over 1300 years and it is speculated that it goes back even further. Records from the Nara and Heian era indicate that kudzu was collected and sent as a part of tax. Even today, "Yoshino Kudzu" has the best image of kudzu powder yet. The Kagoshima prefecture is the largest producer of kudzu products.
Jelly
The purple flowers of Kudzu are also used to make a sweet jelly. This jelly is known better in the southern United States. This jelly has been described as tasting like either a cross between apple jelly and peach jelly or bubblegum.
Medicine
Studies have shown that kudzu can reduce both hangovers and alcohol cravings. A person who takes kudzu, will still drink alcohol; however, they will consume less than if they had not taken kudzu. The mechanism for this is not yet established, but it may have to do with both alcohol metabolism and the reward circuits in the brain. The Harvard Medical School is studying kudzu as a possible way to treat alcoholic cravings, by turning an extracted compound from the herb into a medical drug.
Kudzu also contains a number of useful isoflavones, including daidzein (an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent), daidzin (a cancer preventive) and genistein (an antileukemic agent). Kudzu is a unique source of the isoflavone puerarin. Kudzu root compounds can affect neurotransmitters (including serotonin, GABA, and glutamate) and it has shown value in treating migraine and cluster headache.
In traditional Chinese medicine, where it is known as gé gen (??), kudzu is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs. It is used to treat tinnitus, vertigo, and Wei syndrome (superficial heat close to the surface).
* Sources: MySpace friends and Google.
About me: Join our discussion group in promoting the rights of homeowners to farm and build habitats in their yards:
http://groups.myspace.com/masterkudzugardeners.
I saw the need to start Master Kudzu Gardeners in 2006 after I was cited to Chattanooga City Court the first time for:
A) Removing my kudzu, which is considered legal, and;
B) Attempting to replace it with a tall-grass, wildflower meadow and native-habitat reforesting project that has been challenged in court no less than three times in three years.
Kudzu previously choked about half my acre, covering 70-foot trees. And Chattanooga's chief yard inspector said the only thing I could replace it with is turf grass or more extensive landscape architecture. I found that too decadently expensive on the 45-degree angle of a rocky, Appalachian ridge (See Video Documentary). That's especially since he explained that I'd have to destroy thousands of dollars worth of native landscaping, and I could still be cited to court if the changes didn't meet his approval.
As late as 2008, he said further attempts to remove kudzu will get me cited to court a fourth time. Thus, I'm forced to garden with kudzu to this day. The chief would rather I sod and mow my yard even if it means lifting my mower over most of it, because of the wildly uneven terrain. This particular property doesn't take grass well because of the poor soil, rocks and steepness. I'm one of few neighbors without erosion problems, who don't regularly soak their yards in herbicide.
And there's the fact it's dangerous to mow on my slope. It's difficult to even walk it. Most lawn services I called to get estimates wouldn't give me one. Why legitimize the abject stupidity of mowing a goat hill, unless the homeowner has money to blow?
The lowest estimate I got for lawn maintenance was $400 a month. That's just for the half acre inside the fence. Sodding in the kudzu area would first mean using a Bobcat to level the soil. That was estimated at $5,000 “to start.” However, every company that has even tried to mow parts of my yard, wouldn't come back. There are parts of this property they refuse to mow.
My neighbor offered me a foreclosure-level bid in 2006. And when I refused the chief's subsequent advice to sell or try to maintain my ridge like a golf course, he explained that my property would be condemned. He said I'd lose ownership, the judge would top the judgment with liens to have the yard sodded, and then stack on that fines of $50 per day retroactive to the day I'd been cited.
One of my next-door neighbors, who also had several "overgrowth" warnings, did lose her property. It was bought in foreclosure by my home-buying neighbor. He sold it for more than a $30k profit, according to city records. He has bragged that he has a side business doing this. I think he could be getting too much help from the city's policy of recommending homeowners sell to avoid condemnation.
When the chief and the assistant DA could not sway the judge into condemnation, liens and fines, the chief did the unexpected. He pursued my original absurdist argument that I let the kudzu take over the entire yard.
The judge was not amused at my becoming a master kudzu gardener. Ultimately, two different judges have dismissed this case, and rendered my yard “compliant.”
There is a bright side to all this special attention, all the friends I've made in the green realm, and the attention to low-maintenance yards and biodiversity. One judge formed the city's new Eco-Friendly Landscaping group to recommend landscaping changes to the City Council. I was asked to, and did, provide its members with my policy recommendations.
Do you have old electronics sitting around that you don't use anymore? Don't throw it away, that's bad for the environment! All Green Electronics Recycling offers free pick-up and drop-off services for all e-waste across the entire United States.
Please visit our profile and website at www.allgreenrecycling.com or call (800)780-0347
Please view the petition urging Governmental officials to adopt a similar “veggie only day” measure that’s already in effect in Ghent, Belgium.
visit my first blog here on myspace to see the list of countries participating - http://www.myspace.com/leronr
It doesn't matter where you live, please take a moment to sign and if you find the movement worthy help spread the word to all you know, lets show our "veggie power"
Let me know if you have any questions and keep in touch connect via www.twitter.com/leronr www.youtube.com/leronr www.facebook.com/vegan4life www.green2cool.org/profile/Vegan4Life http://digg.com/users/Vegan4Life
I hope your mind and determination laughs with glee and soars to the summer sky away away from the rabble, numerous and average below lost in the man made world of false perceptions and morality unable to see the malicious architect who rules them with hate not love, while you roam the wild fields far far away from their noise and confusion to a peaceful meadow where the righteous grow tall and strong in the silence and thrive in the warmth and brightness of the sun.
Why mow and kill the plants and wildlife to please the walking dead?
Let the dead control and bury the dead.
For the living cherish life and can never capitulate to the minds of the dead for they have discovered the awareness and wisdom that is rich and eternal and beyond the perception of fools.
I walked through your dead city today, and heard all of the moans and groans of the people and saw their faces filled with fear and smiling with forced sardonic expressions. And I walked around the park and ate freely the wild plants that grew and looked at the ducks and birds that did the same and saw the turtles and fish that lived so freely.
yes there is, (snakeroot) or purple coneflower grows wild here in the kansas hills. it is used for infections, bee stings, boils. snake bites, it is a immune system booster, and is a blood cleanser. I add it fresh dryed and sliced and ground to a 9 herb tea for lung, ear, eye infections and colds, the recipe is-mullen,peppermint,blue vervain,golden seal,echinacea,licorice root.yarrow,butterfly weed-(plurisy root).burdock root,and red clover for taste and minerals. it was used to get my 3 boys off of imoxocillin. they were sick with the crud. after useing this tea they never really got sick again with pink eye,ear aches, or colds, you can used differant combos of these herbs, but coneflower and goldenseal are the strongest, just use equal amount of each, peace and love Todd.
Thanks for the add and keep standing up for what is right...great quote! It's funny how Geminis share this "group mind" thing. We are natural writers, friendly people, and have no tolerance for people pushing us or other people around. Our governments and many of our neighbors around us are so dead in their thinking it really is a bit of a shame. I think your yard looks beautiful and is as nature intended it to be.
I just LOVE what you're doing! Let's get together and share green ideas soon. WE love what you've done with your gazeebo...I"m not a great speller but you get the point.
You have an impressive run of capabilities under your belt. Nutritionist too..whee! I was half joking about the zebra cakes and isn't it interesting that the history of corporate food is really a search for endless shelf life and the holy grail of the perfect cheap adulterants usually fabricated from some corn molecules or leftover cottonseeds?
Back in the day when it was really horrible, 1890's, General Mills used to put sawdust in the flour. Now they are more 'scientific' about it.
Here's to hope that the idiot congestion inducing apartment complex crashes and burns amid the ongoing turmoil in the financial/real estate sectors.
Hey you guys thanks for joining our group of friends. Sounds like what your doing is very important for many reasons. Hang in there, hope to here from you soon. Shon and Cathy
