Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Kudzu Kwestions


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Have you ever asked yourself what you know about kudzu?

Are there a lot of people in The South who know a whole lot about kudzu?

Who hates kudzu?

If willow can be used for dream catchers, why can't kudzu?


Who would you contact about the medicinal uses but a Chinese herbalist?


'daniel.davidson@dtn.com.' Dan wrote an article about how Rust skips around and deposits spores during rain events from the upper strata of the Earth's air system.


I read the article about the spread of the rust with much interest.

I don’t understand how the rust also effects kudzu, and why, since it is related to the sweet pea. (What does a sweat pea taste like, anyway?)


What is the history of the rust in South America?
Would planting something different be the answer for a few years, or will the spores last for decades in the air system?
Can more “green” methods be used to control rust, like baking soda? Rosarians routinely use baking soda and olive oil applications to control fungus on rose leaves.
Is kudzu resistant to ASR (Asian Soybean Rust—a fungus), or is it just too difficult to establish because there is so much to test?

Can the rhizome of kudzu be eaten raw?

Can cogon grass have nutrition in the rhizome anything like kudzu?

Is corn more nutritious than kudzu?

Would ASR possibly control or inhibit kudzu?
If kudzu is resistant to ASR, then is anyone trying to find out why?Did anyone lose crop yield by the rust (soybean crop, not kudzu)?
If so, what is their response, and are they still in farming, and what are their plans for crops?
This information might make other people take it more seriously without being alarmist. This information might change views of “crying wolf” by people who were in the “skip” zone last year?
How the rust looks?
Is Asian Soybean Rust easy to identify and where are pictures?
Would fungus would have a deleterious effect on my health since I am allergic to mold and mildew/yeast because of overuse of antibiotics as a child?
Are there studies about ingestion of soybeans/kudzu with ASR?
How large are the roots?

Can anyone dig up a crown of kudzu?

Is it good for a hangover, and are there studies?
Where did it come from, and why is it in this country (whichever country you see it)?
What can people do with it?
How do people control it?
What is under it?
Is it edible?Can you think of more questions about kudzu?
Do you know any songs about kudzu?

Do animals eat kudzu?

Do goats eat kudzu?

Will dogs eat kudzu with olive oil and cut up a lot?

www.kokudzu.com A kind way to control kudzu.
How do you make Kudzu blossom jelly (easily found with a Google search)?
Do artists use kudzu?
Why can't we use it to decorate for the holidays?
Is there more spinach or kudzu in the United States?
Can it be crossed with something more useful to make a more useful plant?
What are the natural enemies to kudzu?
What would happen if we poisoned all of the kudzu in the United States?
What would happen if we used kudzu for useful and positive purposes?
Did Rip Van Winkle fall asleep under kudzu? If he had, could we find him?
Are large topiaries ever used for kudzu?
How much oxygen does kudzu produce?
Are kudzu baskets long lasting?
Are there any kudzu books?
Why doesn't a kudzu book have a shelf in every library?
Do I know a kudzu expert?
What does it take to be a kudzu expert?
Are there kudzu klubs?
Kudzu organizations?
Kudzu parties?
Kudzu police, or kudzu competitions?
Kudzu beauty pageants?
If I had to think of a new use for kudzu, what would it be?
Are there kudzu jokes?
Can kudzu excite people enough to form organizations (like the Red Hat Society, or Boy Scouts)?
How does kudzu tea taste, and how is it made (check Google)?
What did the Southern USA look like before kudzu?
Have you ever had a kudzu nightmare? Can you tell us about it?
Why is a kudzu leaf hairy?
Can it hurt bovine because of its high protein?
How spiritual is a plant?
Do you know any websites about kudzu besides this one?
Have you ever done a search on kudzu?
Have you ever talked to a scientist studying kudzu?
If kudzu is high in estrogen, then what will it do for fertility?
Are there scientists who are doing beneficial things with kudzu (not including eradication?)!?
If there are people who use kudzu to survive, why isn't there more information about it? Why don't people know about it?
Can you think of any other kwestions? If so, please comment!
Windy Hill Senior Center friends asked these questions:
Will it make me live longer?
What could kudzu be used for other than jelly or tea?
Could it be cooked like greens?
Are people allergic to it?
Why is it a blood thinner?
If it could be made into gasoline what are they waiting for?
Why has it taken so long to find all of these uses for kudzu?
Where did it originate?
Can you cook it as a vegetable?
Can you use it in a dip?
Why do you have to go to the woods since it grows along the highways?
Will it help you to live longer?
Will it make your skin glow?
Can you use it as a laxative?
Will it make you smarter?
Will it make your nails grow?
Will it help you sleep longer?
Will it make your eyes blue?
Will it make your hair curly?
Will it make you lose weight?
How fast does it grow?
How do you kill or get rid of it?
Who brought it to America?
Does it bloom?
How deep do the roots go?
What makes anyone interested in Kudzu?
Is it like hemp when making cloth?
How many different types are there?
Where can we purchase kudzu jelly?
What does kudzu taste like? (peas?)
Can they marry it to grapes or something tastier?
Who is studying kudzu’s genetics/dna/properties?
How much Oxygen is supplied by kudzu in the Southern US?
Are there famous songs with kudzu?
Who besides Socrates would ask questions about kudzu?
Which is easier to grow, seeds of kudzu or roots?
Is kudzu used by naturopathic doctors?
Is anyone using it for pottery? (design or something else?)
Could it be used as a dye for fabrics/cloth?

Does the vine give as much color as the leaf when dying shirts?

Does the root give any color to dying cloth as the above ground growth?

Does anyone use poison ivy because they can't tell the difference from kudzu?

How many veterans who are homeless can benefit from kudzu and Agent Orange or alcohol or because they are hungry?

Can you think of ways to eat kudzu in regular recipes like brownies, meatloaf, oatmeal?

Does kudzu make NO, N2O, and NO2 and why is that important?

Does kudzu make ozone?

What does NO do for Viagra that it doesn't do for kudzu?

Is there a Wikipedia site for kudzu, and does it mention famine?

Who is the Wizard of Oz for kudzu?

Who knows more than anyone about kudzu?

How much kudzu root for each medical problem should be enough?

Can you overdose on kudzu?

Can you over do kudzu consumption?

How many questions can you think of about kudzu?

If we use all the kudzu for ethanol, what will we eat during a severe drought?

Does the Ag business have anything that is drought tolerant?

How many food pantries know about kudzu?

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Kudzu Covered (c) 2006 Charlotte Fairchild

Kudzu Covered Land song (c) 2006 Charlotte Fairchild

Kudzu covered land or Tarzan vine clad trees
Simple superweed
Some see barren land 'cept for animals with needs

The oxygen, nitrogen, vitamins and science of this plant
It seems a nuisance, yet it's free food?
One day our survival may be placed on Kudzu?

Spinach covered land or Popeye vine clad trees?
How much more would we poison something giving us our air to breathe?
Shapes of elephants, roots of whale like glee

Alcohol consumption cut in half by Puerarin?
Fodder, baskets, breast enhancers, blossom jelly, kudzuthanol?
What more could you ask of a weed?

Kudzu covered land or Tarzan vine clad trees,
Can you smoke it?
Weed to some, but not to me.

It holds a future treasure, and perhaps our survival.
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September 2008, the children of the Boys and Girls Club of Douglasville, Georgia experienced kudzu brownies, kudzu cake, kudzu juice, kudzu leaves, kudzu seeds and kudzu blossoms, and the kudzu song. It was fun.
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This story is about a little boy moving to Georgia with his recently divorced mother and finding a friend in an older man who buries a puppy, Mason, the little boy, tries to save from getting hit by a car. A million animals a week are killed by cars in the US, and so the story continues with the relationship of the man approaching 80, and the little boy in third grade through ups and downs in their friendship. Kudzu is not the name of any of the dogs, but where the quest for the puppies takes place, and how the puppies survive. There are many shots of the two main characters in kudzu while green and kudzu during die back after just a little freeze. As a movie, it will leave children and adults with a good feeling that hope and perseverance are worthwhile, although it isn't the slick and perfect movie that Hollywood produces. It felt more comfortable and real because it wasn't so slick and perfect, if that makes any sense.

Always look for Kudzu kwestions, the very first and oldest blog on this kudzus.blogspot.com site. I am always adding questions!

I went to Doraville on MARTA September 24, and went to Cindy's Herbs and also to Rio Acupuncture. Cindy gave me a lot of useful information and some really pretty kudzu root. At Rio Acupuncture I received some herbs that will help dampness and my spleen.

This was the day of the GM strike, which ended the next day or two.

I took water and fruit to share with any homeless people I could meet but I didn't meet any. I did tell a striking worker about kudzu being edible. There is kudzu near the GM plant.
Can you imagine if people who were alcoholic and homeless started chewing kudzu and did a detox of their livers and became healthier and less hungry how it would affect the world? What if the poor and low income of the world added green kudzu to dishes and boosted their immune system and had less health problems? What if women used kudzu as an anti-coagulant and became less inclined to hysterectomy so that hysterectomy dropped from 25% to 5%? And then what if the effects of the anti-coagulation made heart and strokes lower? What if the world was transformed by eating free foods that are organic and raw and in abundance like kudzu? Starch gets old fast, and most of the Third World countries subsist off starches. Knowing what better nutrition greens can be, and the diversity of raw and cooked greens makes kudzu a creative choice for better health.

Drug Digest (google scholar) has info about drug interactions and properties of kudzu, including only a few.
The Japanese Times had a great article about kudzu in America.http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20070528hs.html

Just remember Asian Soybean Rust when you look at kudzu. What may happen with this fungus? What are the possiblities?

Are there studies about what happens if people ingest or breathe fungus spores from a plant as dense as kudzu that just might be surrounding someone's house or place of business, or library?


1 comment:

Charlotte Fairchild said...

http://www.kokudzu.com/
Great site!