Author Topic: It leaps, it creeps.... (Read 3419 times)

GareyD · « **on:** September 08, 2005, 09:50:58 pm »

found this about a thousand yard from my backdoor

won't be long now before it covers the backdoor

anybody wanna guess what it is

Tom · « **Reply #1 on:** September 08, 2005, 09:56:07 pm »

Does it start with a "K"?

pigman · « **Reply #2 on:** September 08, 2005, 09:57:23 pm »

Is the next letter u

GareyD · « **Reply #3 on:** September 08, 2005, 09:59:40 pm »

You fellers are sneakin' up on the answer...here is some leaves to help ya out...

Tom · « **Reply #4 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:01:47 pm »

Does it have an edible tuber?

GareyD · « **Reply #5 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:12:46 pm »

Yep, but the tuber is real hard to find in the warm months....ya gotta dig through this to find it

woodbowl · « **Reply #6 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:14:09 pm »

Gary,
It's all over the south ain't it! It is all over our property and was introduced by the government back in the 30's or so to help with soil erosion. That's the story the old timers tell around here. I had it on the run when I built the horse pen around it but give it a few years, now it's back in full force.

Tom · « **Reply #7 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:15:07 pm »

I wonder what it is?

Does it smell kinda like Nehi Grape?

Does it look something like this?

GareyD · « **Reply #8 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:19:45 pm »

Yep, smells a lot like grape sodie pop and really seems to want to grow toward the sunlight

woodbowl · « **Reply #9 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:20:11 pm »

Hard ta' tel whu ti tiz........How kud zoo get rid' o dis if ya won tid to?

pigman · « **Reply #10 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:25:04 pm »

That stuff shure is pretty. Wish I had some on my farm. Must be too far north, it hasn't gotten this far yet.

GareyD · « **Reply #11 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:29:20 pm »

Hey Pigman....The way the wind has been blowin from the south the last couple of weeks...and seein's how ya don't live but about four hunnert miles north of me...mine should about grow up to yer house in about 10 days or so

GareyD · « **Reply #12 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:32:53 pm »

The grandson's were down visitin fer the Labor Day holiday and I took them back in the woods to see if we couldn't slow down the green invasion...missed them after about the first fifteen minutes or so...here is where I found them..ya know how boy's are

Tom · « **Reply #13 on:** September 08, 2005, 10:53:19 pm »

Now, that's what being a Boy is all about.

Texas Ranger · « **Reply #14 on:** September 08, 2005, 11:23:39 pm »

Couldja all be a little more specific, think I saw an elephant made outa this stuff in South Carolina last month.

Tom · « **Reply #15 on:** September 08, 2005, 11:25:46 pm »

Couldn't have been, Don. They make elephants out of coconuts.

OneWithWood · « **Reply #16 on:** September 09, 2005, 12:27:44 pm »

Tom, you got that slightly wrong - elephants hide in coconut trees

In know this to be true because Charlie told me.

Tom · « **Reply #17 on:** September 09, 2005, 01:08:48 pm »

Actually the elephant's hide is more like an Indian Rug.

Charlie is just concerned, since one almost jumped on him one night.

floyd · « **Reply #18 on:** September 09, 2005, 01:21:07 pm »

if managed properly, kudzu makes great forage for domesticated animals.

Erosion control was not the onyt deciding factor to introduce it.

Tom · « **Reply #19 on:** September 09, 2005, 01:26:41 pm »

Managing Kudzu is like herding Lizards with a switch.

There are two labor intensive jobs I don't' think I would want. One is growing Paulownia and the other is herding Kudzu.

beenthere · « **Reply #20 on:** September 09, 2005, 01:34:22 pm »

Yes Floyd.......looks like the giraffe might be able to reach that stuff.....

floyd · « **Reply #21 on:** September 09, 2005, 02:19:49 pm »

News flash, it is cut and baled.

Key word here is managed.

Tom · « **Reply #22 on:** September 09, 2005, 02:30:53 pm »

Kudzu Picture Site -Link-

I managed to get out of the way of some of it one time.

If you are going to attempt to "control" it, you best make sure that all of your neighbors are doing it too. One missed twig and it takes over the adjoining property.

Ernie · « **Reply #23 on:** September 09, 2005, 02:34:47 pm »

I tried to grow it in New Zealand and it just wouldn't get going.

Tom · « **Reply #24 on:** September 09, 2005, 02:36:07 pm »

You're Lucky.

Bro. Noble · « **Reply #25 on:** September 09, 2005, 03:13:56 pm »

Hey Ernie,

Want to buy some starts for multiflora rose or musk thistles?

johnjbc · « **Reply #26 on:** September 09, 2005, 03:20:19 pm »

Gary
I can send you some Mile-A-Minute seeds and you can have a race.

Tom · « **Reply #27 on:** September 09, 2005, 03:20:53 pm »

And, in keeping with the spirit of the Forum,
........Kudzu Recipes!

Ernie · « **Reply #28 on:** September 09, 2005, 05:09:46 pm »

Tom

I was going to use it as stock feed but now that I've seen the recipies--Hmmmmm

Since it grows so well there why not use it to make ethanol

Maybe I'll have another go at growing the stuff and this time, I'll remember to keep the stock out of it and maybe even water it

Tom · « **Reply #29 on:** September 09, 2005, 05:17:12 pm »

Ya better get some real fast tennis shoes in case it takes root.

Ernie · « **Reply #30 on:** September 09, 2005, 05:27:54 pm »

I'd better fence off a small block in the middle of the paddock so it can't get near the bush line

Roxie · « **Reply #31 on:** September 09, 2005, 05:32:40 pm »

Bro. Noble....did you know that we have the DuPont family to thank for the multifloral rose? I know in this area, if you don't mow or cultivate a single inch of soil, you'll have those wild roses growing on it!

Ernie · « **Reply #32 on:** September 09, 2005, 05:36:15 pm »

Quote from: Roxie on September 09, 2005, 05:32:40 pm

Bro. Noble....did you know that we have the DuPont family to thank for the multifloral rose? I know in this area, if you don't mow or cultivate a single inch of soil, you'll have those wild roses growing on it!

They sound pretty, got any pics

Roxie · « **Reply #33 on:** September 09, 2005, 05:47:05 pm »

I'll see if I can't get ya a picture Ernie, although it isn't blooming right now. It is pretty and grows EVERYWHERE.

GareyD, I saw the picture of your Grandson's in the swimming hole. Now here's a picture of what Labor Day is like when you are a hillbilly and got no water.

We call this a hillbilly water park.

Furby · « **Reply #34 on:** September 09, 2005, 06:16:14 pm »

If you all don't mind.........I'd like to hear a bit more from Floyd.
Hey Floyd, how do they harvest it, and do they chop it into lengths?
Bale it green or what?

floyd · « **Reply #35 on:** September 09, 2005, 07:04:43 pm »

from what I have read, it is handled like any hay crop. Cut , allowed to dry some, then baled.

Needs to be dry enough so baler can handle it.

Ernie · « **Reply #36 on:** September 09, 2005, 09:05:49 pm »

floyd

How does it go as silage in a pit?

Furby · « **Reply #37 on:** September 09, 2005, 09:59:29 pm »

I'm guessing they are only harvesting what is growing across open ground and not the climbing stuff?

pigman · « **Reply #38 on:** September 09, 2005, 10:43:53 pm »

Quote from: Furby on September 09, 2005, 09:59:29 pm

I'm guessing they are only harvesting what is growing across open ground and not the climbing stuff?

No Furby. You cut the trees and power poles down to harvest the kudzu. Then you can saw up the trees and poles for lumber. Kind of a double crop situation.

Furby · « **Reply #39 on:** September 09, 2005, 10:47:04 pm »

Seems like a lot of work............but if you say so................

floyd · « **Reply #40 on:** September 10, 2005, 10:42:48 am »

The kudzu that is harvested for forage is "managed".

I know that is a big word...but work with me here.

The crop is cut, like you would do with hay, then it is allowed to dry, then it is placed into windrows. Then it is baled.

Or it may be put up loose. The article said nothing about silage. I do not see why it could not be handled as silage.

woodbowl · « **Reply #41 on:** September 10, 2005, 11:52:02 am »

I wouldn't run over it with the lawn mower again! It's a job untangling it from the blade. How in the world do you cut and bale vines? In the winter around here when the leaves die off, all you see is a massive matt of tangled vines.

beenthere · « **Reply #42 on:** September 10, 2005, 12:55:30 pm »

Here is an article about Kudzu addressing the forage and silage info.

http://www.forestry.auburn.edu/extension/Publications/ANR65.htm

floyd · « **Reply #43 on:** September 10, 2005, 04:21:09 pm »

same way folks cut peas or vetch for hay. use a sicklebar mower or disc mower.

thanks for the link, beenthere.

asy · « **Reply #44 on:** September 10, 2005, 07:32:03 pm »

Ernie,

Is this plant already IN NZ, or are you creating a cane toad?

asy

Bro. Noble · « **Reply #45 on:** September 10, 2005, 10:31:26 pm »

Floyd,

We used to put up some hairy vetch for hay. I remember the first time we cut it, pulled into the field with a haybine and you could see vines jerking in toward the haybine from 10 yards out

I think we put a little in a pit silo too. If we did, I'm sure it had to be wilted pretty well before chopping or it would have rotted rather than ensiling because of excessive moisture.

woodbowl · « **Reply #46 on:** September 11, 2005, 01:11:37 am »

In the link that "beenthere" has just posted, under History, 3rd paragraph it states that by 1905 through the efforts of C.E. Pleas of Chipley FL, Kudzu was promoted.........Well now, ain't that a coincidence! I live in Chipley Fl. and have sawed wood several times over the years for other Pleas' just a few miles from my home. I've been wondering why there was so much Kudzu around here.

Ernie · « **Reply #47 on:** September 11, 2005, 02:27:33 pm »

Asy

Did a bit of a search and it is a problem on the east coast. Obviously it wasn't "managed"

asy · « **Reply #48 on:** September 11, 2005, 07:45:06 pm »

Hmm, have you checked whether it's on the banned plants list (I assume NZ has one, as we do here).

I mean, it's all fine to say 'Oh, but I"ll manage it"... However, the problem is when a bird eats the seeds and carries them a kilometer away into bushland over which you have no rights and it takes off...

Or if worst comes to worst (sorry to say) and you have a lovely crop going and your successors don't bother managing it... And it takes over half the island...

Seriously, It sounds as though you are planning a disaster. Sorry.

asy

etat · « **Reply #49 on:** September 11, 2005, 08:59:39 pm »

them kudzu vines are dangerous. If they're within a mile or so of your house you might wake up one day and can't get out the door.....Trying to control em around here is sorta like fightening a losing battle.

here are a couple of quotes, easily found on the web

The problem is that it just grows too well! The climate of the Southeastern U.S. is perfect for kudzu. The vines grow as much as a foot per day during summer months, climbing trees, power poles, and anything else they contact. Under ideal conditions kudzu vines can grow sixty feet each year.

The United States government stopped advocating the use of kudzu in 1953, and the USDA declared kudzu to be a weed in 1972. Today, kudzu covers 7 million acres of land in the southeast and is spreading at a rate of 120,000 acres a year. In my own state of Mississippi, almost 250,000 acres are covered by kudzu.

The native enemies of kudzu were not brought to the United States, and today kudzu causes millions of dollars in damage annually. In Mississippi, it is estimated that the forestry industry loses over $20 million a year because land which could be used for forestry is infested with kudzu.

Kudzu is an aggressive weed which is next
to impossible to get rid of

Total control or eradication of kudzu can be a three- to ten-year endeavor, usually involving the use of herbicides. Every kudzu plant must be killed or the spread of the surviving plants will make previous control efforts useless. Success involves using effective herbicides at the proper time and at the correct rate, with repeated treatments as required.

Kudzu [Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr] is a large, trifoliate-leaved, semi-woody, trailing or climbing perennial vine that belongs to the Fabaceae (legume) family. The vines may grow up to 60 feet in a single season and as much as 1 foot during a single day in the early summer. This amount of vine growth is supported by starchy, tuberous roots that can reach a depth of 12 feet in older patches and weigh as much as 200 to 300 pounds. Vines and roots grow out from a root crown that is positioned on the soil surface. Vines growing from mature root crowns can spread in all directions, rooting every few feet at the nodes and essentially forming new plants. Mature stands usually have a plant every 1 to 2 square feet and may contain tens of thousands of plants per acre

INDIANAPOLIS -- Kudzu, that notoriously fast-growing vine that covers vast tracts of the South, has spread its green, choking blanket to at least 27 Southern Indiana counties, posing a threat to woodlands and the state's soybean industry.

etat · « **Reply #50 on:** September 11, 2005, 09:08:10 pm »

oh, HI asy........just so you know, i agree with everything you said!!!!!

Ernie · « **Reply #51 on:** September 12, 2005, 12:09:54 am »

Ok Ok, I'll scrap that idea. Although, why not electric fence a mob of steers onto your infested areas and let them clean it up, sort of like breaking in scrub land here. A lot cheaper than a feed lot.

beenthere · « **Reply #52 on:** September 12, 2005, 12:19:55 am »

Then what to do with the 'damage' the 'mob of steers' do

etat · « **Reply #53 on:** September 12, 2005, 01:44:32 am »

Quote

Although, why not electric fence a mob of steers onto your infested areas and

Quote

Then what to do with the 'damage' the 'mob of steers' do

On 'some' areas that is a possibility, BUT........I reckon you ain't seen the areas it grows in, and how it spreads. THe hills and hollars around here before you could even think about fencing em you'd have to run around it with a buldozer. Put up a electric fence, and before you could get cows on it, or even before you could get it built for a large area it'd be shorting out your fence. AND....in my opionion, it's not gonna support a herd of feeder cows anyway. It's not one of the cows favorite foods ot eat for one. Second, cows ain't gonna control it, or kill it. Not in the wooded hills and hollars the kudzu loves. They'll eat the leaves off of it and then starve to death. And then........the Kudzu will come back. The BEST animals to control it is goats, they love eating Kudzu and unlike cows, love to eat the vines and all instead of just the leaves. In case you haven't ever seen them vines, they get huge. AND.... it takes a VERY VERY good fence to hold goats and keep em in so that they don't get out and get into somebody's yard or garden, or flowers. All in all, a very very expensive proposition.

Seriously, you say you can controll it?

I say come on down to Mississippi and look at some of it that's trying to be controlled. I promise I'm not trying to come across as a smart alleck, but unless you actually see it, and see the trees it can kill, (it smothers the bigger ones to death, and the smaller ones it pulls em over and then smothers em to death) the old house places it can take over, you have no idea what you are in for.

Read all you want about the advantages of it, but.......don't plant it, there are much much much better alternatives of things to plant than Kudzu.

asy · « **Reply #54 on:** September 12, 2005, 05:44:46 am »

In addition to what CK said...

You could electric fence it to your hearts content... How's that gonna stop the birds getting in and getting seeds of it to distribute throughout the state forest?

I can just see the NZ travel brochures now...

"We used to have snow... Now we have cold Kudzu"

asy

Ernie · « **Reply #55 on:** September 12, 2005, 03:11:23 pm »

I give up

Jeff · « **Reply #56 on:** September 12, 2005, 03:42:08 pm »

Quote from: link=topic=14004.msg197955#msg197955 date=1126503872

don't plant it, there are much much much better alternatives of things to plant than Kudzu.

Box alder Charles?

Furby · « **Reply #57 on:** September 12, 2005, 08:09:49 pm »

I was thinking the same thing as Jeff.

etat · « **Reply #58 on:** September 12, 2005, 11:20:39 pm »

uh....it's ALL Swamp Donkey's fault.............ALL OF IT!!!!!

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #59 on:** September 14, 2005, 08:58:12 am »

I see I've become an icon.

BW_Williams · « **Reply #60 on:** September 17, 2005, 09:17:41 am »

We got to see kudzu for the first time at Garey's farm and it is quite a force to be reckoned with. If it were me I'd go with goats, but it's going to take alot of 'em. Garey, we saw some of those black and white stripy goats off I-75 that would match the short cows. I could send you my goat when the snow flies, but shipping might be $$$$, and Billy don't match the cows (plus the Bosslady's gotten kinda attached to him). BWW

Cedarman · « **Reply #61 on:** September 18, 2005, 07:42:17 pm »

I've seen it several places in Indiana. One of the biggest is just north of the Ohip bridge across from Brandenburg, Ky near Mauckport In. Saw another bunch in Harrison Co and heard there was a big patch near Shoals In about 60 miles northwest of me. It is here and it is growing.

beenthere · « **Reply #62 on:** September 19, 2005, 10:58:01 pm »

Always something to take its place, I guess.

Saw this
alien grass

woodbowl · « **Reply #63 on:** September 19, 2005, 11:33:30 pm »

bt,
That looks just like what I've got on the edge of my yard! I've always heard it called Sawgrass around here. I'll try to get a pic.

woodbowl · « **Reply #64 on:** September 20, 2005, 12:29:53 am »

Anybody know what this stuff is? The local name around here is Saw grass. Got an idea it may be Cogon grass.

News:

Author Topic: It leaps, it creeps.... (Read 3419 times)