h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Neat entry! I grew up in Georgia, so I know kudzu well. The 11-Alive weatherman used to measure the growth of one particular stem on a daily basis, and report it in the evening.

I saw a program on kudzu some years ago, and I seem to remember that it makes a good cattle feed, and that the leaves can be boiled for use in teas or for food.

If it's a legume, does it have the same beneficial nitrogen-fixing effect as peanuts?

- Nora

a few months back my boss was telling me how kudzu made great fertilizer for vegetable gardens. place the stems and leaves in a large bucket filled with water and let it sit for about a week. after a week squeeze all the plant out of the bucket so that the juice but no plant remains. throw the plant remains away (make sure it is in a plastic bag or something it can't get out of and take root in your yard) and use the bucket of liquid to water your vegetables. the vitamins in the water will give you very large very healthy plants.
hhhmmmm....kudzu keeps on surprising us
Monsy

A lady on a BBC gardening program was doing something like that a while back - she made a sort of stew of different greens and let it sit for a while. Can't remember what plants she used.

Here in Ireland, our chief pest plant is rhododendron. People go through the national parks in summer on 'rhodo-bashing' expeditions - it's almost impossible to kill, so the idea is to cut it down at the base and so retard its growth. Otherwise it takes over the woodlands.

guess it is true that depending on where you live something can be either a sought after plant or dreaded weed
Monsy