freaking kudzoo

snommintj

I've been battling to a stalemate with kudzu for 3 years straight. For those of you unfamiliar with kudzu, it was introduce into the south during the great depression. The govt put people to work planting it alongside rivers and streams to help stop erosion. Well as it turns out the south is the ideal environment for the plant and it grows out of control killing all plant life in its path. There are many thousands of acres of forests that have been leveled due to kudzu. They have an extensive root structure that prevents herbicides from killing the plant. Herbicides will work for a season or two but eventually the plant comes back.
While I was harvesting my garden the other day, I looked out over my kudzu patch and thought it sure looked tasty. I have heard of people making teas from it's stems and jelly from it's blossoms, and sauces from the roots. But I haven't heard a whole bunch about eating the leaves. So I got on line and found a few recipes.
kudzu is delicious. It's very fibrous and you have to chew it more than spinach, other than that I've been eating quite a bit of it. A salad for lunch eliminates any hunger I have for the rest of the day. It's nutrient rich, tasty and more filling than traditional greens, who knew.
Now I have a virtually endless food source in my yard.

dixchi

New Business
I grew up and spent half of my life living in the South, Alabama
and Georgia, so I know about kudzu, it swallows everything in its
path including telephone poles, but don't think I ever heard about
eating it. What a great new business that would be to get people
harvesting the stuff and selling it....would at least keep it in
check, maybe. Will check out the sites and next time I see it,
I will try some myself.

Barbara

lizzydavis

dixchi said:

New Business
I grew up and spent half of my life living in the South, Alabama
and Georgia, so I know about kudzu, it swallows everything in its
path including telephone poles, but don't think I ever heard about
eating it. What a great new business that would be to get people
harvesting the stuff and selling it....would at least keep it in
check, maybe. Will check out the sites and next time I see it,
I will try some myself.

Barbara

Kudzu
It was originally brought over here to feed cattle in the depression and it got away to roadsides and forests. I also saw where a Tea was being made out of the roots which helps people with alcoholism. Furthermore, it is under consideration for use in making alternative fuels through fermentation of the leaves.

shmurciakova

kudzu
Does it have any medicinal properties? Maybe you will go into a spontaneous remission as a result! We can dare to dream can't we?

kmygil

You're right! Freaking kudzu!
Ha ha ha!!! They say that sharks are the perfect predator. Not so. Kudzu is! One minute you're looking a a pretty landscape. Then you turn your back for a second and it's gone! Covered in kudzu! It grows something like 3-5 feet a day! Ridiculous. If you can find a commercial use for it, you will have done the planet a huge favor, plus you will be rich, rich, rich!!!

I live in Georgia and it is all over the place. I remember one memorable trip to Tennessee. A friend told me of a "short cut" to Knoxville. Well, I ended up on some mountain in the middle of the night, hairpin curves all the way up and all the way down, dark as space and not a habitation in sight. Every couple of zigs and zags my headlights would catch a huge sign looming out of the woods, gloomily draped in kudzu and obviously placed there in the 50's or 60's saying "REPENT!" or "JUDGEMENT IS NEAR!" Straight out of the "Twilight Zone." It was a great relief to get off that mountain, I tell you. Kudzu is not only voracious, it's spooky at night! And so much for short cuts!

Kirsten