permaculture

[rick valley <bamboogrove@cmug.com>]

>"The Book of Kudzu"? I want it for the library...
>
>I'd like a copy of that too. Is it by William Shurtleff?

Yes, same guy as Book of Tofu and Book of Tempeh. I'd imagine that with a
little Japanese trackhoe you could dig beaucoup Kudzu root in the SE, eh?
>
>>The thing that makes Yellow Flag Iris such a *menace* is that the (large)
>
>Isn't that a medicinal plant? Couldn't it be harvested as wildcrafted?
>I think it is widely used these days alone or in combination with
>outer herbal extracts. It is for GI problems, I think.

I've heard of various uses- and it definitely exists in marketable stands in
the Northwest- at least if you've a boat. Ivy in the woods, though, isn't
competitive to harvest for the nursery trade- too easy to propagate.

We nearly had a new state law in Oregon declaring St. Johns Wort (Hypericum
perfoliatum) a noxious weed that must be sprayed with herbicide. No money
paid if you guess whose money was behind the effort- *Oregonians For Food and
Shelter* was one group, fronted by Agribiz wives and funded by Chem
companies. Anyway the legislature had no idea there was a thriving industry
harvesting this important medicinal, (which incidently poisons cattle!)

Anybody got any ideas on how to deal with Vinca minor (periwinkle) ? That's
my newest invasive plant challenge- I've no got extensive stands of it- and
it's moving into the forest. I've used it for sheet mulch topping- although
caution must be exercised- it can root from cuttings!
-Rick

Rick Valley Northern Groves 
PO Box 1236, Philomath, OR 97370 
Mobile-(541)602-1315, hm.& msg. (541)456-4364  Bamboo catalog $3 or at 
<http://www.teleport.com/~dbrooks/bamboo.html>
"Useful Bamboos and other plants‹ Permaculture education‹ Ecological design &
consultation centering on water,landform and horticultural systems"