Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Re: [permaculture] nitrogen fixing trees/shrubs that feed livestock

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>
  • To: paul@richsoil.com, permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc:
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] nitrogen fixing trees/shrubs that feed livestock
  • Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 00:14:04 -0800

Paul Wheaton wrote:
Plant more KUDZU!!


Is kudzu a perenial?

Yes. It is a
looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnngggg
vine.

How does it do in zone 4/5?

I would venture a guess that it might do OK in protected spots. How cold does
it get there?

Does it bear a fruit?

_Very_ fragrant lavender/magenta flowers. Wonderful smell. Edible leaves and
root;
leaves can be used as animal forage - if you ever drive by that service
station Mike described near the hysterical
marker "commemorating" the advent of kudzu in the area (on the flip side of
the sign it has a Sherwin-Williams-logo
lookalike cartoon of global armageddon; whereas SW's logo depicts their
paints covering the earth, this one shows ......
.... well, you get the message) and see folks down on hands and knees,
rooting around in the jungly under/over/sideways-growth,
they're chowing down on kudzu leaves - very high in protein, a free lunch -
in fact you can probably get paid to dine there.

Seriously, the foliage is excellent livestock feed, probably very digestible.
The roots have great economic value -
they can be harvested and dried and ground to a powder to be used as a
leavening agent or thickener in baking and cooking.
The Japanese call this KUZU (powder). Consumption of it is reputed to cure
alcoholism.


Does it build nitrogen in the soil?

It is a legume and does fix nitrogen.

Any other suggestions?

Consider bamboo. Some of my neighbor's is trying to creep under the fence
take up residence on my NE micro-acreage.
I plan to contain and harvest it.

Don't plant Bermuda grass. Sore topic with me. Some people have their kudzu,
smoe russian olive, some Johnson grass,
some Bermuda, some Pennsylvania Smartweed, some ......... [this could go on
for some time].

LL

Best wishes for a great 2005 to all PC list subscribers.

--
L.F.London
lfl@intrex.net
http://market-farming.com
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page