If you’ve never lived in the South, you might not be familiar with Kudzu.  I know I wasn’t when I first moved to the Atlanta area.  But, Spring is upon us, and so the Kudzu is starting to sprout, and I’ll take this opportunity to educate you Yankees.

What is Kudzu you ask?  Well, it’s a vine-like plant that was imported from Japan.  It was first used for ornamental purposes, but during the depression in the 1930′s it was promoted as an answer to soil erosion.  And, you may wonder how one tiny little vine-like plant could stop soil erosion.

The answer is that Kudzu may start out as a tiny little plant.  In fact, it dies off each winter, even in the Southern climate.  But, come Spring and Summer, it grows like nothing you’ve ever seen!

In fact, the plant can grow up to one foot per day.  And, while it does certainly prevent soil erosion, it also kills any plant life in its path.  The vine covers anything it encounters.  So, trees deprived of sunlight and moisture tend to die off under the onslaught of the Kudzu plants.

Photograph under Creative Commons license from Softcore Studios

The photo above shows a hillside covered with Kudzu.  Those mounds on the hillside are actually trees and bushes that have been overrun by Kudzu.

Once we figured out just what a monster Kudzu really was, the USDA declared it a weed in 1972.  It was a bit late by that time, though, because the plant was very well established, especially in the southeast US.

The latest weapon in the battle against Kudzu is goats.  That’s right – goats.  Goats do a great job of eating Kudzu, and can sometimes even destroy the plants if they are left near the Kudzu long enough.  And, that’s pretty amazing since hardly anything else can eliminate the pesky vines.

So, if you spend any time in the woods in northern Georgia, don’t stand still too long.  If you’re inclined to build a cabin deep in the woods somewhere in northern Georgia, you better mark the spot well because you could lose it entirely under a coating of Kudzu. 

And, if you see a small herd of goats munching away on a hillside beside an expressway somewhere, rest assured that it’s probably just one of the rent-a-goat operations headed up by some creative entrepreneur to help control Kudzu Kreep!