Post by Clipper on Jan 20, 2020 16:11:33 GMT -5
appalachianmagazine.com/2019/02/15/kudzu-the-vine-that-ate-the-south/?fbclid=IwAR05HBUEcuQ2UYD2l0tSGb7GmI09HXeCn___XODfBkBYHfP7P8YPvpyJ0f8
When we first moved here I was shocked to see the damage that is done by kudzu. There are places nearby where it has covered acres, completely covered and smothered full size mature trees, and climbed and covered power line towers.
They say that it can be eaten. You can pick the tenderest of young leaves, the tender young ends of the vines, and the root. I thought about picking some a few years ago to try cooking like greens. Then a friend told me that to wade about in a patch of kudzu is asking for trouble as it is a prime hiding place for copperhead snakes. No thanks. I will continue to buy my greens in the store.
I was puzzled when I read that it is high in protein and makes good cattle feed, yet no one around here harvests or feeds it. Possible because it is so invasive that if they happened to bring home seed pods with the leaves and vines, the stuff would take root and cover half their farm, haha.
It is amazing how fast it grows and how hearty and resistant to herbicides it is. There is a spot along Rt 11E between here and Johnson City that stretches for about a half a mile along the highway and extends out into the field for as far as you can see.
People here fear the stuff. Should any sprout or begin to grow on a person's property they immediately bomb it with herbicide, dig up the roots, or cut it and burn it. It is so invasive that if it takes root in your yard it can become a real problem within a short time.
When we first moved here I was shocked to see the damage that is done by kudzu. There are places nearby where it has covered acres, completely covered and smothered full size mature trees, and climbed and covered power line towers.
They say that it can be eaten. You can pick the tenderest of young leaves, the tender young ends of the vines, and the root. I thought about picking some a few years ago to try cooking like greens. Then a friend told me that to wade about in a patch of kudzu is asking for trouble as it is a prime hiding place for copperhead snakes. No thanks. I will continue to buy my greens in the store.
I was puzzled when I read that it is high in protein and makes good cattle feed, yet no one around here harvests or feeds it. Possible because it is so invasive that if they happened to bring home seed pods with the leaves and vines, the stuff would take root and cover half their farm, haha.
It is amazing how fast it grows and how hearty and resistant to herbicides it is. There is a spot along Rt 11E between here and Johnson City that stretches for about a half a mile along the highway and extends out into the field for as far as you can see.
People here fear the stuff. Should any sprout or begin to grow on a person's property they immediately bomb it with herbicide, dig up the roots, or cut it and burn it. It is so invasive that if it takes root in your yard it can become a real problem within a short time.
