College Hires Goats To Clear Kudzu--hope it works!

College Hires Goats To Clear Kudzu

POSTED: 10:22 am EDT June 14, 2011
UPDATED: 10:32 am EDT June 14, 2011

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Davidson College hopes a herd of goats will help resolve the campus' kudzu problem.
Thirty goats were brought on campus Monday to help clear the school's popular cross-country paths, where the vines have been creating obstacles to runners....

Campus officials say they've tried weed-eating and mowing down the plants to no avail.
The goats will stay for about two months.


Read more: http://www.wyff4.com/news/28231897/detail.html#ixzz1PXPCHuoC

did this for a while. Seemed to work pretty well on the kudzu, but they couldn't get anybody to tend the goats. (I am thinking they were looking for volunteer goat-herds.)

They're going places too.

Our county in Maryland just hired a herd of goats to clean non-native plants on public land.
link:
http://ww2.gazette.net/gazette_archive/2005b/200523/wheaton/news/278849-1.html

Goat eats kudzu
kudzu strangles goats.

:hi:

The weed eater probably helped propagate it.

or better yet agent orange

baa-aaa-aaa

have a lot to look forward to next fall

Has anyone looked into that so far?

It's been a couple of years since I've heard any solid news, but the initial reports looked good.

I remember thinking "biofuels" the first time I saw a news report about how kudzu was "taking over" parts of the south, that was at least 8 years ago IIRC. And as usual the MSM only reported a two sentence blurb and then went on about a litter of puppies or the latest crash on interstate-(whatever).

Some things just make a fella say, "DUH!!!"

The tangle of vines plays hell with mechanized farm equipment. The other, preferred biomass crops are easy to cut and bundle up and take to the biofuel operation.

Maybe it gets that way when it's given enough time to grow wild, but if you trim it often maybe one of these two might work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmydZhx6Iws&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdE0UAt4C34&feature=fvwrel

This says that close mowing or cutting it off at the root nodule will eventually kill kudzu so maybe a regular round of trimming and pruning could produce a viable crop.
...link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu#Control

Perhaps the harvester may need a vacuum assist to make the stems stand tall so they can be cut without damaging the limbs and crowns...

Spoken like someone who hasn't been around kudzu. That's all right, it's too dry for it out in TX. Further east, like here in GA, kudzu finds its perfect climate. A vine can grow a foot per day, meaning that it can "grow wild" in a week. There is a lake I pass on the way into town that has an 8' chain link fence around it. In winter the kudzu dies back and you can see through the tangle and you wonder if the cold weather killed it for good. But once it warms up in the spring, it's back with a vengeance, covering it over and looking for oaks and sweet gums to swallow up. Or a house.



Once established as in the above photo, it is almost impossible to get rid of. Cattle will eat the leaves, but not the woody vines, so they aren't much help. Goats do a great job, eating the vines as well as the leaves, clipping it down to the ground. But kudzu will regenerate from starchy roots that go 2'-3' deep, deeper than most pigs will root out. The only way to keep it under control is to have enough goats around to keep munching the new shoots.

I keep telling people that we don't have an excess of kudzu here in GA, we have a lack of goats. Maybe when we get enough goats to take care of the "problem", it will also be easier to find cabrito in the meat section of the grocery store and a restaurant with a good bowl of birria de chivo.


More info: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-473771.html

In the wikipedia link in my earlier post it said to cut the crown (right at ground level) and it will die off in around 2 years (there's only so much energy stored in the root system). I like the idea of using goats instead of dirty, polluting lawn mowers though.

As to the kudzu, I only mentioned the harvesting as a sort of "when life gives you lemons, make lemonaide" kind of thing. Imagine how much better to use an almost unkillable weed to make fuel instead of food crops. That would certainly reduce the pesticide and herbicide usage. I don't know how much it would cost to have to harvest every week or two (some of you number crunchers out there can perhaps help out with that aspect). Assume that the harvester runs off the biofuel created with the kudzu -- or, a solar powered unit that goes slower but never needs any fuel (just a daily wash of the solar panels).

Combine harvesters are so high tech now that they drive themselves via GPS. The farmer/farm hand is there only as a backup. Just a thought.

or the seeds in in might germinate, right? But what a great idea. This country needs to go green.

Now the country will be infested with goats!

and tasty tasty curried goat....

HOW TO GROW KUDZU
by Tifton B. Merritt

All you beginning gardeners out there might want to consider growing kudzu as a fine way to launch out into the great adventure of gardening. Kudzu, for those of you not already familiar with it, is a hardy perennial that can be grown quite well by the beginner who observes these few simple rules.

CHOOSING A PLOT: Kudzu can be grown almost anywhere, so site selection is not the problem it is with some other finicky plants like strawberries. Although kudzu will grow quite well on cement, for best results you should select an area having at least some dirt. To avoid lawsuits, it is advisable to plant well away from your neighbor’s house, unless, of course, you don’t get along well with your neighbor anyway.

PREPARING THE SOIL: Go out and stomp on the soil for a while just to get its attention and to prepare it for kudzu.

DECIDING WHEN TO PLANT: Kudzu should always be planted at night. If kudzu is planted during daylight hours, angry neighbors might see you and begin throwing rocks at you.

SELECTING THE PROPER FERTILIZER: The best fertilizer I have discovered for kudzu is 40 weight non-detergent motor oil. Kudzu actually doesn’t need anything to help it grow, but the motor oil helps to prevent scraping the underside of the tender leaves then the kudzu starts its rapid growth. It also cuts down on friction and lessens the danger of fire when the kudzu really starts to move. Change oil once every thousand feet or every two weeks, whichever comes first.

MULCHING THE PLANTS: Contrary to what you may be told by the Extension Service, kudzu can profit from a good mulch. I have found that a heavy mulch for the young plants produces a hardier crop. For best results, as soon as the young shoots begin to appear, cover kudzu with concrete blocks. Although this causes a temporary setback, your kudzu will accept this mulch as a challenge and will reward you with redoubled determination in the long run.

ORGANIC OR CHEMICAL GARDENING: Kudzu is ideal for either the organic gardener or for those who prefer to use chemicals to ward off garden pests. Kudzu is oblivious to both chemicals and pests. Therefore, you can grow organically and let the pests get out of the way of the kudzu as best they can, or you can spray any commercial poison directly onto your crop.

Your decision depends on how much you personally enjoy killing bugs. The kudzu will not be affected either way.

CROP ROTATION: Many gardeners are understandably concerned that growing the same crop year after year will deplete the soil. If you desire to change from kudzu to some other plant next year, now is the time to begin preparations.

Right now, before the growing season has reached its peak, you should list your house and lot with a reputable real estate agent and begin making plans to move elsewhere. Your chances of selling will be better now then they will be later in the year, when it may be difficult for prospective buyer to realize that beneath those lush, green vines stands an adorable three-bedroom house.

I'm a - If you can't beat 'em, join em - convert to kuzu fandom (kuzu is closer to the native pronunciation)

I think we are overlooking a massive source of plant protein (equivalent to soy), usable plant fiber (a billion and one uses) and literally the finest cooking starch in existence. Kuzu root powder sells for 5.00 a pound in Asian groceries. Seriously... we are throwing away gold here.

The goats should work if they keep the entire area clear for at least 2 years. But that means ALL the plants need to be eaten back to the crowns. And those suckers run underground for quite a ways.

Why are we subsidizing ethanol from corn (which needs tons of fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, and tons of TLC) when we could just plant kudzu there and never have to fertilize or spray again. The ethanol produced would be like free money.

And goats will not dig up and eat the kudzu tubers below ground so the kudzu will come back the next year even if the ingested seeds don't germinate.

When we first bought this place, I bought a herd of goats to clear the underbrush. One of the things we did not expect the goats to eat was the Spanish bayonet - a plant that is just as sharp as the name indicates.



The goats ate the plants down to the roots, but within months of when I sold the goat herd, the Spanish bayonet was back. We still have not been able to get rid of it.

In Panama we had a variation of them with sharp spines at the end..and serrated "teeth" all along the "leaves"..We called them "Torture plants"..

The ones we have now, we just call yucca plants:)..and they are beautiful:)

It has some medicinal uses... some of them borne out by studies.


Wikipedia:
Many species of yucca also bear edible parts, including fruits, seeds, flowers, flowering stems,<8> and more rarely roots. References to yucca root as food often stem from confusion with the similarly spelled but botanically unrelated yuca, also called cassava (Manihot esculenta). Roots of soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) are high in saponins and are used as a shampoo in Native American rituals. Dried yucca leaves and trunk fibers have a low ignition temperature, making the plant desirable for use in starting fires via friction


So start a fire, wash your hair and nibble on some. If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em.

but poison oak moves a lot slower than kudzu!

Do they get a 401k and a health plan? Are there meetings conducted to discuss kudzu grazing progress and strategies?

n/t