Kudzu
(Pueraria Thunbergiana)

By Hugh Lovel

    Cursed and maligned, it is one of the most successful--if misunderstood--plants. A leguminous vine of the arrowroot family, kudzu grows well on the eroded, worn out acid red clays of the
    Southeastern US. Imported in the 30s from Japan as a remedy for serious erosion, today it covers roadside embankments, fences, tall trees, vacant lots, telephone poles and the like. The old
    Mississippi River Bridge on I 20 at Natchez had vines growing halfway across the bridge. An airplane that crashed into it one Summer wasn't found until Winter when the kudzu lost its leaves.
    Yet, kudzu is never found in continuously grazed pastures. Where it grows up to a fence that fence is strained by animals reaching through to graze. It averages about 26% protein, is rich in
    minerals and grazing animals such as cows, horses, goats, sheep, pigs--even groundhogs and rabbits--wax fat and shiny on it. Though its vines are extremely tough with high quality fiber,
    goats in particular eat the whole plant as high as they can reach, cutting off and killing the tops. A starchy extract from its roots, known as kuzu, is highly prized in cooking, and is also
    said to cure alcoholism. Because it brings nitrogen and oxygen down into the topsoil while bringing the lime complex up the soil breathes and becomes fertile whereever kudzu has grown for any
    length of time. It does not like frost and tends to wait for the Summer Solstice to get growth into high gear. Nevertheless it is extremely vigorous, is both drought and flood resistant and
    has a reputation, along with bamboo and water hyacinth, as one of the must vigorous plants in the world. In more than one instance I have seen kudzu turn tight red clay suitable for making
    bricks into crumbly, brown soil, and the redder the clay the more like rich chocolate cake it becomes. In an age where most topsoils are eroded kudzu has enormous potential for restoring life
    and productivity, particularly in laterite tropical soils that have become baren. It was one of the chief plants used to reclaim a 50 square mile desert stripped completely bare due to copper
    smelting at Copperhill, Tennessee. There for decades clouds of sulphuric acid poured into the air--the first environmental lawsuit ever won in the US (and that took 40 years). Because it is
    so slow to shoot forth in Summer, land restored by kudzu may be chiseled early in Spring and planted in potatoes, which should be dug by the time kudzu makes its comeback. Then the field may
    be left to return to kudzu. With its enormous affinity for lime it draws irresistably into the soil the condensive, earthly forces of the inner planets associated with tone and life--
    precipitating oxygen (ethericity), nitrogen (astrality), water (life spirit) and organic matter (form, ego). In the Agriculture Course, Steiner called plants that do this--especially in
    regard to drawing in the ether (oxygen) and the astrality  (nitrogen)--"the lungs of the soil." One of the reasons kudzu is noted for growing such good potatoes is it not only draws the
    earthly forces of the inner planets into the soil, but it also superbly holds back the expansive, cosmic forces of the outer planets associated with warmth and light--as is shown by the
    storage capacity of its roots and how slow it is to burst into leafy growth in Summer. It is just this characteristic that potatoes need to hold their swelling (cosmic) forces down
    underground at the bases of their stems. Plant potatoes early to reap this reward, as once kudzu finally bursts forth it really expands above ground. Establishing a stand of kudzu takes a few
    years, as it doesn't cover the first year or two. While it is wonderfully rejuvenating for the land, many farmers fear to plant it or fear to try farming land that is in kudzu. But kudzu
    control is much easier than is commonly thought. Rather than repeated herbicidings, just fence it and graze it--if necessary, to death. Of course, not all farmers want to kill their kudzu
    since it produces such heavy yields of high quality fodder. It may be rotationally grazed, or even hayed. In a location with heavy, old vines it will be tough to cut for hay until repeated
    cutting deals with the old vines and younger, tenderer growth prevails. Since it is succulent enough that curing the hay can be a problem a better option may be to ensile it. And in more
    temperate places there is time for a winter cover of rye or wheat for spring silage or hay to boost the land's production with the nitrogen supplied by kudzu. When cropping kudzu it makes
    sense to encourage peak performance. Sure, it will grow on land that is worn out and eroded, but it can be vastly encouraged by applictions of lime, gypsum and other rock powders. It has been
    known to receive rich fertilization at dumps where demolished studs and sheetrock have been burned and the ashes accumulate--though in such places mowing or grazing is risky. Still it is
    wonderful for utilizing soil calcium, magnesium and other cations while building nitrogen and organic matter. It has a strong manuring effect since earthworms, ants, grasshoppers, etc. eat
    it, bees and hummingbirds go for its nectar and grazing animals of all sizes grow fat on it. All in all it is a plant worthy of more attention than it gets, and how it might be harvested
    instead of herbicided on public land deserves consideration. -Hugh Lovel